Viking Quest

Going back to Homeschooling, I really want to be more involved in homeschooling this year, and we are really trying hard to make it fun for the boys (especially Evan), so I looked at their books and found out what they were going to be studying to see if I could make a fun lesson for them. To my delight, Evan's history lesson a few weeks ago was on Vikings, so I decided to create a treasure hunt for him to find Viking Facts hidden throughout the house. The Clues were given as videos, and once he found the fact, there was a question on the back of it. The answer to the question was the password for the next video clue. At the end, I created a video clip of Viking Pictures mixed in with video of Evan playing guitar, with the whole thing being set to Led Zeppelin's The Immigrant Song (which is about Vikings!) I had a blast making the thing and at the very end, even put a blooper reel together. I'm going to attempt to post the video clues below. Hopefully they work. Unfortunately I cannot post the final "prize video" due to copyright laws. But here are my video clues and the blooper reel. Enjoy!

Intro and Clue #1

The clue was in the closet, and it was a picture of a runic carving. The password to the next clue was "runic."

Clue #2

The clue was a picture of a Viking Long Ship in the black chest that is visible behind me as I videoed myself. Kim's dad gave us the chest years ago and it is filled with their family tree information and oodles of old pictures. "Long" was the password for the next clue.

Clue #3

The clue was hidden behind the door of the gas valve for the fire place. It was a picture of "Valhalla" which was also the password for the last clue.

Clue #4

The clue was hidden in my guitar case.

Again, I couldn't upload the final video, so use your imagination. After the video came the blooper reel.

The Blooper Reel:

Wake Me Up When September Ends

"Summer has come and passed,
The innocence can never last.
Wake me up when September ends."
--Green Day, "Wake Me Up When September Ends"

I can't believe how quickly time has flown this summer. As September draws to a close, I thought I'd post a quick note on what we did this past month.


First of all, we began the 2009 - 2010 school year! Evan is now in 4th grade and Elliot is in the 1st grade. We needed a better space for our homeschool room, so we decided to make the breakfast area the Homeschool room. This has worked out well. There is more space for all the boys to be in the area at once(Drew is pre-K 4, and he has his own desk and workbook and Dylan is constantly wanting to be near his brothers...the room at the top of the stairs just wasn't fit for that many students), and now Kim has her very own Sewing Room! She has made several nifty little items such as a purse and a coffee thingy that replaces the cardboard one that goes on your Starbucks cup. She's so crafty. Here's a picture of the Homeschool Area for 2009 - 2010. I'll let Kim post a picture of her Sewing Room.

With the start of the school year, so too begins the Cub Scouts. Evan is a Webelos I this year and they've been meeting all summer long. Elliot, however, had his first official Cub Scout meeting and he is just so excited. I've actually volunteered to be an assistant den leader since their den has 15 boys (yikes!) We are gearing up to go camping for the Fall Family Campout in two weeks. Pop will be joining us once again and we look to pick up where we left off. The boys are all so excited and so am I! Here's a picture of Evan and Elliot before Elliot's first Tiger den meeting!

September was a difficult month on the fitness front. I had to accept that I had not adequately trained for the Olympic Triathlon in Dallas, and had to drop out. The blow also hit my ego which responded with hearty case of the "don't wants" for all things fitness related. I did, however, manage to run Monday (small victory). It is all good, though, because now that I am not going to do the Tri, I will be able to go camping as mentioned previously.

And I can't fail to mention the ACTS Retreat. I've been running from it for 3 years but it seems like 10! Thanks to all those who kept nudging me to go because it was wonderful. The Holy Spirit was definitely moving and working in there that weekend. There certainly are no coincidences, and I was certainly meant to be on that exact one. Amazing.

Friends

"Met a man on the roadside crying

Without a friend, there's no denying

you're incomplete, there'll be no finding

looking for what you knew

So anytime somebody needs you

don't let them down, although it grieves you

Someday you'll need someone like they do

looking for what you knew

I'm telling you, now
the greatest thing you ever can do, now

is trade a smile with someone who's blue, now

It's very easy..."

--Led Zeppelin, Friends

Over the past two weeks, I've really noticed just how many great friends we've been blessed with.  And if there is one thing that I'd tell all of our friends, it is this: "Thanks for the inspiration."

The Physical and Spiritual Fitness Connection: Part 1

While training for various events, my mind often turns to the thought of the connection between physical fitness and spiritual fitness, and how preparing for a race is very similar to living our lives on earth as preparation for Heaven.  The more I train, the more I'm convinced that St. Paul was an athlete.

"Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.  Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.  Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.  No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified."  {1 Cor. 9:24-27)

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd start a list of the ways my spiritual fitness is connected to my physical fitness in no particular order.  Maybe you can relate.

1.  It never gets easier.  This is the most obvious one.  Every day I get out there it takes a while before I can find my groove.  Whether it's on the bike or running, I'm amazed how difficult it is for me to get going.  My immediate reaction is to ask, "will this ever get easier?!"  The answer, in short, is "NO!"  When you do it right, exercise should always challenge your limits so you can go farther, faster or longer (more on that with #2 below.)

Likewise, the "race of life" will never get easier as St. Paul has warned us.  Every day we face the temptations of this world and they will never stop.  So, we must push ourselves to be spiritually fit enough to endure these challenges.

2.  To see improvement you have to get out of your comfort zone.  I can't count how many times I've "hit a plateau" in my exercising where no matter what I do, I won't lose any more weight.  This happens in dieting also.  Your body gets used to the routine that you've given it day in and day out and it has adapted and no longer responds as quickly with the weight loss.  The only way to break out of the plateau is to change up your routine and do something your body isn't used to.  For me this means that while running 3 miles at lunch 3 times a week is better than going to eat Thai food, my body is saying, "ho hum."  Note:  this doesn't mean that it's easy!! (See point #1).  I need to spice it up with interval training, speed workouts and the like.  I need to get on the bike more and longer.  I need to get in the water.  I need to change up my diet.  Only then will my body begin to respond again.

I've spoken about being in a spiritual rut before, and maybe you've experienced that as well.  It's the same thing.  When you stay in your comfort zone, it's easy to be lulled into your existence as a Christian.  I'm not trying to discount daily prayers and Sunday Mass, but if all I'm doing is my daily prayers and Sunday Mass, my soul gets bored, and that is the start of a rut.  To get out of my comfort zone, I need to do more:  Pray with my wife, daily Mass a few times a month, Eucharistic Adoration, frequent confession, witnessing, ministering.  These things exercise our spirits and give our souls that boost.

3.  You have to get out there.  Again, this is tied to #2.  I subscribe to Runner's World, and as a member of USAT I receive a quarterly Triathlon magazine.  I also have lots of friends who run and do triathlons and I speak to them often.  But if all I did was read about running and triatlons, or talk to my friends about running and triathlons, it will never get me prepared to actually participate in the event.  Of course it is good to read about it so I can gain motivation, pick up helpful tips, or even spot that newest gadget that I have to have ;), but I still have to actually get out there and run, bike and swim.

It is very similar with my spiritual fitness.  Again, I do not want to discount the importance of reading the Bible or stories of the Saints or inspirational stories and devotionals, or discussing the Faith with our friends.  This is very important.  But once we've read and once we've interacted and have been inspired, we must ACT on that, as St. James has written of:

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.  He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.  But the one who peers into the perfect law 12 of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does."  James 1:23-25

That's all the time I have today.  I'll post more of these as they come to me.  In the mean time, if you can think of some, comment here and let us all in on it.

God Bless and have a wonderful Labor Day Holiday!

ONE

On August 19, 2009, we celebrated Dylan's 1st Birthday. I can hardly believe how quickly this year has gone by! The day of his birthday, we stayed in and baked a cookie cake for (us) him. That weekend, we went to Gran and Pop's to celebrate with the whole family. We had a "brunch" party and it worked out really well. It was a "Monkey" theme (for our little monkey) and the table was decorated for a jungle vibe, complete with a grass skirt and pineapple. Kim baked a delicious quiche, and we had fresh fruit (including bananas, of course) and OJ before digging into monkey-decorated cupcakes.

Afterwards we all went swimming and for the rest of the weekend we just hung out at the farm. Dylan really loves the animals and when we fed the cows and donkeys he really lit up. He is especially fond of Gran and Pop's donkeys, Jack and Jill.

We also visited my Grandmother and Uncle Jerry since they were not able to attend the party. I love Grandma's house, especially her "hall of fame." She has a long hallway going to the bedrooms and both sides of it are covered in family pictures. I have always longed for a house with a hallway so I could have my own "hall of fame." Nowadays, they do not make houses with hallways anymore. I'd settle for a "wall of fame", but our current house doesn't really have a suitable wall for that either...

Back at Gran and Pop's, the boys made Rock and Roll crafts and generally had a blast. It's always so much fun when we go there.

In the weeks since returning home, Dylan has started walking all over the place. We had friends over last night and one of them commented that when Dylan walks he does the "Cabbage Patch". Dylan has also mastered going up and down the stairs properly, so we have gotten rid of the gate guarding the stairs.

Well, that wraps up the month of August for the Williams family. Homeschool starts on Tuesday and we look forward to a great year!