Family: college-bound Kotch!

Oh, the bags are packed ...
she's ready to go ....
Yep, our very own Kotch left this morning at 5:30 a.m. to fly out of Washington-Reagan down to Florida to begin her adventures as a college freshman.

As String Bean expresses so well, we'll all miss her. LegoManiac was in tears last night, saying "y'know how sometimes you get mad and say you can't wait till someone leaves ... well, I don't want her to leave." Bam-bam got up at 4:30 to make sure he was awake to say goodbye, then went promptly back to bed.

Yes, we will all miss her. But we all know it's her time to fly the nest and be whatever God would like her to be.

And we are so proud of her ...

Many prayers go with her as she heads out ...

It's interesting that she left today as it's the feast of St. Monica (322-387). St. Monica is famous for having prayed YEARS for her wayward son ... a "hot mess" of a young man who would finally hear the call and become St. Augustine of Hippo (those were some powerful prayers from his mama!). Charlotte, over at Waltzing Matilda, posted the parents' prayer to St. Monica:

St. Monica, patron of Christian parents, we entrust to your protection the children whose names you can read in our hearts. Pray for them that they may be granted strength to combat weakness, victory over temptation, guidance to resolve their doubts and success in all their undertakings. May they enjoy good health of mind and body, see beauty and worth in all created things and serve the Lord with firm faith, joyful hope and enduring love. Amen.

God bless, you Kotch!

Writing: latest issue of mater et magistra

I just got my copy of the Summer 2009 mater et magistra issue down here in the wilds of Virginia and I'm very impressed and proud to have a part in bringing out such a great magazine!

The articles are great ... the theme this issue is preparing for college and beyond and there are some great articles about choosing a Catholic college, getting to college in an unconventional way, going to conservatory instead of college and (the one I wrote) about sending them off with hand-crafted items to help them remember hearth and home.

There is also an amazing unit study, put together by Alicia vanHecke (who manages the amazing website Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers), about Norman Juster's Phantom Tollbooth . Alicia's unit study, the pull-out in the center, pulls in many different resources (videos, books and games) to help the kids really understand the concepts covered in Juster's classic. All of this is done in such a fun and interesting way, the kids won't even know they're learning about math concepts, science and grammar!

What more could you ask for?

Check it out ... I'm sure you'll be impressed. And if you don't subscribe to THE only Catholic homeschool periodical available, go on over to the mater et magistra website and subscribe! It's well-worth every penny!