The new diapers are here!

Hooray!

They feel so soft and nice. I'm washing them now and can't wait to put them all away in their basket ready for the baby's arrival.

We ended up buying 2 dozen fitted diapers in a hemp/organic cotton blend, and 1 dozen unbleached Chinese prefolds. The company I ordered from had very personal customer service. I needed to exchange a few emails with them before ordering to ask questions and figure out the shipping situation to our APO address. They were extremely helpful and kept me very well informed of the status of my order.

I am so happy to be finished with disposables. I have really not enjoyed using them for Matthew since we got over here.

Laundry musings

I'm washing the baby clothes today. And it seems that each little sweater and cap have brought memories of people.

The beautiful zip-up-the-back white sweater that Aunt Connie and Uncle Wilfred gave to Tommy. How I miss Aunt Connie!

The lovely blue and white one with matching hat that Ann gave Patrick.

Two sweet caps hand- knit by Taryn for Matthew.

White hat and booties from friends we met in Turkey.

A multi-colored, tassled hat from dear Yakima friends, Brenda and Greg. We continue to pray for Brenda's return to full health.

Socks that Nancy sent to Joseph.

Funny, there's very little pink in these piles. ;-) Lots of white, restful pale green, and lovely baby blue.

So many memories of sweet smelling little ones making little o's with their mouths and yawning those stretchy, eyes-scrunched-up yawns.

Not long now until a new little one fills these clothes...

s/he's already filling our hearts.

Guess it's mother's week....

Pregnancy Prayer to Our Lady of La Leche

O Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of Your tender Mother, Our Lady of La Leche, who bore You close to her heart during those long months before Your birth, I place my baby and myself entirely in Your Hands. Free me, I beseech You, from useless and consuming worry. Accept the sacrifice of my aches and pains, which I unite to Your sufferings on the Cross. Above all, most merciful and loving Jesus, protect this child You have given to me from all harm, bestowing the health and vigor every baby needs. Implant in my heart and on my lips the words and prayers of Your Mother and mine, our Lovely Lady of La Leche. All this I ask that my child and I may live to praise forever Your Holy Name. Amen.


Thanks: Elizabeth Foss's blog and the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.

Another motherhood post

from Holy Experience.

This one might just get me through the next three or four weeks (if I can stop the pregnancy-induced tears) ;)

More on Mother's Day

The Most Important Person

on earth is a mother. She
cannot claim the honor of

having built Notre Dame
Cathedral. She need not. She

has built something more

magnificent than any
cathedral-a dwelling for an
immortal soul, the tiny
perfection of her baby's
body…The angels have not

been blessed with such a
grace. They cannot share in

God's creative miracle to bring

new saints to Heaven. Only a

human mother can. Mothers

are closer to God the Creator

than any other creature; God

joins forces with mothers in

performing this act of

creation…What on God's

good earth is more glorious

than this: to be a mother?

-Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Thanks to Danielle Bean's blog and the Cardinal Mindszenty Foundation

which sells a lovely card with this text and picture on it.

Happy Mother's Day!

We cordially invite all the moms in our family and among our friends to join us...

for a virtual celebration.

There is plenty of coffee and cake for all!

With much love,

The Riordon Family

The more things change....

...the more they stay the same ;)

April, 1989





May, 2008

Happy Birthday, Tommy!

Can you really be 19?!

You bring so much joy and laughter to our family. Dad and I are proud to see you using your many gifts to bring that joy to others, too.

May God grant you many years!

We love you!

First Communion Day

"So Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his b lood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my b lood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my b lood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my b lood abide in me, and I in them.'" -John 6: 53-56

Joseph received his First Holy Communion on Saturday morning, May 3rd. He has been working hard all year to get ready for this big day. We prepared at home, and he participated in some activities with the religious education class at St. Jude's Parish on base. Last weekend, the religious education program held a preparatory retreat, in which Joseph was included.

Saturday morning, he, and all the other children, were very excited before Mass started. They were also very reverent and sweetly solemn throughout the Mass.

At first, Joseph wished his First Communion would be at Sunday Mass, but in the end, he thought it was very special to be able to receive Holy Communion two days in a row this weekend. Another nice thing about having the Mass on a Saturday morning was that the RE director and Fr. Jose could choose the readings. They chose John 6: 47-59 for the Gospel, and Father took the opportunity to give an excellent homily on the Real Presence. Very nice for both the children and their parents and guests.

Some photos from the day:

a blessing from Daddy before Mass



on the altar at the chapel


First Communion class with Fr. Jose del Toro


Joseph in the group photo


everyone made a banner at the retreat last weekend

After Mass, there was a reception at the Officer's Club on base. While we waited in line for the professional photos, the kids provided me a few more candid photo ops.

Cheese!


The only way to take a photo of Katie lately, is to catch her by surprise ;)


Doesn't seem that long ago when it was First Communion day for the boys at left and center


Free drinks! Cool!


Cake!



with Fr. Jose after lunch

After Mass on Sunday, which Joseph happily called his "Second Holy Communion", we had a celebratory brunch at home. He chose brown sugar pound cake for his First Communion cake. Notice that he also chose waffles and sparkling cider for breakfast. Luckily, Daddy made eggs and bacon, too, so we weren't completely without nutrition.

Congratulations, Joseph Dominic!

With love from
Mom, Dad, Tommy, Patrick, Katie, Matthew, and the baby

Sakura

It's cherry blossom time in Misawa. When the sakura bloom, it is the time for picnics, outdoor walks, and looking at blossoms, or hana mi (literally, "flower eye"). What a relief after the long winter to get outdoors and enjoy the spring!

the entry drive

BX parking area

entry drive past BX and commissary

past the furniture store towards the club

driving toward the high school (tower apts. in background)

Mokuteki Community Center

Reisner Circle

base chapel

chapel grounds...

exiting the base

at the "train park" in central Misawa

Congratulations, Tommy!

He's one of ten winners (out of over 200 applicants) of Credit Union Foundation of Maryland and DC scholarships this year.

John and I truly appreciate his willingness to put in the work to apply for scholarships this spring. Every little bit helps. :-)

To read Tommy's 2nd place essay, click here and scroll down to "Voted #2 by our judges-".

Saint Catherine of Siena

Happy name day to Katie and Mom!

What heart will be so hard and stubborn as not to be moved at the sight of such infinite love and the great dignity we have been given--and not because God owed it to us, but by his grace? None of us could look at this and contemplate it without transcending all , all our hardness and foolishness dissolved.

When we see and know our own non-being and God's goodness to us in giving us being and every grace that is added onto being, we will receive the most perfect light and knowledge of ourselves.

Let your heart and soul be set afire in Christ gentle Jesus, with love and longing to reciprocate such love, to give him life for life. He gave his life for you: decide now to give your life for him, b lood for b lood...
-Saint Catherine of Siena (click on her name to read more about her life)
(Magnificat, Vol. 10, No. 2, "Meditation of the Day", April 29, 2008)

Update: Katie asked me to share this quote with you, too.

"I am who am; you are she who is not."
-God to St. Catherine of Siena (Magnificat, Vol. 10, No. 2, "Morning Prayer" quotation before Psalm 139, April 29, 2008)

The Mystery of Motherhood

Melanie quoted a blog with some thoughts about nursing and the Eucharist that sound a bit like my own recent musings.

I mentioned the other day that I have found myself contemplating the mystery of motherhood more during this pregnancy than any other. When I was nursing Matthew, the connection of the words "this is my body given up for you" gave me great comfort. And in this sixth full-term pregnancy, they have come back to me again and again.

When John and I first began to learn about Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body, we ran across a Mary Foundation CD of a talk by Christopher West called "Marriage and the Eucharist." In it, West links the spousal gift of the body to Christ's gift of Himself in the Eucharist.

Over time, the gift of the body for another and its relation to Christ's gift of Himself have become a part of the way I think about marital love. Through my recent musings on why pregnancy is so physically, mentally, and spiritually demanding, in addition to directing a bit of mental scolding at Eve, these ideas of self-gift have been working themselves into my thoughts about motherhood.

The connections between the Eucharist and motherhood, sacrifice and love, pain and joy, all come together in these moments of sciatica and stretch marks, exhaustion and mental vacancy, awkward waddling and getting stuck in chairs: those small and great things suffered to give life to another. This also happens as I nurse my babies: my time is not my own, my body is not my own, and my brain still seems absent. Although I love babies and I love nursing them, with each of our children I have also had times when I wondered when--or if--I would ever find my way back to myself again.

Now I am beginning to wonder if I am not more deeply myself in those moments of pain and anguish and frustration and exhaustion. Because in those moments of self-giving, I am most deeply in need of Christ and at the same time most closely connected to Him: physically connected to His sacrifice, just as when I receive Him, body, b lood, soul, and divinity, in the Eucharist. In those moments, I can brush my fingertips against the fringe of his mantle. I can reach out to touch Him, and in response, He will heal me with His presence, with His word, with His peace. If I pay attention; if I enter into this mystery of motherhood, it will bring me to Christ, and it will help me to reflect Christ.

This vocation of sacrifice that God has given me is my path to heaven. It is the path of every mother. And in it, we reside with His Son. The mystery of motherhood is inextricably connected to Christ's sacrifice for us, the Mystery of the Eucharist: "This is my body, which is given for you." (Luke 22:19)

Another busy weekend

Taryn wrote recently on her blog that more reflective posts would reappear someday when their lives settle down again. She got me thinking. I haven't written a really thoughtful post since Advent. Since January, this blog would have been nothing without the photos.

In considering why, I can see that life got a lot busier after Tommy got home. It took us a few months to adjust to having him back. And I have been getting tired more easily. I have to be careful to conserve my energy for teaching and getting the house ready for the baby. That usually means that the computer time must be the first thing to go.

I have several book posts I want to write--kid books and a couple of grown-up books--and some things I wanted to share about this pregnancy, but haven't had the chance to really think through enough to post on. Particularly, the mystery of motherhood. This is something that has been running through my prayer time and reading time throughout this pregnancy. It has been in the back of my mind that I should write about it for three or four months now, and I haven't been able to stop and contemplate fully or compose anything worth sharing.

This isn't really a good thing, and it makes me wonder how we suddenly got so busy. We are usually able to keep the schedules from getting out of control. It's touch and go now that kids' soccer and men's softball have started. Tommy and John are playing on John's office softball team. Katie and Joseph are on two separate soccer teams. Patrick's soccer season has two more weekends of regular play, then the Far East week in mid-May.

Maybe after the baby is born and I have to stop running children to activities and just sit still with our new little one there will be more time for introspection. Right now, I feel like I'm barely keeping all 5 balls in the air.

St. Martha, busy woman, pray for us. St. Monica, patroness of mothers, pray for us. Our Lady of la Leche, pray for us. St. Therese, pray for us.

Happy Birthday

to my Dad!!



Thank you for all you have done to care for, educate, and support us all our lives.

May St. Joseph, head of the Holy Family, always bless and protect you.

We can't wait to see you here in Japan in a couple of months!

With all our love,
Judy, John, Tommy, Patrick, Katie, Joseph, Matthew, and Baby

Minor disaster

Here's a new one. Yesterday afternoon during our piano lesson, I went out to the kitchen to prepare the tea. Tommy happened to be outside near the front garden talking on the phone.

I had a little extra time, so I decided to wash some extra dishes that had piled up and a bunch of the kids' placemats. As I was rinsing dishes and the sink was draining, Tommy came in and said, "Mom, you need to come out here. Leave the water running."

When I got outside, there was a small fountain bubbling up in our front garden. It appears that the drainpipe from the sink has burst. So I emailed the property manager, Makiko-san. Usually she responds within 30 minutes. But I heard nothing back from her. Since I didn't think anyone should use the sink, we ate dinner on base last night. Afraid we'd forget and pour more water out into the garden, I put an "X" of masking tape over the kitchen sink before we went to bed.

Still no email from Makiko-san this morning. At 10:30 or so, I telephoned, and she said she was waiting to hear from the plumber. It's now 3:45 p.m. and she hasn't called back. So I guess we're eating out again tonight. I'm wondering why they are taking so long to investigate this. It seems like kind of a big deal, and Makiko-san is usually amazingly efficient.

And we wonder how this happened. Was it during the winter and we never noticed? Or did it happen in the earthquake (5.8 magnitude) last week?

I'd sure like to have my kitchen sink (and the dishwasher, which drains there) back soon. The kids are excited now, but eating junky dinners on base will get old pretty fast.

Time to pray for patience (of course, this sort of event is usually the answer to such a prayer--I only seem to develop patience by practicing it again and again and again) and to Sts. Zita and Martha, patronesses of domestic workers and cooks. A quick prayer to St. Vincent Ferrer, patron of plumbers, wouldn't hurt either.

Hopefully, this will be resolved before the weekend. And thank goodness we still have running water in the house. Oh, and I'm thankful that we are renters and not owners at this particular moment. I KNEW there were blessings in here somewhere ;-) Thanks Blessed Mother Teresa for prodding me to keep looking for them.

Edgren Eagles Soccer

When we retured to Misawa from our field trip on Friday, we took Patrick straight on base for soccer games. The Edgren High School Eagles, played their first home games in Friday's rain and fog: one against M.C. Perry High School (Iwakuni, Japan) at 4 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. against N.C. Kinnick High School (Yokosuka, Japan). When the game ended at around 9:30 p.m., the coach sent them home to warm up and get some sleep.

Saturday morning, they got up and did it again. Again it was foggy and rainy. They had a game against Perry at 8 a.m. in rain and another against Kinnick at 12 noon. At least the rain had stopped by then.

Patrick went in in the last seconds of the first half of Saturday's Perry game and stayed in for the second half.

Not bad for a guy who hasn't played soccer since he was 11.

It was a tough game, but the Eagles won it 3-1.

With 25 boys on the team, Patrick has had to learn to live with playing very little this year. Not a particularly pleasant lesson, but he has handled it with humility and grace. At least he gets to hang out with his friends at practices...and it give him PE credit for the season. :-)

In the end, they won 3 of the 4 games, beating Perry twice and Kinnick once.

Go Eagles!

Field Trip, part 2

Indoors at the Jomon museum, we found a number of hands-on activities that the kids enjoyed. It was a nice break from the outdoor chill and misty rain.

Jomon era pottery is characterized by the rope-imprint designs on the exterior. John, Joseph, and Matthew reconstruct a vase:

Joseph tries to make fire:



Ahhh...a better method:




Katie, Tommy, and Patrick have fun with the computerized face-painting activity:


These look a bit like Maori facial markings to me.


Two faces are better than one, apparently. ;-)