7-quick takes – the Memorial Day – Prom edition

Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary

1. I think I have written before that my father-in-law was a very sweet man, a good husband and father, and very devout in his faith. He was also a WWII veteran. When I asked Mr. Pete about his father’s service, he said that he didn’t really know much about it except that his dad was a scout for Patton and that he had seen action in Europe and Africa before he was finally wounded in France. When my sister-in-law asked him once why he didn’t have reunions with his war buddies the way other dads did, he said it was because none of his war buddies from his unit made it back from the war. But the war didn’t define him and he lived his life with grace and a lot of humor before his sudden death decades later from an old war injury that left shrapnel near his pericardium.

2. I liked him because he had such a great sense of humor and was always so kind to me. One of my memories involving my father-in-law involved Bingo at our Catholic High School to raise funds. Our high school, Luke M. Powers Catholic High School, had bingo every Saturday night to help pay off the building debt. My FIL frequently ran the kitchen on BINGO nights. I remember when I was still in high school getting dressed up to go on a date with Mr. Pete and for some reason before we left for our date, we stopped by the high school kitchen. The first words out of Mr. LaVictoire’s mouth when he saw us was, “Oh thank goodness!!” Because it seemed that his kitchen help for the night didn’t show up. So instead of going on a date, Mr. Pete and I hawked hot dogs, sausages, and cold drinks all night in the smokey BINGO hall. I probably remember this because I was wearing high heels and was on my feet all night! Still, I remember how grateful my future FIL was and in looking back I’m glad we were able to help.

3. I blogged about my Pentecost craft and then I never quite got it finished and posted. Well that’s because on Pentecost Sunday there were games to ref and a concert to play and then all week there was something! So I didn’t get it actually lit and photographed until yesterday, Trinity Sunday! Still Mr. Pete and the kids liked it. Mr. Pete said he appreciated seeing the flames floating over the heads of the apostles, just like Pentecost! Since my bowl held up this year, I decided that this is going to be a great little dish to have on all Apostolic feast days! I can just fill it with candy, or appropriate treat depending on the apostle!

4.  For about six years now, my family has been participating in a Christian Soccer League that meets on Saturdays at a local park.  We used to pass this group playing in the park on our way to regular “official” soccer games run by our “official” soccer league.  And I’ll admit they seemed very innocent and not as competitive and having too much of a good time – I’m ashamed to admit that we sort of laughed at them and by “we” I mean me.  Because after all, I was taking my kids to two or more practices a week and then driving all over Northeast Ohio to obscure soccer fields and was paying a fortune in gas and for fees and equipment. There were times I just didn’t know how we were going to handle paying for all of it.

Then when Sam got to be high schooled age and still home schooled and I knew the local high schools weren’t going to let him play sports, I took a closer look at this little Christian Soccer League, did some digging around and found out how to put him on a team.  And we loved it.  We loved the coaches and the players and the families.  It was just great.  So the next year, instead of shelling out $300 plus to put our kids onto the regular soccer leagues, we paid a fraction of that to put them into this league.

And then Pete started to coach.
And then Pete offered to store all of the goals and nets and flags.
And then Pete and I started striping the fields every week before the games.

And now we will be the new leaders for the League starting this fall.

This is how God continues to keep me humble.

oh and Noah and Gabe’s team won the championship yesterday.

5. In fact God has let me eat my own words in a big way several times. Like the “Homeschooling is stupid, what kind of idiot would ever want to do that to her kids?” and then time I toured a local hospital’s new maternity suite complete with a state-of-the-art Cesarean surgical center and sniffed my nose at the whole thing because, I would, “never ever have another Cesarean – let alone an elective one!” Words that I remembered vividly as I was wheeled into that very suite, for an elective Cesarean, 12 years later. I wonder if God looks forward to my silly pronouncements?

6. Well Gabe went to his first prom. Since he neglected to get the corsage, I ordered one from our local grocery store and I think it turned out very nice! Gabe and his date had a great time and she even came the next day to watch him play soccer

7. Prom pictures through the years
Calvin

Sam

Gabe