The War of the Vendee

We had the opportunity to see this movie today.  "The War of the Vendee" is about the Vendee region in France during the French Revolution.  It was here that a large group of faithful Catholics who didn't want to see their religious freedoms taken away, their priests killed and their churches destroyed  organized a militia to overtake the Revolutionaries. 

The movie was 90 minutes long so things had to be condensed, but overall it was a very good movie.  Did I mention that all of the actors are homeschooled youth?  It takes a bit to get used to who is supposed to be an adult and who is supposed to be a child, but they did an incredible job with all of the acting and directing.  It was a very well done film. 

The music was professionally done and written by a professional Catholic composer.  It really adds a lot to the movie.  I have to say, though, that during the fighting scenes, every time they showed this one sequence, the music started off like "Pirates" music so I kept expecting to see Jack Sparrow.  

Overall, this was a great, and timely, movie.  Just like "For Greater Glory" it really makes you think about what a revolution would look like in this country.  I wonder how faithful Catholics here would band together and unite to stand up for God?

The trailer has a wonderful statement that really gets you thinking,

"If everything you know, if everything you love, if everything you hold sacred is taken from you, what would you do?"

If you get the opportunity to view this on DVD, take it!   It will be worth your time.

God Bless!
 

 

7 Quick Takes September 28 2012

--- 1 ---

Wow. I can't believe it is time to do this again.  It has been one of those weeks that has flown by so fast I can't believe it's Friday again (or in reality, Thursday when I am typing this up)!  We didn't have an overly busy week by any means, and I really can't tell you what we've been up to, but another week is almost over. 
 

--- 2 ---

So because of that, I've been thinking about our days and how they just kind of meld from one to the other.  Wake up, go to Mass, do schoolwork, exercise, have a few free hours, eat dinner, pray the rosary, small amount of free time and then bed. Not boring by any means, but a nice routine that I don't seem to be getting tired of.  In fact lately I've been getting a bit grumpy when something interrupts this nice flow.
 

--- 3 ---

One of the things I told the kids we would do more of once we weren't laden down in weekly activities was more field trips.  This Monday is the Feast of St. Therese and we are heading up to the National Shrine for Mass.  We did this a few years ago and it was packed, but a beautiful time.  Hoping the weather is nice, as the grounds are lovely, too.
 

--- 4 ---

--- 5 ---

Now that you've stopped laughing, I found the above image on facebook (of course - h/t Catholic Writers Guild) and couldn't stop laughing.  I now know why I've always loved the Honda Accord :)
 

--- 6 ---

Some of the girls and I have started keeping track of our food and calorie intake in addition to our exercising.  We found an online site where you can track what you eat and how much exercise you do. I just cannot stand the name they picked:  fatsecret.com.  I don't know, it just sounds insulting.  Oh well, for the time being the fact that I have to put in print the food I put in my mouth is keeping me from indulging too much.  We'll see how long it lasts :)
 

--- 7 ---

Another quiet weekend coming up.  We're going to see "The War of the Vendee" on Sunday.  I hear that it is wonderfully done and we are all looking forward to seeing it.  Can't forget about the final episode before the mid-season break of Dr. Who on Saturday, either.  I understand we might need some tissues for this one!  Have a great weekend.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

God Bless!

 

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Linking up with the ladies over at Sucipio!

Moments of Gratitude:

* a wonderful homily at Mass yesterday

* laughter, as usual, at the dinner table

* a husband who often manages to twist his words around into something hilarious

* Receiving many prayer requests to be prayed for during this week

* My husband's yummy homemade protein bars - they really are the only thing that gets me exercising some days (house rule - one can only have a protein bar IF they have exercised).

Beauty in the Ordinary:

Even though my house is not fancy and the furniture is old and worn, there is something beautiful about it when it is picked up (ie when there aren't Legos dumped all over the place :).  I love the peacefulness it brings for those brief moments!

Listening to:

The sun singing.  I know that doesn't seem right, but it is such a gorgeous day out that you can almost hear it singing!

In the Kitchen:

Not much.  The usual fair is lined up for this week.  My son's baptismal feast day is today and he has requested turkey tetrazzini and taffy apples.

Praying:

For all of the prayer requests that have been sent to me this week. We are also praying for a miracle that will allow us to go on a pilgrimage with our parish.

Looking Ahead:

We actually have activity this week!  On Sunday we will be watching the movie "The War of the Vendee".  This movie is about Catholics during the French Revolution who banded together to fight "for God and King".  This was done by a group of homeschoolers and is supposed to be wonderful!

Captured:

God Bless!

Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for Us!

This week we have our parish's traveling Our Lady of Fatima statue.  She is sitting on the hearth of our fireplace just waiting for us to bring our petitions to her.  We have some of our own special intentions for this week, but we would love to pray for yours, too.  You can either leave a comment here or email me directly at laura@catholic-homeschooling-resources.com and we'll place your petitions at the feet of Our Lady.

God Bless!
 

7 Quick Takes September 21 2012

--- 1 ---

 
I'm plugging away at my new unit study on the soon-to-be St. Kateri.  I love writing these things because I learn so much!  I came across a documentary by Jacques Cousteau on the St. Lawrence River that looked so interesting I'm tempted to order it from the library.  My curriculum planning for this year didn't really allow for a unit study, but we just might have to do it ourselves once I'm done with it :)
 

--- 2 ---

Our parish is planning a pilgrimage in October to New York for the canonization of Blessed Kateri.  They plan do some sight-seeing, go to the Shrine in NY and then on the way home stop at the Shrine of Divine Mercy since our priests are from there.  Can I just say that we here are all praying REALLY HARD that God will in some way open up a door for us so that we can go on this pilgrimage.  All nine of us on a bus trip for five days - that would be AWESOME!
 

--- 3 ---

I decided today, for the first time since getting a laptop, to unplug from my desk and go work in my bedroom.  I figured being away from all the commotion of the house might be more conducive to creative thinking.  At least for this afternoon it seemed to work.  I kind of like being tucked away in the dark recesses of my home.  It's mighty comfortable, too.
 

--- 4 ---

We're getting back into an exercise routine around here again after a long summer of interrupted exercising (or more like NO exercising).  I must say that having my four oldest daughters as partners really makes the time so much better.  On a good day, they can be so goofy that we laugh more than we sweat!  I wonder if laughing burns as many calories as actually exercising?
 

--- 5 ---

Fall is right around the corner (or here, depending on the day you're reading this)!  I do believe this is my favorite time of year.  I enjoy the change in weather and the colors and I enjoy decorating for it, too.  Love those orange, yellow and brown colors :)
 

--- 6 ---

Speaking of decorating, my eldest daughter and I went on a house walk last week - you know, where nice people open up their homes so you can gawk at all their stuff.  Kind of a weird concept when you think about it, but we go anyway.  There were three large houses on a lake and the views alone are enough to gawk at.  One of the houses had this really cool theater set up in the basement.  There were comfy leather seats, surround sound and a big white screen on the wall complete with red velvet curtains!  I don't go to gawk, really, just to find new decorating ideas :)...and have a good luncheon, and have fun with my daughter!

--- 7 ---

Not a lot planned for the weekend.  The kids found out that "The Avengers" is in the cheap theater around here and thought it would be fun if ALL of us could go to the movie together.  We were discussing it at dinner, and we couldn't remember when the last time was that we all went to the movies together.  Hopefully we'll remedy that this weekend.  Have a great first Fall weekend wherever you are!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

God Bless!

 

What to do With Those Little Ones

Being that it is the beginning of a new school year, I have seen a lot of questions come up on the various homeschool groups I belong to about how to home school your older children while you have a baby and/or toddler (or more) running around.

Based on my past experiences (I homeschooled like this for 12 of my 15 years!) and what I've been reading, there really are only a few tried and true answers.  You probably know them by heart if you've been homeschooling for any length of time:

1.  Keep a special basket of toys for the baby/toddler to play with during school time only.

2.  When you really need to focus, assign an older child to watch the baby/toddler for that time period.

3.  If the baby/toddler will cooperate, have a gated off area that he/she can play in while school is going on.  This will allow you to focus on your students and know that the baby/toddler is safe.

4.  Keep them in the school room with you and give them their own "work", even if it is just scribbling on a paper, to do.

5. Take full advantage of nap times (if there are any) and make sure the older kids have independent work they can do when necessary.

And that, folks, is about as good as it gets.  This time has to be one of the most challenging times in homeschooling.  There will be good days (meaning the baby/toddler are happy and content and the older children want to learn during that same time) and there will be bad days (the baby/toddler is crying and fussy all day and the older children just don't want to learn).

I really don't mean to sound like a pessimist (because I prefer to think of it as being a realist :), but the best you can do during these years is to take advantage of the good days and know that on the bad days you did the best you could and that your children are still learning things by helping out around the house and doing their independent work.

You can have a plan...you can have structure...but you still might not be able to make everyone cooperate at the same time!  It is still good to have that plan and that structure, but realize that part of homeschooling means being flexible.  Try very hard to love these challenging years, knowing that they really will be gone before you know it, instead of letting them push you over the edge.  If you have an over-the-edge day, just do like Noah Webster's mother used to do and throw your apron up over your head so no one can see your face and pray for strength (I always loved that story :).  

May God bless you as you struggle to find what works during this very busy, but wonderful time in your homeschooling career!

God Bless!
 

Joliet Vocations Video

These fine young men are seminarians from our diocese.  I just saw this on Jamie's blog from Minnesota and I had to post it here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we all did!  Way to go, guys!

God Bless!
 

 

Is Our Country Worth It?

I just read an email that is asking people to stop for one minute at a specified time each day and say a prayer for our country.  Apparently during World War II there was an adviser to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every night at a prescribed hour for one minute, to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace. This had an amazing effect, as bombing stopped.

The email said that people in the US are now trying to organize the same thing.  At 9 pm ET (8 pm CT, 7 pm MT, 6 pm PT) each day, take one minute to stop and say a prayer for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, for peace in the world, the upcoming election, that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land, and that Christianity will grow in the U.S.  I think that pretty much covers it. 

Life gets so hectic and we're always running from thing to thing, but maybe, somehow, we can all pause for that minute and say a prayer.  If you're participating in the 54 day Rosary novena, then maybe pray it around that hour.  I'm sure, however, that if you don't make it at that exact minute, God will still hear your prayer and honor it.  It is kind of cool, isn't it, to think about thousands (dare I say millions?) of people stopping at the exact same moment to lift their prayers up to God for our country.  Surely all that clamor will be heard in Heaven!

I'm not sure how I'm going to remember it every day...a sticky note somewhere?  Something big on the fridge?  Maybe something stuck to my forehead?  Maybe I'll ask my Guardian Angel to tap me on the shoulder and remind me!  Well, somehow, we'll give it a shot here and see if we can do it!  Hope you can, too.

God Bless!
  

Moments of Grace

Joining with the ladies over at Sucipio again today!

Have you ever gotten frustrated because you can't seem to finish any books?  It seems to me that I have a hard time finishing many of my non-fiction books.  Now, give me a good fiction book and I don't seem to have that problem, but if you look around my house right now you will find a trail of half-finished books.

Sometimes, though, we put those books down so that when we need it most, we are inspired to pick the book up again and read something that we really need to hear.  

I have read before that God speaks to people in different ways but that He usually has one typical mode of speaking to a person.  God usually speaks to me through the written word.  When I need to hear something or learn something from Him, I will inevitably read it.

This week I came across a book just like that.  I had started this book last summer, I believe.  I got through all but the last chapter and a-half.  The other day I picked it up and with a moment of determination, vowed to finish it.  Well the first page I read pretty much blew me away because it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear!!  I just had to stop and praise God for being so good to me.  That was a total moment of grace for me this week.

So the next time you are frustrated because you can't seem to get back to that book - don't be.  God just might be putting the brakes on so that you can pick the book up again just when you will need it most!

God Bless!

7 Quick Takes September 14 2012

--- 1 ---

I always seem to be harping on the kids to get outside, use their imagination, do something with their siblings.  Well today they did just that.  They took the card table and chairs, set them up in the garage with the door open, put some music on, got some pretzels and proceeded to play poker.  Well, at least they finally listened :)

--- 2 ---

A good friend of mine sent me a new book for my birthday called "A Reason to Believe" by Ron Tesoriero.  It looks very interesting, but I AM NOT going to start another book until I finish some of these other ones, right???

--- 3 ---

If you are an astute observer, you will have noticed that the kids in the above picture have long sleeves on.  LONG SLEEVES, can you believe it?  We went from sweat to chills in one day.  Looks like the next 10 days are going to be a bit on the cool side...some nights predicted to be down around 40 degrees.  It's a good thing we can roll with the changes (name that 80s song).
 

--- 4 ---

 Mr 12 yo has asked to be put on the dinner making schedule this fall.  I love that he is so interested in learning how to cook.  Tonight (Thursday) he is cooking spaghetti and making a salad for us.  He usually sets the table, too, as he is very particular about how his dinner is presented; everything is usually placed "just so" on the table.  I hope this is something he keeps up for the rest of his life!
 

--- 5 ---

Have I mentioned that I'm finding Blessed Kateri a fascinating person?  The graces and spirituality that she had were incredible.  She did suffer a lot and her life was short, so she did not have an easy time of it.  Her faith is admirable and I am excited to be writing a unit study based on her life. I hope to have it complete by her canonization in October.
 

--- 6 ---

Here's one of my favorite "trust" verses from this week's study:

Many are the pangs of the wicked; but steadfast love surrounds him who trusts in the Lord.  Ps 32:10

 --- 7 ---

 Don't forget to join in the 54 Day Rosary Novena for our country.  It begins (began) on Friday, September 14th and ends on election day.  Check this page for all the info.  Have a great weekend.

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Falling to Your Knees for 54 Days Straight!

Just wanted to put a shout out to everyone who is interested in praying a 54 day rosary novena for our country.  If you are interested, the novena begins on Friday, September 14th (which just happens to be the feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross!) and ends on election day, November 6th.

The intention for the novena is:  For God's Will to prevail in the upcoming USA Presidential election.

I don't think I've ever made it through an entire 54 day novena before, but this is a great time to give it another go-around.

If you are unfamiliar with this type of novena, it is simply 6 sets of 9 days of praying the rosary.  The first 3 sets of 9 days is in petition.  Simply pray the rosary every day for the first 27 days asking God to grant the above intention.  Feel free to add you own intentions, too.

Once you do that, the next 3 sets of 9 days is in thanksgiving.  When you pray the rosary for those next 27 days, thank God for hearing your prayers and answering it in whatever way He sees fit.

Join in with people all over the country (and maybe even the world) to pray that our country will go back to following God's Will and that He will have mercy on us for the sins of our nation.

I'm sure it is going to be a challenge but, hey, let's see who has the best callouses on their knees at the end of the 54 days :)

God Bless!

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Linking up with the women at Sucipio!

Moments of Gratitude:

* The absolutely wonderful birthday I had last week. 
* The great food we ate that day.
* The cake one daughter baked and the other decorated.
* My parent's returning home after a 1 1/2 month road trip.
* A great group of dads and sons at our house for a camp out.

Beauty in the Ordinary:

When Mr 7 yo was younger, every once in a while he would take a power nap - he'd go down sometime in the afternoon and sleep until morning.  Well, Sunday he was so tired from his camp out the night before that he retreated to his room around 4:00 (all of his own accord) and slept until 7:00 this morning.  He did wake up around 9:00 last night with a lazy smile, grabbed a bagel to eat and put his pjs on, then went back to sleep.  There is something beautiful, although maybe not ordinary, about that :)

From the Kitchen:

We're trying some new recipes this week:

* A crock pot beef stroganoff that is cooking right now and smells wonderful.
* A crock pot chicken and wine recipe
* Mr 12 yo is trying his hand at spaghetti this week

Reading:

* Still reading "I Believe in Love". 
* I found another book I never finished (not an uncommon occurrence, unfortunately) called "The Priesthood of the Heart" by Jo Croissant.  I hope to finish it this week.

Meditating:

Now that I have my concordance, I am continuing to meditate on scripture references of the word TRUST.  

Praying:

* For the family that is hiding in their apartment in Syria while fighting goes on all around them
* For our country
* For financial concerns

In the Week Ahead:

* Our first women's formation group of the Fall at my house Tuesday evening.
* Our monthly Evening of Recollection on Friday
* School and exercise all week long...
* Not much else...which I consider a good thing!

Captured:

 
Mr 7 yo's Lego creation!  This is just one in a series of battle scenes he asked me to photograph for him!

God Bless!
 

My Concordance and the Word "Trust"

It all started on August 31st when I read this post over at Sucipio.  Jenny was talking about how she had started a Bible study based on one word in the Bible.  I had never heard of nor thought of doing a study liked that based on a word in Scripture.  Her colorful page made me smile and I new immediately that I wanted to do this.  I even knew what word I wanted to study...trust.  

With that I went in search of my concordance.  Hmmm, where could it be?  The girls had used it for the apologetics class this past spring, but we had put all of that stuff away.

Thus began a week long intensive search of my house for this concordance.  I was really getting upset that I couldn't find it anywhere.  I knew it hadn't grown legs and walked, so where could it be?  I prayed to St. Anthony many, many times to no avail.  By the end of the week I was ready to order a new one, but thought I'd wait one more day.

Saturday morning I was still thinking about it when I walked into the back room where we have some book shelves.  I walked to the shelves, bent down and pulled the book off the top shelf like I knew it had been there all along!

I can't tell you how many times I looked at those shelves.  How many times I ran my fingers over the three rows of books and never did I notice it right there on the top shelf.  Thank you, St. Anthony, for finally showing me where it was (or putting it back there so I could find it :).

Now that I have my book back, and now that my daughter has replaced my Bible that she took from me and started writing in with a much nicer Bible, I began my word study.

The first entry that I looked up spoke volumes to me:

Yet in spite of this word you would not trust the Lord, your God.  Dt 1:32

He's right, in spite of all of the things the Lord has done for me and shown me, I still have a hard time trusting that He is not out to get me.  It comes and goes, but there are times when I really have a hard time believing this:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jer 29:11

I think I am really going to like this form of Scripture study.  What a great way to meditate on the words of the Lord.  Thanks, Jenny, for sharing the idea!

God Bless!
  

7 Quick Takes Sept 7 2012

--- 1 ---

Today (Friday) is my birthday.  I've found that the way to always feel young is to have many friends that are older than you by a good couple of years.  Most of my friends are 50+ and I am happy to say that I...am not.  Any discussions about age with them always make me feel good.  The other day some friends were discussing the year they got engaged, which happened to be the year I graduated from GRADE school!  Gotta love it!
 

--- 2 ---

I've really come to enjoy my early mornings since I developed a love of coffee.  Every morning after I shower and dress, I make myself a nice cuppa joe and sit in the rocker in my room.  

It is here that I say my morning prayers and think about the day ahead.  I must admit that sometimes I spend far more time than I should there because then breakfast is off to a late start and we end up rushing out the door to Mass.  Oh well, it is a very peaceful routine that I look forward to every day.

 

--- 3 ---

Something else I've been looking forward to are the grapes that have been growing on the vines in our yard.  I've been watching their progress all summer and couldn't wait to pick them so we could make some more awesome grape jelly.  I went out earlier this week only to discover that EVERY SINGLE grape was gone from the vines.  Last year we picked about this time and had about 6 pounds of grapes.  Only thing I can figure is that they ripened a bit early (I only took my eyes off them for a short while, I swear) and the birds got to them before I did.  We've been mourning our lost jelly.
 

--- 4 ---

On a more positive note, the pear tree in our front yard, whose branches are bending low due to the number of pears on them, look much better than they have in past years.  Whatever disease or bug has gotten to them in the past must not have liked the warm, dry summer we've had.  These are late ripening pears so I look forward to eating some in a couple of weeks.
 

--- 5 ---

I have avoided upgrading my computer for the longest time because I just really liked Windows XP and didn't look forward to learning something new (I know, that made me sound old :).  I heard horror stories about Vista and was afraid of Windows 7 but now that I was pretty much forced into an upgrade and have had time to work with it, Windows 7 isn't that bad.  I'm just not sure if the reason why my cursor jumps from one spot to another spot while I'm typing is a Windows thing or a laptop thing.  Anyone else have that problem (besides my daughter, who also can't figure it out)?

--- 6 ---

The other morning, my daughter and I were sitting on the patio tackling math.  I thought maybe a change of scenery might help her.  All of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing in my ear.  Me being me, I yelled, jumped up and waved my hands around...see we have these HUGE horseflies around here that sound like a plane landing on your head, so I'm a bit buzz shy.  Turned out the thing that was buzzing me was a hummingbird.  It was close enough to my head for me to hear the beating of its wings.   We've noticed this guy flying by a few times a day to visit our flowers, so it must have been my bright yellow shirt he was attracted to.  One day I'd love to get a picture of him.
 

--- 7 ---

Our boys have their Blue Knights camp out this weekend.  My son was hoping for cooler weather so that he could wear the new camo pants he bought.  I think a low of 50 degrees should be good for him!  Have a great weekend everyone!

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

A Mish Mosh of Things

I feel like writing this evening but I just don't know what the topic should be.  Ever felt that way??  

Should I write about how well our schedule seems to be working for us?  Even today when we went to noon Mass instead of morning Mass, we were able to shift things up and still get everything done in a timely fashion.

How about the fact that things have been going well attitude-wise until today when my daughter hit her first Bridge in Life of Fred math?  I don't know what those bridges ever did to her, but she just sees the word and her brain instantly shuts down.  Can't seem to help her through it, so she'll just have to decide for herself that she wants to "move on" in the proverbial sense.  In the physical sense, she has no choice...she must move on...even unhappily.

Or what about the research I'm doing on Blessed (soon to be Saint) Kateri.  She was an absolutely fascinating holy person.  I read about her day-to-day level of holiness and it blows my mind; thus reinforcing once again why I am not a saint :)

But then I remembered that tomorrow is only Thursday, and if I write too many random things, then I will have nothing left for my Quick Takes on Friday.  So I will quit now and go beg St. Anthony for the 100th time to let me in on the secret of where my concordance is.  I have looked for that book everywhere and it is not to be found. 

God Bless!
   

Spelling and My Boy

Oh the fun of spelling with my 7th grade boy!  It always amazes me how he can spell all the words I give him for the week, use them correctly in sentences and regurgitate them on a quiz with 100% accuracy and then sit down to write an adventure story and spell a large percentage of the words so WRONG that you sometimes cannot even tell what they are!!

God Bless! 

Catholic Woman's Almanac

Joining in with the women over at Sucipio!

 Moments of Grace:

* Fun conversations with my daughters on facebook.  I'm sure we annoy everyone else, but they sure do make us laugh.

* Great friends, good laughs and the opportunity to spend some fun time together.  God is so good to send us such good friends.

Beauty in the Ordinary:

* The ordinary rhythm of the days.  It is nice to not be so hectic and see your days flow peacefully one to the next without huge interruptions and disruptions - at least for the time being!

In the Kitchen:

* It's a holiday, so that means burgers on the grill (which technically isn't in the kitchen :) with some french fries, lemonade and banana splits for dessert.  The rest of the week is ordinary fare, though I'm trying to figure out some meals that are "clean" and inexpensive.  Quite the task.

Praying:

* For my friend's niece who committed suicide, and for her family.  For a family fleeing for their lives in Syria - a mom and her children hoping to meet up with her husband in Damascus.  Praying we never have to face anything like that in this country.

Pondering:

* Why the message coming across my radar lately is all about trusting in God and having confidence in Him.  Every where I go, everything I read - that is the message.  Maybe it is because I should really try to do it!  Pondering how.

Reading:

* Picked up the book "I Believe in Love" and hoping to get through the entire book this time.  It seems like it might be my time to read it.

* "Kateri Tekakwitha - Mohawk Maiden" in preparation for my new unit study.

Looking Ahead:

* To a relatively open schedule this week - YIPPEEEEEE!  

* To my birthday at the end of the week.

Captured:

My daughter's prize flower - as she so perfectly labeled it!

 

Have a wonderful Day!

God Bless!

  

A Bit of Weekend Fun

Of course the weekend we planned a big bonfire and party for friends in our homeschool group it decides to rain.  Being as it hasn't rained really all summer and most of the area corn crops are worthless, one isn't allowed to complain about the rain that came...and we didn't.  We just kept changing our plans all day long based on the current amount of precipitation:

Raining- it will be an indoor party
not raining - well, still don't want to take the chance
raining - definitely indoor
sunshine -  part indoor part outdoor party, fire in the fire pit on the patio, where should the music go?
drizzle - food inside, possible fire on the patio, music in the garage
no rain but windy - food inside, fire in the pit on the driveway, music in the garage

and so it went all day long until we ended up with the final scenario as the first guests were arriving.  As my husband predicted, with the fire and the music in the garage area and the food in the house...the women stayed inside and the men stayed outside tending the blaze.

Part of the fun of the evening was the 80s music that we played.  It is amazing that grown people who cannot remember the names of their children can sing all the words to every song that came on.   Maybe if they sang their requests and questions to me I might remember them :)

Another fun thing about the music was seeing who liked which type.  My kids always get a kick out of thinking of Mr and Mrs so-and-so (who they usually see at a religious type function) rocking to some loud, upbeat music. As one of our friends put it, "I will never think of you all in the same way again!"

All in all it was a very fun evening.  What is nice about events like this it gives us all a chance to let our hair hang down, relax, talk, sing, dance even.  We are all called to be saints...we are all called to pick up our cross and follow the Lord, but that doesn't mean that we can't kick it up once in awhile.  I'm glad I have a bunch of friends who agree with me :)

God Bless!