On the Feast of St. Christopher

"There's another river!"

Our family is home again after 25 days on the road, traveling over 3,500 miles (Sean drove the RV and I drove the mini-van) through five states! We explored a couple National Parks, spent time with dear friends and extended family, made many new friends, attended Catholic summer camps (the four oldest), celebrated our oldest son's 15th birthday, and ended our trip with a First Confession and First Holy Communion yesterday, followed by a Second Holy Communion at 6:30 Mass this morning before beginning the long drive home. I have so many pictures I'm hoping to share after we unpack and get some sleep... Happy feast of St. Christopher, patron of travelers! 

"Grant me O Lord a steady hand and watchful eye.

That no one shall be hurt as I pass by.

Thou gavest life, I pray no act of mine may take away 

or mar that gift of Thine.

Shelter those, dear Lord, who bear me company,

From the evils of fire and all calamity.

Teach me to use my car for others' need;

Nor miss through love of undue speed

the beauty of the world; that thus I may

with joy and courtesy go on my way.

St. Christopher, holy patron of travellers, 

protect me and lead me safely to my destiny."

- St. Christopher’s Prayer for Motorists

Homeschool Family Camp & Pentecost Sunday

Over Memorial Day Weekend our family attended a brand new Homeschool Catholic Family Camp in a neighboring diocese which was coordinated by my friend Aleesa.  

The camp took place at the incredible Powell Butte Retreat Center built by Bishop Vasa in 2009. 

That Friday afternoon we attended the funeral and reception for an old friend who will be dearly missed - the husband of our children's swimming instructor, may he rest in peace+ - and then headed to camp.  It was a beautiful drive! 

At one point I had to jump out and quickly snap a picture of the sky. It was gorgeous! 

In addition to bringing our RV and parking in one of the seven RV spots (with power and water hookups!), we also had one side of one of the five duplex cabins, with a bathroom and eight beds (four wooden bunks!). 

"Each Cabin is named after a pair of Saints and each Cabin has a different form of Cross built into the floor. The Cabins are named for men and women who were very close friends or even family members. Each Cabin has a side named for a male Saint and a side for a female Saint. Each cabin also has a brief biography of its Saint as well as a description of the floor cross mounted on the wall."

"Behind the cabins is a trail which winds through the junipers and connects the Cabins to each other and to the Youth Activities Center. In addition to the Youth Activity Center there is ample area for playing fields both up above near the RV parking or down below near the Activity Center. "

Behind the cabins you will also find the waterslide! 

 
There was plenty of free time throughout the weekend for playing games, visiting with the other families, or spending time in the chapel.

On Sunday afternoon Father Andrew Szymakowski arrived to offer a Low Latin Mass for Pentecost, Adoration, and to hear confessions!

Our family actually attended the ordination of Fr. Szymakowski many years ago (we only had three children at the time!), since he happened to be ordained with my husband's oldest brother, through the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), before becoming a diocesan priest.

After Mass the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega arrived to join us for a BBQ dinner. 

I put together a Seven Layer Dip to share, recalling the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  :) 

I had also packed along a small cake to decorate along with candles (to sing Happy Birthday to the Church!) and some extra cupcakes decorated with red sprinkles and white chocolate doves. However, at the last minute quite a few additional families decided to come to camp and I didn't have nearly enough for everyone. I ended up serving them the next afternoon after some of us hiked the cave. 

Roasting marshmallows was the perfect alternative to birthday cake for Pentecost! 

It was such a great weekend and I really hope we'll be able to attend again next year. 

On the drive home, in addition to visiting Lava River Cave, we stopped to hike the Gorge trail and see how much lower the river is compared to last year.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. 

Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

My Daybook :: September 16, 2014

Outside my window...
The sky is filled with smoke again and I'm dreaming of going back to the ocean… or anywhere with clear blue skies. I have discovered that the smoke triggers my anxiety/panic attacks. It seems to be affecting our oldest daughter too, who is complaining about chest pain and breathing difficulty this afternoon. Can you please say a little prayer for us? We are continuing to pray for the safety of the firefighters and all those affected by this year's wildfires.

I am thinking...
I've probably gone a little overboard sharing pictures from last week's trip, but I wanted to post them here for my in-law's to see. They aren't on Facebook/Instagram/etc, but they do read the blog - Happy 47th Anniversary you two!!! I promise this will be the last post with pictures from our trip. Next I'll move on to a whole bunch of posts with pictures from Twinkle Toes' birthday party! ;)

I am thankful... 
So thankful that Sean was able to take a few days off work to go camping. I needed to get out of the smoke and we needed some time together with just our family. It was such a great trip!

Learning all the time…
I'm also thankful for the ability to home educate our children, or in this case campground educate! ;) We kept up with math lessons at the picnic table...

... and learned history as it was read aloud around the campfire!

 

We also toured the lighthouse, visited the cheese factory, and so much more!

Celebrating the liturgical year...
We also were blessed to be able to attend a beautiful EF Latin Mass for the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary!  Afterwards we took Father out to breakfast and then later in the evening he joined us again for dinner at our campsite. He kindly blessed our RV (and the campground), taught the children how to play Yatzee, and we ended the evening with cake!

Just because we were camping didn't mean we couldn't still have birthday cake for Mother Mary, topped with our usual 10 candles representing a decade of the Rosary. I was so pleased when I found this beautiful single layer white cake, complete with a blue rose, at the local grocery store for only $6. It was perfect!

The next morning the boys served another EF Latin Mass on the feast of St. Peter Claver.

This past Sunday we also had our own local EF Latin Mass - it's once every two months and happened to fall on September 14th, the anniversary of the implementation of Summorom Pontificum! I picked up a cake to serve after Mass.

From the kitchen... 
Too. Much. Cake. and. Candy!

I didn't have any trouble passing on the cake, but all the amazing samples at Cranberry Sweets & More (and Face Rock Creamery) were irresistible.

I especially couldn't pass up an opportunity to enjoy a Chocolate Almond Cheesecake truffle. YUM!!!

We brought home a few things to give as gifts, and I am back on my diet.

I am working on... 
The 17 Day Diet and exercising. I've really struggled with my health and weight following my miscarriage and have a lot of weight to lose. Even with a few cheats on Day 15 I still was able to make it through Twinkle Toes' birthday party, the golf tournament, and a few summer BBQs without cheating and drop over 13 pounds during the initial 17 Day Accelerate Cycle! It's a start. I still have plenty to lose to get back to where I need to be and next up is the Activate Cycle.

I am creating...
my to-do list for the next couple days… Is it Friday yet?

I am going...
to Catholic Women Rejoice! I'm so excited to finally meet Danielle Bean! If you live in the Pacific Northwest there is still time to register before tickets sell out. I'd love to meet you there!

I am hoping...
to finally have an opportunity to sort through the pictures from Twinkle Toes' birthday to share with you all. It was so sweet!

I am praying...
for God's guidance as we continue to discern His Will for our family.

I am reading…
Augustus Caesar's World and The Borrowed House (aloud to all the children), The Young Reader's Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (with the younger children), and A Graphic Life of Jesus Christ and Julius Caesar (with the older boys).

Pondering these words…
from Mother Teresa:

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." 

I am listening…
to the air conditioner. We've had to keep it running to filter out some of the smoke that is making it's way into the house.

Around the house RV and Campsite...
Thank you, Miss Charlotte, for recommending Say Anything! Captain received it as a gift on his Bacon Birthday and we played it the for the first time while camping. It was SO MUCH FUN!

"Dad and Mom, come play! THIS one's for YOU Mom!" 

After watching the sunset on our last night at the beach (and showers to wash off ALL that sand) we roasted marshmallows for s'mores!

One of my favorite things...  
I love that my girls love to dress up and wear their "old fashioned" dresses.

You were right, Melanie, this picture is pretty in sepia.

This week's plans…

• Dropped the Sienna off at the mechanics yesterday for service and repairs (I am hoping I get it back tomorrow since I really need a car on Thursday and would rather not take the RV to piano!) 
• Catholic Digest writing deadline (was Monday and I'm still working on it…) 
• Tutors on Tuesday and Thursday
• Piano lessons on Thursday
• The girls and I leave on a road-trip Friday!!!! (Please keep us in your prayers!)
• Snuggles has another Learn to Skate/Learn to Play Hockey lesson on Saturday
• My in-law's 47th Anniversary today and my Mom's birthday on Sunday!

A little peek at my day...
I stopped in town during the five minute drive to our Mission Parish to take this photo of one of the new fires in our area… I mentioned on Instagram that "If the skies fill with smoke again I'm going on another road trip. My anxiety can't handle any more smoke…"  I wasn't kidding!