I'll have the double Espresso IV drip, please...

Bret fell off a ladder while putting up gutters last week and sprained his ankle, so he has had to slow down for a few days, which is good for Gemma, who keeps handing Papa books to read (the boys crowd around, too, as you can see).  Me?  I'm having another action-packed week.  I say that knowing that most weeks are like that and every Friday I rub my eyes and say, "Huh?  What happened?  You mean it's not Tuesday?"

On Sunday we had a lovely Mass with a wonderful homily.  We get seriously spoiled by the homilies we get from the Fathers of Mercy, as they are mission priests and preaching is what they do.  Of course, their homilies are not for those who are impatient, have short attention spans or really wiggly toddlers, as they run no less than 30 minutes.  Anyway, it was very good, and you can listen to their homilies on their website.

We had one of the Fathers over on Sunday for dinner, and it was very pleasant and relaxed. We made chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips for dessert (he'd liked our homemade chocolate ice cream last time he visited), and then he sheepishly told us that he's given up chocolate for a year as a sacrifice!  We were going to pick up something else, but he wouldn't allow it...

We have started easing back into a school day again, although this week is full of interruptions, and I am still lacking some of our books.  No bother--I used to be hyper-organized, and after years of being a stickler for schedules and charts,  I find that as I approach age 50 this year, I am rebelling against all of it.  I do need to come up with at least a menu plan, though, as I really hate never knowing what I'm doing for dinner!

Anyway, tomorrow and Thursday are appointments, and tomorrow Bret's cousin is passing through with his wife and will stop for a visit.  So we'll squeeze in what school we can.

I have been trying as well to keep up with my own pursuits, but I think it will be difficult.  I may be able to stick with the online French and squeeze in a little writing now and then, but I think some of my reading and other things will have to be dropped in deference to the education of the kids.  And I need to make time, at least in the van, for knitting again, as Christmas is only a few months away!  Isn't that a scary thought?

I couldn't resist posting a photo of my friend Debbie's little girl, Celeste.  Isn't she precious?  She is having a fourth eye surgery tomorrow, so if you could kindly say a prayer that all goes well for her, I would appreciate it and so would her mom, dad and 8 siblings!