I notice many things around me. Not everything, mind you. I never notice when Becca gets a haircut, and so she graciously reminds me ahead of time. This way I know to compliment her on her haircut. I just wouldn't notice otherwise, and then I'd be in trouble. But back to my first point: I notice many things around me, and really I just need to focus more on myself. Right?

What do I notice these days? I see that the Church in Germany, thanks to their scandalous tax, is richer than the Vatican. And much of their wealth is actually cold hard cash and not simply art and infrastructure.

I see that there are 250+ new hostages in Syria, captured because they are Christian. This coming after the horrible execution of 21 Christians the other day. All of which led me to have a nightmare. ISIS entering Canada. Tracking down Catholics. Me hiding my family in our basement. Them storming our house. Just a dream right? It must be, for I wake up and see a superficial world obsessed with the colour of a dress. A dress. Is that the devil I hear laughing? No, because he's busy causing havoc in other places.

I see a priest suing a Catholic blogger, and then another priest from the same order hurling profanities at Cardinal Burke (yet getting off without any consequences, much less a lawsuit). Cardinal Burke never ceases to teach us how to be humble.

I see a news story of books, good holy books teaching about Catholicism and marriage, being stolen in the mailboxes at the Vatican during the past synod. These books were intended for the participants of the synod. They were allegedly ordered to be stolen by a higher up at the Vatican, one who has an agenda for pushing communion for those living in an adulterous situation. I always thought stealing mail was a felony.

I see a new sex ed. curriculum in Ontario. Starting for grade one students. Pushing more corrupt ideology. Ideology that destroys the family is the most damaging kind in my opinion. How long before Saskatchewan follows?

I sometimes wish that I was blissfully unaware of these things. But that is not the case. The truth is they aggravate me. They upset me. They make me wonder how on earth I can begin to change these things. I can't, of course, and then that just upsets me more.

It's lent. A tough time where, if we're lucky, we're given a kick in the teeth and made to find our lives again, or even find them for the first time. And here I just want to focus on other people's lives. But it's not about them. It's all about me. Right? In a sense these stories are my distracting blue/black/whatever coloured-dress. They are the things that can distract from what I need to do this lent. These stories, and the people in them, need to be prayed for, by me, but I need to be able to pray as I ought first. Pray first, confront them afterwards. Then pray again.

And then, after truly praying, I notice something else.

It's actually not at all about me.

Thank you Lord.

Daddy Fans

I know, I know, it's like I've just dropped off the face of the blogging earth. Thankfully, whenever I do, Dan is there to pick up the slack. And that's why we share the blog, folks. 

I have so much mish-mash going on in my head and at least 3 different unfinished blog drafts behind the scenes over here that I'm not quite sure where to start and what to say. But this is perhaps my favourite thing going on here of late...

As you know, Dan had his "spring" break last week. The boys loved it. They were so excited to have Daddy home all day long. 

On occasion, Joseph will ask me, "Why does Daddy have to go back to school after lunch?" Meanwhile, John Paul goes nuts when Dan comes in the door for lunch every day. "Da, Da, Da!" he yells, trying desperately to spin himself around in his high chair to see his Daddy. John Paul is stinkin' mad if we don't get him out of his high chair promtly after lunch so that he can go to Daddy for a little bit before he leaves. We are so spoiled having him home in the middle of each day.

But nothing beats a week-long (or summer long) break.

Our boys are HUGE Daddy fans. 

Mommy is good to have around when you need something to eat, or need your diaper changed, or need a nap, but if you want to have FUN you really need Daddy.

It's not that Dan doesn't feed, change, or put kids to bed, either. It's just that these little boys don't seem to think of those necessities in life so long as they are busy with Daddy. It's only when they see me that their bellies start to growl. 

So last week was fun. The boys did lots and lots of their favourite things: make music, play Lego, do puzzles, build snow forts and slides, eat junk food, read books. All with Daddy.

In the morning when they got up, they were delighted to find that Daddy was eating oatmeal at home with us instead of leaving for work. After lunch, they were so happy to find that Daddy wasn't going back to work for the afternoon. 

John Paul refused to go down for decent naps because he knew there was so much fun being had behind his back. Or he would only go to sleep when completely exhausted and his Daddy rocked and sang to him.

Joseph was ticked off when he found out that Daddy had gone to the basement and worked out by himself while Joseph was napping. How dare he!

John Paul would groan and grouch if Joseph and Daddy were in the basement without him until I carried him over the gate and down the stairs. Then, he would put up a huge display when he entered the room to announce his arrival and demand their attention.

Joseph would wander around looking like a little lost doggy and whining about needing someone to help him build/fix/find Lego creations. Dan would go and spend an hour sitting on his bedroom floor with him making a fork-lift. 

John Paul would crawl around searching for Daddy and Joseph; finding they'd excluded him from their Lego fun, he'd bang on the door yelling at them until they let him in. Or he'd go to bed at night (with Mommy) only to elude sleep and emerge again, gloriously happy, to snack on apples with Daddy and Joseph.

Joseph would demand Daddy play "Try your best" on the organ or in the basement with drums. With much fanfare, Dan would pound out the song, with two little boys on accompanying vocals and much running and shouting, "Montreal Canadiens!" 

It was like this all week long. Whatever Daddy does, so too his boys. They had to tag along all week long. They are his biggest fans!

Here's a little video of some outside fun with our snow-slide:

Lenten Reading

A little while back I spoke on how I would have more time for reading this lent. Well I've finished my first book! No, it wasn't the bible. Nor the Imitation of Christ. And not any St. John of the Cross either. I finished the book written by Don Cherry: Straight Up & Personal: The World According to Grapes.

You see, back at Christmas my mom put a gift wrapped book under the tree. All of us kids (yes, I know, I'm 31) were to guess what the book was. If we guessed it correctly, the book was ours. The only hint we were given was: "His favourite picture is a picture of Jesus," Needless to say, we didn't have a clue. We were guessing books by Pope Francis, or Benedict, or even Mr. Perfect, Raymond Arroyo. But after Midnight Mass, sure enough, we were shocked to uncover Cherry's book. And yes, there is a picture in the book of Grapes (Cherry) holding his favourite picture, that of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Here is a very brief review for you: the book is excellent and you should read it.

Love him or hate him, he is anything but boring. The book is more or less Don telling stories of the past. The stories are clean (he always does this, just in case kids pick up his book). Did you know that Bobby Orr's dad gave up an NHL career in order to join the army during WWII? Or that Coach's Corner once saved a guy's life? He was supposed to go to the barn to check on the animals, but delayed it by five minutes in order to watch Coach's Corner... and the barn collapsed at that very moment he should've been out there had he not watched it.

A neat part for me in the book was when Cherry, who has played or coached in something like 57 different cities, was asked who is the greatest player to ever play without making the NHL. You see, back in the old days, with only 6 NHL teams, there were awful good hockey players who never made the big show. Often some of these guys had the potential to be superstars, but for whatever reason (usually a spat with a coach), they would be exiled to the minor leagues. Well the greatest non-NHL player, according to Cherry, "was a nifty player called Guyle Fielder. He was born in the U.S., I remember, but grew up in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. I have to say, he was a sensational hockey player. He ticked somebody off - again, I never found out who ticked off, but he was one of us in the minor leagues his whole life. [...] Imagine! He won eleven scoring titles, nine in the WHL, which is just a step below the NHL, and never got a shot."

A quick google search reveals that Fielder, who is still alive, is third all time in professional hockey points scored, behind only two guys by the name of Gretzky and Howe. Also, the Guyle Fielder award is handed out annually to the top point getter in the WHL. Yep, Guyle Fielder, raised in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. Now I grew reading hockey history in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, but I had never heard of him before. I feel ashamed. Maybe I'll teach my students about him at school.

Anyway, clearly this has been some edifying lenten reading. Truth be told, though, if there is one underlying theme throughout the whole book it is this: the good Lord takes what are supposed to be downers in life and makes good come from it. As Don says: "As I look back on all of my firings and misfortune, I know the Lord was helping me through. I did not realize it at the time. God works in mysterious ways. He's a wonder to behold."

Amen Grapes.

Amen.

Porky Morkies

So I was just sitting there, minding my own business, drinking my morning coffee. Morning coffee is a blessing from the good Lord. I hear Joseph chatting in the other room. Nothing unusual. He never shuts up. Last night at Mass Fr. Tuyen asked, during his homily, if anyone had ever seen the new-ish Noah movie. Joseph, who was busy talking to himself while reading a book, shouted out "Yes!" He said yes because of something he liked in his book. But everyone in the church laughed. Father then nervously suggested to Joseph that the movie might've been too scary for him. Secretly I'm sure he was thinking "what kind of parents let their three year old watch a movie like that?"

Anyway, he's chatting away in the other room. He then approaches me with a sweet: "Dad, do you want to come play Porky Morkies with me?" 

"Um, ok."

Away we go.

"Here dad, we'll play Porky Morkies!" John Paul is already there, having joined in the fun long ago. "You take these Porky Morky blocks. You have to throw them over [the guitar stand] and they have to come back under." He's getting really excited and speeding up his chatter. 

"Here, you throw them like this!" He whips a block at the wall window. Sure enough, it bounces back and roles underneath the guitar stand. He takes the block again. Whips it hard. It hits the window and bounces back. "Uh hoh!! How's that good!"

I then take a Porky Morky. I try back-spinning it, instead of hitting the wall. It doesn't work. Joseph then chucks another one. Three in a row! He tells me excitedly, "I get a Lorie for that!"

He runs to the open box and grabs a tool. "I get a Lorie for the Porky Morkies!"

"Wow, good job Joseph!"

We play for a little while longer, until I suspend the game on account of fear. Fear of him breaking my wall and window.

Not discouraged, Joseph then asks: "Do you want to play Morees with me? They're like little papers... and pins... first you have to....."

I go back to my coffee.

I'm all Porky Morkied out.

Ensuing Chaos

Lenten checklist

Decide what to sacrifice:      Check

Get some good holy books to read:        Check

Plan for extra prayer time:        Check

Threaten to sue Catholic blogger because he hurt your feelings:       Check


And thus you have a look at the inside world of Fr. Thomas Rosica. Papal spokesman. Head of Salt and Light T.V. If you haven't heard yet, he is threatening to sue Canadian Catholic blogger Vox Cantoris over defamation. Vox was criticizing some public things Rosica has said, and in particular things Rosica has said as a Papal spokesman. Now I read Vox from time to time. I disagree with Vox on certain things, such as his hinting that Pope Francis might consider changing Church doctrine (though Vox has certainly backed off on this lately). All in all though, Vox is a blog, Vox says opinions, Vox loves the TLM, Vox plays music while you read. Don't like it? Don't read it. Done.

To have a priest, a Catholic priest, sue Vox Cantoris opens Pandora's box. Will Lifesitenews sue Fr. Rosica because he referred to them as the Catholic taliban? Is that not defamation? What about suing U.S. Catholic blogger Mark Shea? He's the grumpiest of bloggers I know. Certainly he could be sued a thousand times over for all the mean things he has written. And should not Cardinal Burke be suing every liberal Catholic blogger on the planet? Cardinal Burke takes more abuse from people than anyone else. Or Pope Francis? I'm sure he could find a few people to sue, in his spare time. Does this not sound absurd? Why, then, is Fr. Rosica suing? And where is Rosica getting the money to sue? His order (of which the late Fr. Kennedy would sadly tell me there was nothing good left to speak of with the Basilians)? From Salt and Light/CCCB? From Rome? From his own personal stash of money?

*    *    *

Yet all of these one liners I write don't really get at the heart of the dysfunctional situation we see unfolding before us. Something is amiss. Let me see if an analogy can make any sense on the situation.

When I took my current teaching position I was sent to a new teacher's workshop. At the workshop we had a mini-session concerning social media. We were told in no uncertain terms that anything we do on social media, be it twitter, facebook, or whatever, we did as an employee of the school division. We represent our work, even in our personal life. We were then given some legal examples of people in other businesses who lost everything because they thought their personal accounts were free-range.

Now suppose I started spouting off something on social media that hinted of dissent to my role as a teacher. You know, things such as attendance at school should be optional, or reading is overrated, or that corporal punishment is actually a good thing. What would happen? I would have a very uncomfortable face-to-face meeting with the superintendent of human resources. I would probably be read the riot act. But I might get a second chance.

Rosica lately has been saying troubling things on Twitter. Well, not so troubling if you understand that he is a huge fan of ex-priest and known dissenter Gregory Baum, but troubling nonetheless. For instance, he's stated that the Holy Family was an "irregular" family. He's passed on an article by Cardinal Wuerl in response to "Cardinal Burke (and dissenters)" thereby insinuating that Cardinal Burke is a dissenter. And he's passed on an article by an African bishop who supports the idea for communion for those divorced and living in an adulterous situation. Is that Rosica's opinion? Well, that doesn't matter. What matters is that he is passing this on while acting as a Papal spokesman. He is insinuating things while holding an influential position of power. Long story short, he should've had a face-to-face chat with his superintendent of human resources, Fr. Lombardi, long ago.

But this seems to never happen.

Well then, here we get to the latest development. A blogger has called Rosica out for some of this. Rosica spouts public opinions, a blogger publicly denounces this. It's not fun being publicly denounced, but it's the risk you take by being outspoken. Let's go back to my teacher analogy.

Suppose a parent reading my alleged twitter suggestions regarding things such as corporal punishment publicly rants about me on facebook. Yes, parents publicly rant about their teachers on facebook. What should I do? First things first, I should attempt to talk with the parent. If need be, have my principal around while I do so. The first thing is to always try and solve the situation through discussion. Now in such a meeting I as the teacher may have to admit some guilt in what I said, and promise to amend it. However, if the situation is not resolved, it is then time to get other people involved, possibly some division or union personnel. We do whatever it takes to resolve the situation peacefully. But in the end, if the parent keeps going off on me publicly, there's always the legal route.

However, suppose that I skip most of these steps, and simply threaten to sue the parent? I can tell you I would be meeting with my superintendent and director of education right away. The situation would get messy in a hurry. Suing a parent? For what? Huh? What precedent are we setting here? What on earth are you doing? Here, take a mandatory leave of absence for personal reasons. It all sounds absurd.

Yet this is what is going on. Vox is reportedly shocked by the threat of a lawsuit. Therefore it seems no attempts at dialogue have been made. Now I wonder, are Rosica's bosses, the superintendent - Fr. Lombardi, and even the director of education - Pope Francis, having that meeting with him at the moment. I certainly hope so. I'm skeptical, perhaps. But I certainly hope so.

*    *    *

Yet all analogies ultimately fail. Comparing a priest to a teacher is ultimately foolish. There is a spiritual dimension that is overlooked. Priests have an infinitely higher standard than teachers. They are spiritual fathers. While parents in a sense entrust their children's intellectual and personal development to me, people entrust their eternal souls to priests. Priests take way too much abuse I'm sure (so do teachers). But priests have a spiritual mission to undertake. One that demands they be Christ-like. They are guaranteed crosses. They are guaranteed to be hated. They are guaranteed to be attacked. And yet they choose so freely. Priests need thick skin. They need to put on big boy pants. And priests need to be close to Jesus, to the point of actually being Jesus. This is why those like Pope Francis and Cardinal Burke don't begin disputes by threatening lawsuits. They understand the mission of a priest.

To summarize, at the heart of all this is the fact a Catholic priest is suing because he doesn't like what was publicly said of him. It never should have come to this; there is a failure in the hierarchy of the Church (Rosica's boss). But now that it has, we are living in dangerous times. I'm not asking for priests to be punching bags. If they don't like what is said, by all means confront the person privately. But I'm asking for priests to be Christ-like. If suing a faithful Catholic blogger is Christ-like, and yes Rosica still in a sense represents the Church in this lawsuit, then frankly I'm afraid to be Catholic. Who's next? Not me I hope.

May the Holy Spirit, the true Advocate (i.e. Lawyer) help this poor Church.

Lenten Checklist Update

Pray daily for our Church:       Check

Mommy Blog: Daddy Style

I most definitely wasn't planning on writing a, as Becca calls it, "mommy blog" tonight. But anger, that neutral passion which nevertheless must be controlled, forbids me from writing about what I really want to, namely Fr. Rosica and his threat of a lawsuit on a Catholic blogger. Also, I would love to delve in on the latest survey for the upcoming synod. But it ticks me off too much at the moment. What's that saying about doing the same thing but expecting different results?... Nope. Not going there. Instead, it's a mommy blog, daddy style.

So this is a scattered recount of my week off thus far. 

To begin, here's John Paul being a goofball while he eats. And boy oh boy can that boy eat. I have a feeling we may need a second income soon to feed him and Joseph (who went back for seconds and thirds tonight at supper). Thankfully teachers have a new contract in store here, which doesn't keep up to the cost of inflation, of course, but at least it's something. Whoops, I'm rambling. Here's the picture:

We went to Nipawin on Sunday. We ate most of their food. Then we skated. Finally we went inside and ate the rest of their food. I know, I know, another picture of Joseph on the rink. But look at him! He loves it!

We played a mini hockey game. It was Grandpa, Becca, and Joseph vs. Rheanne, myself, and John Paul. That's right. I had to hold him for the entire game. My poor back! Did I mention he eats a lot? Well he screeched and drooled the entire game. The drool then froze to his face. But that's ok. At least his face froze in the shape of a smile.

When we got in, as mentioned earlier, we dug into some more food. Chips all around, and beers for the men.

On Monday afternoon we drove to Saskatoon. First time since November. John Paul hates driving. Bleh. Anyway, we were very very thankful to be able to stay at Elaine and Brendan's before heading out to shop the next day. Going to Saskatoon just to shop is the worst. The traffic is nuts. The boys are cranky. And the money drains away too quickly. To be able to visit before shopping truly makes the trip enjoyable.

Well Uncle Brendan has the magic touch. He had John Paul just snuggling up to him. John Paul NEVER does that with me. He'll hit me, or drool on me, or try to eat my nose, but he won't snuggle on me. I'm just a little jealous.

Joseph had a wonderful time with Catherine.

And he loved playing with Michael ('s toys) too.

The shopping part of the trip was far less successful. We were banking on getting some stuff at Costco for our upcoming bathroom renovation. As you may know, Costco is hit and miss. Well on Tuesday they were far more miss than hit. Pathetic inventory, to say the least. We did manage to pick up some flooring for the bathroom though. And we stalked up on Craisins. And socks. Lots of socks. Socks for everyone.

The real winner was actually Target. Their clearance sales were at 30%. Not great, but just good enough, plus it meant there were items in stock. We picked up a hockey stick for me, a picture frame for our living room, as well as two nice stand up lamps for the living room (we've had a heck of a time finding nice affordable ones). We also found out the hard way that their shopping carts lock down on you if you were foolish enough to try and take them out of the store. All in all, we nearly enjoyed our first, and last, shopping experience there.

What would be a break without some DIY project? We (I) painted the six basement doors and trim. They were an ugly shade of red/brown before. The paint really freshens the place up. Here Joseph is showing you his paint brush.

Then the inspector generals arrived.

Adding to my work has been a forklift project that Joseph and I have been working on the past two weeks. You see, the problem is that I don't have my technic lego with me. I can't find it anywhere. So it's been a struggle to make the forklift operate properly. But we persevered, and so here it is.

It doesn't seem like much, but it was really finicky.

Joseph insisted I put it up to the window for a picture. If you look closely, you'll see a bird.





Or you could just look at this picture.

Finally, it's lent. It's been a tough start too, if you can imagine. We're in withdrawal of certain things, like T.V. So here are some books that will keep me occupied at night.

Before you laugh at the Don Cherry book, to be 100% honest with you, it already has been more inspiring and faith filled than last year's daily lenten meditation book that our church was giving away. Go figure.

That's enough for now. You know what? I don't feel angry anymore! So... about this Rosica guy... Whoops. Sorry. Angry again!

Time to sleep.

Try Your Best

Joseph is hockey CrAzY! He got his first hockey stick when he was not quite 4 months old. And he's been playing mini-sticks almost as long. But this year, wow! 

Dan already told you all about his new obsession with "Try your best" and the Montreal Canadiens. It hasn't abated, just grown in intensity. Now he's in training so he can be a Montreal Canadien and win the Stanley Cup!

We've been skating at Grandpa's rink in Nipawin about 4 or 5 times this winter. Initially, Joseph was frustrated with his lack of progress and, wanting to just play hockey, resorted to his boots after some tough skating. But then something clicked. Now, he is skating the length of the rink, picking himself up when he falls, and loving every moment of ice time.

"

"High" School

There is no "spring break" around here like there is traditionally in many places. Instead there is a wintry and cold February break. Still though, the results are pretty much the same. Thus far we have seen the usual craziness one would expect. There have been people who are high all over the place. People throwing up left, right, and centre. "Love" has been freely thrown around, without anyone truly even grasping its concept. In general there has been a complete disrespect and disobedience towards authority. And, of course, the usual traffic jams.

Yes, I speak of Tisdale.

Tisdale Elementary School, to be precise, Tisdale Elementary School on the day a week long break is to begin, and Valentine's Day is to be celebrated.

Kids, by the hundreds, running around the school on sugar highs.

Some eating so many cupcakes that they threw up.

Valentine's Day cards with the word "Love" freely distributed to all, even if nobody understands why.

Complete meltdowns and trouble making that has gone against the teacher's authority.

The principal's office was a traffic jam of kids to say the least.

Yes, it was a TES Valentine's special today. I'm not sure how it came to be either. Parents simply send their kids with cartons, even multiple cartons, of cupcakes, chocolates, candies, and cards. I gasped in amazement as I came in from my before school supervision to behold two back tables full of goodies. Every other classroom was the same. None of the teachers asked for goodies to be brought. They just showed up. Like an unwanted guest. Who "borrows" your robe and slippers. And then the day was a complete write off.

I've heard rumours that the school once suggested to parents that Valentine's Day should not be a candy-fest at school, but that this idea was angrily shot down. Valentine's Day is a sacred rite in our society. So too is St. Patrick's Day. I guess both inspire rowdy behaviour.

And it starts at an early age.



Oh, and by the way, if you're reading this on February 14th, happy feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Child-like Reverence for the, er, Divine

At 10 months, we're beginning to see glimpses of John Paul's own little developing personality. He scrunches up his little nose and eyes and grins with all four pearly whites proudly showing, all the while making funny in-and-out noises with his breath. He's a goofball and never needs an excuse to laugh. Through and through, he is a boy: he "brrrms" his cars around, growls and groans as he lifts things, gets himself into all kinds of trouble, and can't for the life of him hold still. 

The non-stop mover doesn't stop for anything, not even Mass. Usually, Dan or I spend the majority of Saturday evening Mass at the back of the church with John Paul as he crawls around examining everything. 

He loves the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I hold him up to Jesus and whisper, "Jesus." John Paul grins and puts his hand onto Jesus' outstretched hand, gently touching the mark of the nail in His palm. "Sheesus," he says. And for a short 30-seconds, he holds still, caught in the moment. He gazes up at Jesus and his eyes light up when I switch on the twinkling lights around the alcove.

After the rosary tonight, I walked John Paul around the darkened living room, attempting to quiet his wiggles and ready him for bed. I show him the icons of Jesus and Mary, lighted by a few flickering candles. I whisper their names and he smiles and points to them, whispering too. We walk to the large crucifix on the opposite wall. With reverence and child-like simplicity, he reaches out to touch Jesus' feet and whispers again. 

I marvel at the beauty of a little child, not yet 1-year-old, who seems to "get" the Divine. He knows this is special, he loves Jesus in his own way, and somehow we're helping to foster reverence in him from this young age. 

A few moments pass as he gazes in awe at the cross. Then, he turns to the hallway and points to where another picture hangs. With the same adoring gaze and reverent whisper, he says, "Sheesus"... 

...to a beautiful little painting of some grain bins.

DINKs with Kids

I'm not overly proud of that title. But you gotta do what you gotta do to get attention when writing.

Can one be a DINK at heart, even with children? I think so. By DINK of course I mean: Dual Income No Kids. You know DINKS right?  Why? What were you thinking? Grow up already! And I don't mean those couples who can't have children. Some couples who are unable to have children are heroic in how they carry on, and give of their time and resources. I mean the ones who choose not to have children, and then go spend all their loads of money on themselves.

I ask this straw-man question because of a reality TV show that Becca and I have been watching every Sunday night since Christmas. The show, which ended this past Sunday, is called House of Bryan: In the Sticks. In it one of our favourite house renovators/TV personalities, Bryan, decides to move his family from Oakville, ON, into a home out "in the sticks." Not really what we'd call "the sticks," but moving from Oakville to a secluded spot surrounded by horses and fields is as good as it gets there. So Bryan and his wife, who actually have four kids, buy a giant, but outdated, house in the country and then plan to build an addition on it. The episodes show the struggles of building while still living in the attached house. There are many stressful times (ex. leaking roof, damaging storms, etc), but also many joyous moments as well (ex. bringing in chickens). Well, as mentioned, the show ended with the grand unveiling of the new addition.

Yes, that is the house. That tiny little thing on the right is actually the old mansion. The whole thing is so over the top. It is both magnificent and utterly incomprehensible.

"So..." you ask, "what about this DINK thing?"

Look, Bryan and his family seem very nice. Bryan seems like a guy anyone would want to be friends with. They have four kids too, which in these sad times seems somewhat of a miracle. But... and yes, "who am I to judge?"... Bryan and his wife come off as DINKS at heart. They love their kids. They love them immensely. Allegedly the whole purpose for their move to the country was to allow their kids a better environment to grow up in. Really, it's anything but DINKdom.

And then they revealed the kids' rooms on Sunday.

Did I say rooms? Sorry. I meant palace suites that are just possibly too good for the royal family. We're talking bedrooms that you'd feel guilty walking into without first showering for an hour and then dressing up in a tux and top hat. Plush. Expensive to the max. Top of the line. All for the kids. Now two of the girls have the misfortune of having to share their own bathroom. Thankfully there are two sinks for them. The others... nope. No sharing. All for you. Two of the rooms, further still, are separated by a play room which to get into you first have to open the priciest antique doors. Yeah, antique doors leading to a playroom. And then there's the boy's room with the accent wall composed of reclaimed barn board$. All in all, to borrow an Aquinas analogy: as Becca and I prepare to look for bathroom supplies next week in preparation for a new reno project, I can't help but think anything we buy will seem like straw next to what we have seen.

DINKS at heart. In other words, while they love all of their kids immensely (again, I'm not judging them... relax!), they seem to miss the point. Kids don't really care about all that fancy stuff. It doesn't make them any happier. I think of Joseph in his room right now. The walls are missing chunks of paint, the floor is installed improperly, there's an old small shelf for his books. A blue tub for his/MY lego. And he's using my old dresser that I used when I was a little boy. Complete with the Estevan, SK - CJSL Country am780 Music Station stickers. But he's happy. He doesn't care. Kids don't really care, or shouldn't really care.

I think Bryan and his wife are going overboard for their kids, but in reality they are projecting themselves into these rooms. I think these high end suites are more for them than they are for their kids. They are DINKS at heart. Spending money foolishly; spending on their own concept of a perfect life.

But this misses the mark. There is an element of sacrifice in parenthood. I'm sure they've experienced it immensely. But sacrifice of your own money to create an unnecessary and over the top children's suite is the wrong kind of sacrifice. What is needed is sacrifice in teaching your children how to sacrifice. To not give them what you think they would like is itself a sacrifice. But it is a sacrifice that in turn teaches the kids how to also live a sacrifice. Where there is no sacrifice, there is only the appearance of self-giving. There is only DINKdom.

To conclude, sorry Bryan, in this instance I have to call you out for your extravagant house.

Now you can call me out for my poorly finished house. In my own way I guess I'm a DINK

Dwelling Incomplete, No Knowledge.

Blizzards All Around

It was a week for blizzards. Sort of.

First, the big news around Tisdale is that our Dairy Queen has finally opened! It opened Tuesday morning. The weather was 42 below with the wind at the time, but hey, a blizzard is a blizzard. I think I'll wait my time before checking out the new place. Likely the Easter Season.

Secondly, it snowed again yesterday and today! We got about another foot. It snowed a bunch last weekend as well. And no, we don't have snow days here. I actually had never even heard of a snow day until I moved to Ontario. Anyway, I spent a good chunk of my afternoon shoveling us out.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I finished in time for the boys to come out and enjoy the upgraded snow pile and snow fort.

Actually, Joseph needed some help waking up first, so John Paul was happy to oblige.

We then headed outside for some fun in the sun (though it was about 25 below).

 

Our fort! I think it's bigger than last year's.

Finally, the last blizzard (well, not really...). All this talk of snow is great! But we know many people who are headed to, or are already in, Florida to enjoy some fun in the slightly warmer sun. So Joseph was asking me about what his one grandma (the other is already there) is going to do in Florida. I was explaining to him about Legoland and DisneyWorld. We then went on the internet and watched some videos of these places. We first watched a little video on the Legoland and the waterpark that is there. We then watched one on DisneyWorld and this awesome looking waterpark there called Blizzard Beach. Joseph was pretty excited about these videos, and so he made me help build his own lego waterpark. He was looking for a lego person that looked like grandma (to go down the waterslide), but he had to settle for another figure. I think he picked his Grandpa Millette lego person (who is not going to Florida).

 For those of you in Florida, or are heading there shortly (Jerks!...), have fun at Blizzard Beach and all those places.

As for us, we'll settle for our own blizzards here. What could be finer!

 

Points to Ponder: Feb. 6, 2015 Edition

Another work week done. Time to sit back and reflect.


1) Full Moon
There was a full moon this week. A full moon is a teacher's nightmare. For whatever reason, the kids go off the chart crazy. However, it wasn't so much the kids this time around as it was the parents. Parents complaining about things like their child missing out on a 20 minute chunk of English Language Arts for something, but then these same parents taking their kids away and missing an entire day of school for a skating competition. There's just no way to really deal with some of the things that are complained about. You just shake your head, offer it up, and pretty well ignore them. Didn't a wise man once say something about "haters gonna hate"?

2) Try Your Best
Surely you must know the song "Fix You" by Coldplay. It's a song I could listen to day after day and never, ever, get tired of it. The song begins with the words "When you try your best but you don't succeed..." and so Joseph calls the song "Try Your Best." Well a few years ago the Montreal Canadiens would come onto the ice to that song. It was simply breathtaking (Montreal just does things like this the right way). I was showing Joseph an older video of this, thinking he might like it. We were playing hockey in the basement at the time. I didn't realize he would become obsessed with it. Everyday he needs to hear that song and re-create himself, as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, skating onto the ice. He even makes me say at the song's crescendo, in the famous Bell Centre announcer voice, "Mesdames et Messieurs... le Montreal... Canadiens!"



We also play the song with our instruments. I quickly had to learn it on the organ (there's organ in it) and he plays his guitar. The drumming comes from the organ as well. We "sing hard," as Joseph would say.

But the moral of the story is this: I think Joseph is in love with the Montreal Canadiens! He was even begging me to buy him a jersey. Any faithful blog readers with deep pockets want to consider this? Anyone? No? Oh well, I thought I would try my best.


3) Roughriders
I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting a little bit nervous about my other beloved team, the Riders. It's not that they don't have a good, or even great, team this upcoming year. They have a tremendous core with guys like Durant, Dressler, Brackenridge, and Chick. The problem is that these guys aren't getting any younger. We're really going to need some new stars to take over in the next year or so. Sure, that's all fine and good. My worry, though, is that the GM seems to have trouble discovering good young talent. He's good at identifying useful veterans, and even great NFL cast-off players, but at some point we need more youth, otherwise it will be a rough ride.

Sorry, yes I did just use a "rough ride" pun. I blame the full moon.


4) Mold
Joseph the other day while we were watching a home building show: "Are they going to find mold in their basement?" It was totally out of the blue, yet could have made sense in the context of the show we were watching. Yikes he picks up on our house renovation talk around here! He'll be a workerman for sure some day.

5) JPGM
As for John Paul, he's still discovering the ins and outs of houses. Why today I'm told he had to discover toilets. So he snuck into the bathroom and dipped his hand right in. Good experience for later workerman projects.


6) Death of Canada
I write all this other stuff to more or less ignore in my mind what happened today with our Supreme Court. Legalizing euthanasia. Evil such as this does not happen overnight, obviously. There are so many things that have contributed to this. Weak church. Weak people. Complacency. Satan. It's sickening, but not surprising.

Every morning our school sings "O Canada." For me I always pause in my mind when we sing "God keep our land glorious and free." I just love it. It's my chance to pray in a public school.  And I have a certain amount of defiance in my head as I sing it. "Take that liberals... I'm publicly praying for my country, right here, right now, and there's nothing you can do about it (...yet)!" But though proud to sing and pray for my country... today was bad. Very bad. Let's just leave it at that for now.


7) Cheers
Ok, time to cheer up. Did you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday? If not, you can stop reading. If you did, enjoy some of these memes!

Ok, point taken.