Clear As Day

...is the way Augustine has been speaking some words lately.

When people ask me, "is he talking yet?" I don't really know what to say. I mean he IS talking I just don't know baby Chinese or French. I need a translator. Sometimes he says words that sound JUST like words... but does that count?

So far he is "saying":

Putsy (pootsee) :  He said this one after my mom pointed to a "pretty" decoration. It is my personal favorite!

Jesus (Geezus) : He has said this one a couple of times when shown pictures of Jesus.

Dad (DaD) : He has said this often but rarely in refernce to 'the man'. 

e-Good : Just used today when I let him look at my computer while working. I assumed it meant 'good!' but perhaps he was saying 'egad!'

Gandma : His response to when I said, "Doesn't Grandma give you such yummmy food?"

He also says 'hi' at random as well as 'yay' and the ever 'ba ba' at books, bottle, tree, dog, and anything else he fancies whether it has a 'B' in the name or not.

There have been several others, more clever unique ones, that I can't remember. Perhaps I should keep a list and update as they come. So, as I mentioned above, I don't really know if this all counts as "talking" but it is all pretty darn cute when wrapped up in the gibberish baby talk that doesn't sound like anything English and is spoken with lots of expression and purpose.

In other exciting developments, thanks to my side of the family, he can do a couple actions for the song, "My God is so Great." Which includes waving his little pointer finger at, "There's nothing my God cannot do!" He also can clap and stomp his feet on command thanks to Raffi's music and the book "Barnyard Dance." He can climb stairs, cruise, and neatly (for a baby) feed himself spaghetti.

He has a delightful personality as well.

He is very thoughtful and easy going when it comes to most things especially when they don't involve buttons he is not allowed to push. He is ready to giggle at the silly things his mommy and daddy are willing to do to get a laugh. Being silly people and actors there is no shortage of silliness in the house.

Here is an example of Augustine's sense of humor...

What a wonderful gift we have in our adorable little bundle and how thankful I am everyday for the joy and love he brings to our lives!

Sarah

Mini Work Vacation

Shortly after my beautiful baby boy turned one year old April 2nd, 2011.

*see future blog post on the exciting day!

Jeremy and I had to leave him for the longest we have ever left him. 4 days. Four days without my baby, I mean, my one year old. No, my baby. Always my baby.

Will I survive?

We had a 17 HOUR drive to DeSales University in PA for a performance of LOLEK. Not to mention the five hour trip we took to drop Augustine off at my parents house in WI. The drive was long but it was actually pretty fun to have that relaxing road trip feel without worrying about Augustine getting uncomfortable or fussing. I only watched cute videos of him and looked at awe worthy pictures of him.... occasionally. I only called home a few times... a day, and texted, well, a bit over my plan for this month. I really enjoyed spending some unplanned quality time with my fun, silly, and handsome husband, road tripping like the olden days.

After an over night stop in Steubenville, OH with family friends we completed our journey to DeSales by catching their 8pm on campus mass which was quite lovely. Our gracious host led us to an on campus guest house that looked like a beautiful bed and breakfast in England or Ireland that was to be ours for our stay...

...and handed us what she said were food cards that had $5,000 on them, we instantly knew that this was going to be a wonderful stay. She even said, 'go crazy' with the food cards. Starving artists say, 'yes mam!'

When this school wanted to book us a year ago I was due with Augustine and wasn't about to let my husband do a work trip on my due date. This year the booking made more sense and even though the host was not able to pay our full travel costs I just felt we needed to do this show and that God would provide for our needs. Yes the looooooong drive WAS crazy long and left us feeling loopy and half sleeping we made it safely and we quite enjoyed the rewarding perks of being here on a little mini work vacation. To top it off Augustine was doing great with my parents and building a special bond with my family and especially my dad and last night we had balmy summer evening weather.

Thank you Lord for these blessings that help restore our souls and give us peace, joy and hope.

Sarah

Arizona

I finally down loaded pictures from my camera from our trip to Arizona which included some great pictures of a hike we took in the desert. It was a family work trip and was a also a great little vacation. Jeremy and I love Phoenix/Scottsdale and we often joke (and even not joke) about how nice it would be to live there.

We love the rock formations-

Am I willing to give up what I have in order to be what I am not yet?

Am I able to follow the spirit of love into the desert?

It is a frightening and sacred moment. There is no return.

One's life is charged forever. It is the fire that gives us our shape.
Mary Richards

cactus-

pools and orange trees on every block -

weather -

and the diocese and Bishop there.

This is our second trip there for performances and each trip now holds some vivid memories. The first trip I was 8 months pregnant with Augustine and in a lot of pain, wondering what it would be like to meet our little son! I even had an emergency visit to the ER due to extreme lower back pain. Early labor? In Phoenix???

Thankfully, no, but it was an adventure all the same.

On our last trip this past January the weather was perfect and sitting under orange trees in the golden sun is exactly the kind of warm memories I want to think about during this cold and snowy March.

*I am not going to reflect on our trip home which involved us all getting stomach flu with an infant throwing up all night long and me needing an emergency fluid IV on THE FLIGHT!!! Memorable quotes included...'Is there a Doctor on the plane??' 'I can hardly feel her pulse!' 'The pilot can make an emergency stop in Denver. He has already called it in if we need it.' I may enjoy SOME drama, but not THAT kind of drama. All in the day of an actor. There does seem to be drama on all corners of our life. Whether I like it or not. Speaking of WEATHER... moving on...*

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

Sarah

Snow Day!

I get a snow day?? This never happens! I am actually happy for this late March snow. Jeremy and I were supposed to do a show at St. Michael's Church in St. Michael, MN today but due to the snow - we get the day off! We actually still have to work today, at home, but it is still a rather pleasant treat. To top it off Augustine slept in until 9am and when he got up we all cuddled and enjoyed a breakfast of scrambled eggs. I recently watched a cooking show about how to make the perfect scrambled eggs, so I gave it a try. They were delicious!

I will give one last tribute to snow this year and then GOODBYE we will be glad to see you go!

A car crash this winter just 10ft from our front door.

Snow drifts up to the top of the fence.

What a perfect year to get blessed with our very own snow blower! It even made snow removal less of a chore this year and saved Jeremy from hours of back breaking shoveling.

Another mound of snow... oh, wait! That is my car buried. If you look closely you can see the antenna.

And lastly a video of Augustine's first experience with snow!

Happy snow day!
Sarah

Friends and Fun!

Augustine and I met up with friends at the children's museum for a day of play (boys) and great conversation/coffee (moms). I caught some precious pictures of the two of them checking each other out and I couldn't resist posting them... Augustine was greeted with great curious yank of the hair by his super cute little tyke of a friend.

After that he was a bit cautious and clingy but soon warmed up to his little friend and enjoyed analyzing his little ears.

The picture (above) makes me laugh as Augustine so carefully approaches touching his little friend's ear.

It will be so fun to see how these two boys grow up together as friends...

Sarah

Behind the Scenes

Actors live such a glamorous lifestyle. Right?

Hahahhahhahahhha.....not so much.

Ahhh... that's more like it.
Jeremy and I just finished a three day run of shows and it was pretty tedious. The shows went great, but the nature of this work is so very very draining. I think most people do not realize just how exhausting this work is, and while we have a passion for our ministry's mission, some days we wonder how we survive the long days...

Here's a day behind the scenes:

We get on the road as early as 6am, if we haven't already driven right through the night to our destination. We arrive, and begin load in carrying large heavy boxes from the trailer to the performance location. Next we set up the show and equipment which takes as long as 8 hours. If things do not go smoothly that means we are left still prepping for the show minutes before the start of the show. I could go into great detail about what it means for things to "not go smoothly", but I will spare you the drama. We have some pretty crazy stories. The performance then requires us to pour our heart and soul and full range of emotion into every word we speak sometimes requiring full out fight scenes and long monologues packed with emotion and energy. Then, for example, Friday's show of THE SCRUTINY PASSION was followed by a short talk (by Jeremy) and adoration. We then have to tear down the entire set for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. If we have no volunteers to help us it can be pretty exhausting and take as long as 3hrs. Loading the equipment into the trailer can be knee cap dislocating (add a trip to the ER to top off the night) or back breaking (Jeremy has had 2 lower back surgeries). We find it is 11pm or even midnight and we have not eaten in 10hrs, the booking location forgot to pay us, we have been traveling and working for 16 hrs, and on a rare occasion Jeremy has to then drive overnight to the next location to repeat.

It's long and tedious, but is indeed a labor of love. It has many benefits and blessings as well and it is extremely rewarding to hear from the audience or booking host positive feedback on how the performance touched them deeply or inspired them. Sometimes we leave wondering how the next day will be provided for or where the next dollar will come from. I think God really allows us to journey in this way of unknowing to realize, in an acute way, that He is our provider and that none of this is for our own glory. I often think as I choke back tears back at the tech table during an especially moving or touching part of one of the plays... God allows me to do this work so that I can see these plays over and over. So that I can constantly be reminded of holy men and woman who were confronted with great trials and with the power of prayer and God's grace endured them with great faith.

One of the quotes from the play that I remind myself and Jeremy of often is this, "The gospel does not promise a comfortable life to any of us." Its true we are called to carry our crosses, and that is not a bad thing. Taking up our crosses and following Christ is rewarding in ways we don't often even see. When I die I hope God shows me what this work has done for people. Will I, God willing, get to walk through the heaven of pure JOY and PEACE and have Jesus point to people along the way, and as he does, I will know in an instant how my life, my husband, and this work impacted them? I sure hope so!

"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise. "

Mother Teresa

Sarah

A drop of Irish goes a looooooong way!

*A special tribute to my mom the most Irish person I know ;-)*

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!

Growing up my Mom and Dad did a phenomenal job making holidays special, usually on a very very tight budget. St. Patrick's Day was all my mom's domain. She had a drop (literally) of Irish heritage in her family tree and she made the most of it. On St. Patrick's Day we were all 100% Irish! My mom would (and still does) decorate the house with green Irish hats, clover on the windows, and her collection  of Irish cards that my Dad has given her over the years. Being home schooled the day was Irish themed. Music class (and gym?) consisted of marching all around the house to McNamara's Band. Prayer time was embedded with old Irish proverbs and prayers. Oh, and you could be sure there would be some real Irish fare for dinner! Corned beef and potatoes maybe some cabbage and, my favorite, Irish soda bread!! As we got older grasshoppers were on the menu for dessert. It's enough to make me drive 5 hrs back home just to be with my mom and her infectious Irish spirit. Since I am here and not there... I have taken up the same Irish spirit ready to celebrate this holiday with all the spirit I have, while bringing my own small family into the festivities. Today I made green chocolate mint pancakes for breakfast for Jeremy and Augustine had green peas. We all dressed in green and gave Irish Good morning kisses and pinches. Then we have a performance of the (Eucharistic) Miracle in Lanciano at St. Patrick's Church in Oak Grove, MN. (That's right we can't forget the REAL purpose of St. Patrick's Day! An awesome Saint of the Church and the original purpose for this celebration. What?? It's not green beer??)

So, in honor of my mom, I have included some Irish Prayers and Proverbs with pictures from today's celebrations...

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.

May the dust from your wagon wheels blind the eyes of your enemies

May the grass grow long on the road to hell for want of use.

May those who love us love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.

Like the goodness of the five loaves and two fishes,
Which God divided among the five thousand men,
May the blessing of the King who so divided
Be upon our share of this common meal.

And to finish this is an Irish prayer that is a classic and one of my favorites...

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!

Sarah