Spine Poetry

My former teaching colleague posted this on Facebook---Spine Poetry in honor of April being Poetry Month.   You pick books, stack them and voila--poetry.  "You are not so smart, Thinking, fast and slow, This will make you smarter."

So, I wanted to do it, using one of my friend's books: "The Red Tent, The Red Desk, The Crimson Petal and the White: Mind Games".

 This was my first attempt---the bottom two books were easy, but finding the right first book was the hard part:  "The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, When Elephants Weep."

This one proves you can get a great grouping, but if the books are the wrong size, or the writing goes the wrong way on the spine, the effect is not as good:  The Fatal Shore, Check-out Time, The Reckoning:  Ashes to Ashes.

I am only using books that were found on my book shelves: "The War of the Worlds:  A Thousand Splendid Suns, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

I wanted one that had a local flavor---Tower Grove Park---my favorite park.  I was so lucky to have grown up across the street from it:  "Then Sings My Soul:  Walking in Tower Grove Park, Where We Live."

I decided the books should reflect me and my reading interests, so I came up with "Slaves in the Family---I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  Bitter Harvest."  Now, sometimes the tricky part is getting them in the right order.  Maybe I should have ended with "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings".

This is one which reflects my love of history, plays on words and my sometimes random grouping of ideas.

I decided to see if I could come up with some DVD poetry: "Finding Nemo? Off limits. O, Brother, Where are thou?  Finding Neverland. . . ."  Somehow, more thought provoking than I thought I could get with our large collection of Disney, Sci Fi and History collection.

Now, that I've cleaned off my book shelves, maybe I need to set some aside for the ABC Sale at church. . . .

Post First Communion Party

 After Mass, we returned home for a party! But, first the obligatory photos!

 Davis had a special treat---someone found a photo of his great-grandfather's first communion.

 And the glass candlestick in the photo----as a family historian, I was touched by the coming together of generations---100 years apart.

 We also had food, presents. . .

 and a chance to catch up with friends and family.

 What kind of family get-together would it be without dress-ups?  Libby is practicing for her First Communion.

 But, I am not sure what Davis and Roman are practicing for!

First Communion

 We returned to Kansas City a few weeks after Easter for our grandson's First Communion.

 He looked so handsome! We filled a pew with an assortment of siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

 We were so proud of him when he got up to read.

 He did a wonderful job! Davis was so lucky to have had a brand new priest who had such enthusiasm for this special event.

 It was fun to see all of the kids that we have met over the past 5 years at soccer games, basketball games.

 Here are Brett, Libby (siblings), and Davis with their cousins Will and Elaina.

And, a Birthday

Davis was born on Maundy Thursday, but this year his birthday was Easter Sunday.  We had a family celebration on Saturday.  He received some Legos, a Target gift card and a trip to World's of Fun!

We played games---throw discs of paper and popsicle sticks off the deck and try to catch them.  They were entertained for at least an hour!

Next came entertainment. . .not sure the Dads were as entertained since they were trying to watch the Masters Golf.

So, we went down stairs for a dance party!

Finally, we had some Birthday "cake"!  Happy Birthday, Davis!

Easter in Kansas City

 We started our Easter Festivities by dyeing some Easter eggs.  Since the weather was so nice, we decided it would be a great outdoor activity.

 Then, it was time for the traditional pre-egg-hunting photo which is never easy. . .

 Let the Hunt begin!

 Since we held the hunt indoors, we again had the kids look for specific colors/eggs.  Libby had pink and purple, Davis had green and basketballs, Brett with baseballs and orange and Roman with soccer balls and yellow.

Then, the moment they were all waiting for. . . .opening the eggs!

But, the excitement wasn't over, we still had a birthday to celebrate.