Written in March

by William Wordsworth

The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The plowboy is whooping- anon-anon:
There's joy in the mountains;
There's life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!

Singing

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
And nests among the trees;
The sailor sings of ropes and things
In ships upon the seas.

The children sing in far Japan
The children sing in Spain;
The organ with the organ man
Is singing in the rain.

Daffodils in the Snow

This is what we saw today outside our window - it's almost April! Sam took this photo~

Psalm 8:1-2

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

Mr. Z's

Today we visited a piece of Lombard history, an old-school, locally owned and family run supermarket~
Mary got right to work while we waited for our tour to begin~ We saw the entire store, starting with some old photographs of Mr. Z's throughout the last 80+ years, from Chicago to Lombard~

Look what we found in the produce aisle~

Here we saw how they weigh and package all of their produce (everything is shrink wrapped on trays that we found out are recyclable!) - they generously shared apples and carrots with our bunch at this stop ~

In the stockroom~

On to the deli, where we enjoyed slices of cheese~

Jesus is my homeboy, too (click on picture to enlarge)~

John Paul's first field trip~

On the loading dock~

Packing some meat - blood and guts, mmmmm~

Mr. Z's is know for "the best meat in town", but I had to step out with Mary after not too long~

In the freezer, with ice cream and icicles! ~

Checking out~

This was a great trip. It was interesting to see how much has changed (and how much has stayed the same) over the last century. Everyone was really friendly and each of the kids left with a little goodie bag and balloon. I would recommend this place to anyone in Lombard-for a tour and for groceries :)

My Brother's Keeper

Today Charlie performed in this year's Greenhouse play, "My Brother's Keeper". They explored the pioneer's movement west and conflict with the Native Americans. Here he is as an Irish rioter~

And here he is as a young Cheyenne in the epilogue. He plays the main Indian character's grandson. Charlie performed his monologue beautifully~

He worked very hard and we are so proud of him~

As soon as we got home, though, he wanted to buzz all his hair off (the black dye was spray on, but he was still tired of the length)~

And since the dress rehearsal, Sam caught the drama bug, and has wanted his face painted the last three days - Thursday~

At the Upward's award night-to look like a robot (sorry for the distance) - Friday~

And as an alien - Saturday~

Irish Soda Bread

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we made some Irish Soda bread to have with our corned beef and cabbage. Grandpa had dinner with us, too!

Maybe by this time next year, Charlie will be playing on actual bagpipes (he's still on the chanter, but he did just start with a new instructor).

Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Innocent

This entire week, my camera has been missing. I was so sure Sam had left it at the Greenhouse, after making this video with Tegan~


We searched high and low, made many phone calls, and sent several emails. There were even a few tears. I had finally resigned myself to the fact that my camera (which I use on an almost daily basis) was gone :( When I walked into Upward this morning, Charlie, who had brought Sam in, ran up to me with a lovely woman telling me they had found my camera (!), and identified the owner from this picture~
My heart sang! Sam and Charlie were thrilled - Sam gave me a thumbs up from the court. And later today got right down to the business of film making again ~

In other words, someone besides the children lost the camera.

The Saints and Poets

I love these boys (tonight at bedtime)~

And someone who doesn't get nearly enough attention~

"But, just for a moment now we're all together. Mama, just for a moment we're happy. Let's really look at one another!...I can't. I can't go on.It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another. I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed...Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every,every minute?" from Thornton Wilder's "Our Town"