Crossing the Tiber

I'm probably the millionth one to post on the topic, but in case you didn't know, Tony Blair, ex-PM of Great Britian, converted to the Roman Catholic Church yesterday. While a man's religion is his business, I feel a thrill at knowing that there is one more Catholic in England. While some may criticize Mr. Blair for his politics, I applaud him for converting, and I bid him a joyous welcome to the Catholic faith.

H/T: Whispers, of course!

Getting ready for Christmas...

One of the things that our family does during late Advent is to decorate the grottos outside of our parish. They were built by my great-grandfather, Edward Matthews. They started as a tribute to my late grand-uncle, Martin, who died as a teenager. The grounds of the parish are dotted with outdoor shrines made from stones collected from our county. He started decorating the grottos for the Nativity, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. Benedict in the 1950s. After he died, my grandmother kept up the tradition, pulling in my father and grandfather. Likewise, my sisters and I were pulled into decorating when we were kids.
Last Saturday, my parents, my sister Sarah, a couple of Matthews/Huntsman cousins, Alie and the twins decorated the grottos with the standard trees, lights, and poinsettias.


Sarah and I putting the lights on one of the trees.



Mom keeping an eye on Joseph.



The Nativity grotto decorated.



St. Benedict, patron of our county.



Family photo. Pics of the grottos lit at night to follow... Happy Advent, everyone. Only a few more days!

End of Dappled Things

Alas poor Fr. Tucker, I knew him well. I didn't know Fr. Jim Tucker, of Dappled Things, well, but I really enjoyed his blog. He just announced that other endeavors are taking up his blogging time and energy. Arriverdici Don Giovanni!

More Pictures...

So I haven't gotten any pictures with Alie yet, but here are a few that I took yesterday with my cell phone camera. Yes, my cell phone camera. I was watching the kids while Alie took a much needed break and did some errands in town. Enjoy!

First, a picture of the boys playing. (Joseph is in the saucer, I am holding Leo up from behind)

Next, Leo getting some saucer time.

Finally, a little bottle time after a big workout!