Exorcisms, Valentine's Day, and Renovations: 7 Quick Takes

#1

Site of recent exorcism.

This story about an exorcism got quite a bit of traction in the blogosphere this week.

#2 

Fr. Dwight Longenecker blogger at Standing on my Head

Fr. Dwight Longenecker wrote about it and the lessons to be learned…I was especially interested in his comments on the need for Catholic intervention when dealing with evil.

#3 

This was the first exorcism
ever permitted by Bishop Dale Melczek.

Sue Brinkmann at Women of Grace discussed the exorcism, too.

#4

Here's my take over at Deeper Truth Blog.

#5 

On a completely different note, if you need Valentine's Day Ideas, check out Sheila's blog. I highly recommend the Dice Game. Highly.

Did I say highly? Highly.

#6

In all our remodeling we have found School House Electric. We're fantasizing about buying everything, but especially this chandelier. What do you think?

#7 

There are two types of posts that I struggle with my inner critic when I am writing. I am always tempted at some point in the composition or the editing to simply move the entire post to the trash icon. Both of those posts are seemingly unrelated. One type is the ones on evil and its influence on the world. I always hesitate to discuss my background and how it has made me sensitive to such things. It is embarrassing, frankly. The other? It's my marriage advice posts. I struggle with writing those, too. I have the same embarrassed desire to just forget the whole thing. What can you make of that?

Chaos and Learning

School is canceled today. What fun! What chaos! Chaos is fun!

Well, not really, but I'm doing my best to tolerate it with good will and patience. We all are. We're replacing our windows today. Every room has been thrown into disorder as we've had to pull furniture away from the walls to make room for the guys doing the work. The winds are up and it is below freezing outside, too. Dust and cold are blowing in every time a window comes out. It's a real mess.

No kid likes to have chaos in his home, kids with Autism especially so. Simon's doing great. They are all doing great. The noise level is awful, what with the banging and clanging and whirring of various tools and the accompaniment of squeals from over-excited siblings.

At first Simon was giving voice to his characteristic Howl, the noise that says, "I've had enough! I'm drowning everything out until somebody fixes everything!" I had my back-up plan ready, bailing on the situation and taking him out of the maelstrom of noise and confusion to the relative peace and quiet of my mothers'. But first we had to get some stuff squared away and during the delay I noticed he was quieting. Soon his curiosity got the better of him and he began to watch the workers.

The distress soon settled into an intermittent pattern. Now, he's pacing and distracted, but he's coping. I'm proud of him. It may seem strange, but I have changed my mind about rescuing him.

Here's why: we all must learn. We learn best at the edge between the known and the unknown, between comfort and discomfort. Since my son has to learn to deal with a world that distresses him, I have for him today a mild distress for him to cut his teeth on.

If or when his tolerance and patience wanes, we'll clear out, but I don't see it happening any time soon. Whatever else happens, he is going to have a big, fat reward waiting for him at the end of it all. I'm thinking spaghetti for dinner, jumping on his trampoline, and a nice long bath are in store. Stress relief and an "atta boy" for my guy who's putting up with more than we can imagine and doing just fine.

7 Quick Takes with Muffins

1

Goodbye Pope Benedict VIX. Thank you so much for everything. We will miss your guidance and pray for you as you pray for us.

2

A clap of thunder Monday morning announced the arrival of a blizzard that dumped 19 inches of snow for an equivalent of 1.48 inches of rain. It’s not a drought buster but it’s nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it just may be enough to save a whole lot of the winter wheat crop. In addition to that much needed moisture the storm kept my husband safe at home for an unexpected three day weekend. He took advantage of the day by finishing some painting.

3

We have whitewashed horizontal planks with a green wainscot.
The wood countertop is my husband's handiwork.
The whole thing looks like it was original to the farmhouse!

No news on the goat front (she's still pregnant) but the renovation is complete on the bathroom. Due to mold issues we had to take it down to studs and sub floor, so we practically had to rebuild the entire room. We kept the tub, the sink bowl, and the cabinet. Fixtures, flooring, wall material, plumbing, and toilet were all replaced. The total came to $1,000. Not too shabby. My husband does great work, don’t you think?

4

My oldest now has braces. He’s young for it, but two orthodontists recommended it now before the bad bite had a chance to damage two adult teeth. Even with the snow we managed to make it out of the driveway Wednesday to make the appointment. The roads were icy but passable. Afterwards I called for my neighbor’s and my parents’ shopping list and got into the stores to restock the larder a day ahead of the rest of Amarillo. That same neighbor went the next day for an item she’d forgotten to mention for my town run and she waited in line forever. "That was a dumb idea!" she announced in annoyance afterwards.

5

My younger son loves to help with the laundry. He also likes to have everything picked up. Did I mention the Autism? Because that factors in to what happened to my phone the day before yesterday. I’d left my phone lying around after having just filled the washer and was off on another mommy mission (mud containment) when I heard a kerploop from the laundry room. My mom instincts blared an immediate RED ALERT. I rushed to the washer to discover a dolly, some gloves, a hat, and the dog’s ball floating in with the laundry. None of those buoyant items would kerploop, so I dug through the clothes to the bottom and discovered my phone. I tore out the battery and shoved the separate pieces into rice. After drying out in the rice it was a bit quirky yesterday but today it is absolutely fine. In other news, Simon made his way out of Time-Out just fine, too.

6

Speaking of skirting disasters I am going to begin encasing my couch cushions in a durable fabric. I’m basically making fitted pillow cases for everything to try to keep the couches stain free and looking nice-ish with as little effort as possible. Slip covers and five children do not mix. “Slip” being a verb, my slipcovers continually slip off and slip around as I continually reposition them. I’m planning on a way to replace them permanently and that plan involves sewing. The plan also involves a lot of praying and resisting the urge to teach the children new and unique combinations of swear words. Sewing is not one of my talents. I'm actually better at the cursing.

What a misspent youth!

7

Strawberry Banana Muffins
(makes 4 dozen)

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs beaten
1 cup strawberries mashed (thaw if frozen)
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 4 muffin tins. In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients, including spices. In mixer mix eggs, fruit, and oil for two minutes on medium speed. Add dry mixture and stir until moistened. Bake for 20 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick from the center muffins tests clean.