Archive for » February, 2007 «

Tax Season

28 Feb 2007 by Sharon

I have this not-so-secret love for tax season. A friend once told me that she drives manual cars to keep her mind sharp and thinking. My manual car is our taxes. I love math and love learning new “mathy” things. I love to sit and crunch the numbers, to take an inventory of our finances over the last year, to praise God for his generosity to us, and brainstorm at how we can use our gifts more prudently in the year to come.

Every tax season I learn a little more as I pray that we won’t owe the government anything. I also sit back and enjoy how our growing family lowers our taxable income! ;) And it’s like winning a math contest when I crunch the numbers to see us blessed with a lofty return (that will go straight into the “Save Adam’s Jaw Fund”).

With all that said, I hope you have as much fun doing your taxes, as I had doing ours. Also, don’t forget to get your credit for the Federal Telephone Excise Tax paid (line 71 on your 1040).

Category: Budgeting, Family  One Comment

Gardening?

28 Feb 2007 by Sharon

Well, unfortunately I’m no expert in gardening. But we’re going to grow a garden this year anyway! (So Mom and Dad Gretencord, feel free to throw all kinds of suggestions our way, PLEASE!)

It’s been something we’ve only talked about for the last couple of years, but never acted on because it seemed like it was one more thing to keep up with. And out neighborhood seems to be a recreational community for squirels. But now Therese is at an age where it could be fun and a learning experience for us all. Adam is going to try to make a fun interactive learning game out of it. While I’m just going to try not to kill the plants!

Phase one is digging up the area. After reading that our friends the Roses have already started, we figured we’d better get off our haunches and do something. So Therese and I started digging and weeding today. We disrupted the homes of some yucky grub worm and spiders.

Adam has a friend at work who’s into organic gardening (SCORE!). She gave us the following remedies for those pesky will grub worms.

“Soak a few (3-4) cigarettes in water, which will give you diluted nicotiene sulfate. That kills grubs. If you are finding more than 10 per square foot, it means your soil is stressed. You should top-dress with about a half-inch of good compost and dig it in. If the cigarette thing grosses you out (and why wouldn’t it) — you can also spray the soil with NEEM oil.”Thanks Anne!

So, if you have a green thumb, please feel free to let us know what to do! I’m open to all kinds of suggestions.

Category: Family, Fun, Garden  11 Comments

The King of Cool

26 Feb 2007 by Adam

Today I was sitting in the meeting room waiting for the other attendees to show up. I have no idea what expression was on my face as I was working on the laptop to pass the time when a colleague walked in and exclaimed, “Dude! You look just like Steve McQueen!” Of course my reply was, “What?”. “You know, the ‘King of Cool. The ultimate bada**!”

So guys, what do you think?

Adam as Steve McQueen

Any similarities or do you think my associate was just overwhelmed by the aurora of coolness surrounding me?

Category: Fun  One Comment

Why is it never in the same place?

26 Feb 2007 by Sharon

Admidst getting children ready for bed…

Adam: Where’s the toothpaste?

Sharon: (from down the hall)Did you try the basket on the side counter?

Adam: It’s not there?

Sharon: Did you try the drawer?

Adam: It’s not there?

Sharon: Are you looking for it?

Adam: Will you come help me?

Sharon: Ok, but if I find it…(halfway down the hall)

Adam: I found it! Why is it never in the same place???

Sharon: It’s in the bathroom; that is the same place!

Category: Family  Leave a Comment

A Visit from EMS

26 Feb 2007 by Sharon

We had the pleasure of lighting up our neighborhood streets last night with a Fire Truck and Ambulance! We were the talk of three sweet neighbors huddled together in worry, knowing something must have happen to one of the kids.

That little Fulton…
He was wandering along happy as a clam after dinner when he tripped and hit the coffee table. Adam knew it was bad. He thought Fulton had hit his eye. And Fulton was CRYING! Suddenly Adam sees that Fulton’s sweet little mouth is full of blood and the blood flow is not stopping. Since Adam said he hit his eye and blood was coming out of his mouth, we’re both thinking the worst. And oblivious (until about 5 minutes ago) of any urgent care facilities in the area, our knee jerk reaction was call 9-1-1. And call I did. Of course after I got off the phone with EMS on the way, Fulton is no longer crying and we’re feeling just a wee bit sheepish that we may have overreacted.

The kind EMS guys come in…Fire Truck lighting up the WHOLE neighborhood. Fulton refusing to open his mouth, we finally pried it open. He busted that little piece of skin inside his mouth above his two front teeth connecting his gums to his upper lip. Bleeding stopped. Ambulance shows up a couple of minutes later. Fulton’s fine…more annoyed that people want to look in his mouth than anything else. The fire man give Fulton some stickers that he’s not all that interested in. He’d rather eat them than stick them anywhere.

I take Fulton outside to get some air. I see my sweet neighbors across the street and wave them over so as not to cause scandal or gossip. I explain the situation and our overreaction. Sweet as can be they all offer any kind of help in the future if anything happens and we need to run one of the kids to the doctor. One of them cameback later and even gave us all her contact information. Not quite the way I wanted to get to know the neighbors better, but it’ll work.

Lesson 1…if he’s not unconscious and he stops crying, he’s ok. Lesson 2…find all the urgent care facilities in our area so we don’t call 9-1-1 again. Lesson 3…taking a first aid class might not be a bad idea.

Category: Family  3 Comments

Hints from the Blessed Mother

25 Feb 2007 by Adam

From The Life of Saint Joseph:

“Joseph earnestly wished in some way to manifest his gratitude to Jesus. He attempted by every possible means to give Him evidence of it, and sought always to do what would please Him. To this end he requested that Mary inform him as to what he might do in order to give joy to Jesus. She consoled him by giving him various hints as to how he could give increasing satisfaction to Jesus. This made Joseph extremely happy, and he energetically followed Her suggestions. His exclusive concern was simply to please his beloved Savior.”

Oh Blessed Mother, I beg of you to whisper little hints into my hear as to what I could do to please your Son. May it be my one desire to bring joy to Him and He in turn be my one true joy!

Category: Faith  Leave a Comment

Lent and Sirach

25 Feb 2007 by Adam

While reading the book of Sirach from The Navarre Bible: Wisdom Books (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament) I’ve come across a few comments and passages that have a lenten tone to them.

Commenting on Sirach 4:21,

“For there is a shame which brings sin, and there is a shame which is glory and favour.”

St. Gregory the Great says:

“When we bring to mind the evil we have done and repent of it, we experience a moment of weighty and bitter confusion; a storm of thoughts troubles the soul, sorrow weighs it down, anxiety lays waste to it; the soul gives way to sadness [...]. Therefore, may the bitterness of the suffering experienced at the moment of repentence dull the attraction fo evil” (Moralia in Iob, 4, 32).

Later in Chapter 6, we hear advice on how to obtain wisdom. The teacher says in verses 24-26:

“Put your feet into [Wisdom's] fetters, and your neck into her collar. Put your shoulder under her and carry her, and do not fret under her bonds. Come to her with all your soul, and keep her ways with all your might.”

The commentator rightly associates this passage with our Blessed Lord’s invitation to find true Wisdom and peace of soul in his teaching: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29). Yet I cannot deny sensing the same language of His passion. Is not true Wisdom also found on the wood of the cross?

Category: Faith  Leave a Comment

Lookin’ a Little Different

18 Feb 2007 by Adam

I recently updated our version of WordPress and in the process the current theme we were using did not properly list the pages within our site. Sharon and I searched through a few themes out there and haven’t found something yet that suits are tastes, but we’ll stick with Ocadia in the meantime.

Having the pages listed is important to us as it contains the stories of our children, including the latest and recently added Baby G IV.

Category: Site Updates  One Comment

Luke 6:38

16 Feb 2007 by Sharon

“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

This verse is at the end of this Sunday’s Gospel reading. As I was reflecting on it today at my FAMILIA study, I started to chuckle as the following image came to mind. Have you ever bought a bag of chips? And on the back of the bag in very small print you read something like, “contents may have settled during shipping.” And sure enough when you open the bag there’s more air than there are actual chips.

How often to we give God a bag of spiritual chips and expect in return the “good measure, PACKED TOGETHER, SHAKEN DOWN, and OVERFLOWING?” As we approach Lent, I think this is a good time for me to re-evaluate what I give to God and what I give out of love for God.

Those of you in the Austin area, this is a great time to COMMIT to a Holy Hour every week. Our parish, St. Louis, is beginning Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration and our Lord can never have enough adorers. For all the abundant blessings He give us (and you only need to look into the eyes of the homeless on the street corners to know how blessed you are), can we not give him one little hour in return to simply say, “Thank you Lord”?

Category: Faith  2 Comments

First Baby Picture

14 Feb 2007 by Sharon

babygiv_02.jpg

We’re so excited to welcome a new little blessing to our family! We’d like to share the first picture of Baby G the 4th! We will be 10 weeks pregnant tomorrow. We had our first ultrasound yesterday and Baby G was doing the happy dance and waving to us! Baby G’s head is at the bottom of the picture and the little stubs on the left side are his armies and legs. The circle at the top is the yolk sac.

Adam has been graciously giving me my progesterone injections twice a week for the last month. Therese has cooperatively been letting mommy nap in the afternoon. She is so excited about Baby G and wants to already hold her. And I’m relieved that Fulton has graciously NOT been bouncing on me like crazy for the past few weeks.

Do we have any inclination of whether Baby G’s a boy or girl? Well, if my morning sickness is any indication, I’m guessing it’s a boy. But I’m usually wrong…so better let Adam make the prediction!

Category: Family  9 Comments
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