Don't Forget Liam

Check out Cherie Rainwater's blog entry "Let Me Tell You a Story..." for a great story about Liam and his family at http://www.cherierainwater.blogspot.com/

By the way, the Pampered Chef opportunity runs through May 15, but if you want something in time for Mother's Day get your order in by April 30. Direct donations can also be made to the "Liam McNassar Fund" at any Washington Mutual Bank.

Most of all, keep the little guy in your prayers.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

We have a new addition to our house: a new chair for Mom. She likes to sit in her room and read or say the rosary part of every day and, heretofor, has been using a nice little glider with a footstool that glides as well. As you can see in the photo above, however, the footstool has become a second side table because movement is harder and getting in and out of the chair with that in front of it was tricky. Lately, though, it has become more difficult for Mom to push herself to a standing position from the glider because it moves. So, yesterday, I found another chair for her at Staples. It is very secure and the padding is quite comfortable; I was persistent about trying that out in the store...alot...for a long time. Don and I both checked out regular furniture stores as well, but this was still the winner for comfort and for fitting Mom's short stature. She is quite tickled over the purchase, but Ellie feels quite suspicious of the new chair and is sure that the only redeeming feature is the box it came in.

10 PInk Pigs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, *sigh* 10)

The living room floor hasn't looked like this for quite awhile. We had a little visitor for about an hour this afternoon. She brought her own bag of farm animals, as you can see, but then discovered the LocBlocks that I had set out for her. I love the look of concentration that goes with building and creating. We are known by K and her cousin as the Candy House, and politely asking for a piece from the jar in the foyer is always the first order of business.

Help Liam

This is Liam McNassar and his mom, Lisette, and Aunt Michelle. For those who might recognize her, Michelle went to U of P with Jennifer and they shared an apartment together for awhile after graduation. The star of the photo, four year old Liam, has been in the fight of his life for nearly a year when he was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. After a brief remission over Christmas, the battle got tougher. Read Liam's journal at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/liammcnassar

Please also check out the website created by 'Team Liam': http://www.littleliam.net/ which is dedicated to his recovery and the support of his family throughout their journey. Presently, J has organized a campaign with the help of Pampered Chef in which people can buy Pampered Chef items online and receive the products by mail to their home. Just follow the simple instructions on the website. A percentage of the sale, as well as half of the hostess' commission, will go to the Liam McNassar Fund to help with medical expenses. Everyone wins! You get great products without having to suffer a party and you help Liam's family at the same time. The site also tells how to make donations directly to the fund at any time.

Please check out these websites and keep Liam in your prayers. Always. It definitely makes a difference. And, for goodness sake, pass this information on to people you know.

Thanks! I knew you would want to help.

Hope

...In the form of Susan Boyle...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Holy Saturday

We celebrate two birthdays around Easter time. In fact, JW was baptized on Holy Saturday. Since I am elbow-deep in pictures from recent scrapbooking, I decided to honor these two with digital collages. Recognize anyone?

Love,

Mom

Palm Sunday

For thoughtful insight, read From Palms to Poison in Bill Donaghy's blog, The Heart of Things, at www.missionmoment.blogspot.com. I enjoy keeping an eye on his blog. However, for a childhood memory, read on here.


I believe that the K-Family tradition of making palm fronds into crosses was brought home from the seminary. Because of fragile memories and too little practice, every few years we have to relearn the technique and this was one such year. Thanks to D's patience, my digital photography, and blogspot.com, it is now committed to digital memory for the future. Get out your palms and follow along. Oh, come on! You know you want to!

Step 1. Holding the palm horizontally, diagonally fold roughly 2/3 of the frond upward so that the palm makes a right angle. Crease the fold.

Step 2. Fold the top portion of the palm back and downward. Crease the horizontal fold as shown below.

Step 3. Once again, fold the lower portion of the palm upward and crease the horizontal fold. You have now formed a side "pocket" for the arms of the cross to eventually slide through.

Step 4. Fold the left 1/3 portion of the palm over the center to the right.

Crease the vertical fold.

Step 5. Now it gets tricky, but don't give up: Create the right arm of the cross by folding the right side backward toward the center and slipping the end through the back of the sleeve you created earlier. Be sure to keep the center pinched together while you work so it doesn't fall apart.

No creasing this time. Just let the right arm stay in a soft fold until you get the other side done and everything centered properly. At this point, just guess at the length you want the right side to be, about three inches or so, and pull the rest of the frond end through to the left side as you see happening below.

Step 6. Fold the left side foreward toward the center and slip it into the front of the pocket to form the left arm of the cross. Adjust both arms so that they are equal, then gently crease the two folds.

Step 7. Fold the top forward and down, slipping the end through the front of the square pocket in the middle until the top of the cross is the desired height.

Step 8. Fold the bottom of the palm back up to the middle and tuck the end into the square. Adjust the top and bottom of the cross until it is proportional to the length of the arms and gently crease the top and bottom folds.
Voila! A blessed Holy Week to everyone!