National Pie Day

"An Ode to Pie"
by Darren Norton
written in honor of National Pie Day
January 23, 2009

A day devoted to pie -
An event that makes me sigh
With joy, happiness, and glee
A piece for you, two for me!

Chocolate, cherry or cheese
Or any flavor you please
Baked in a round flaky crust
Coffee or milk is a must!

Pumpkin, pecan, peach or pear
Or papaya if you dare
Makes me shout from up on high
My favorite phrase, "I like pie!"

BINGO Again

Kathy and I went to BINGO last night at St. Mark. It's been awhile since we have been since they were closed during the summer. The KoC ran last nights game, and there were only around 34 people. I thought our chances were going to be really good, but that wasn't the case. The night was a bust except for Kathy's $50 Super Hog! It paid for our date night and we got a chance to chill out.

Webkinz Crazy

Our family and household has been taken over by Webkinz! What are Webkinz you ask? Well, remember the Cabbage Patch Kids of yesteryear? Webkinz are the the Cabbage Patch Kids of today. Available for purchase as cute little plush toys with a "secret code", Webkinz are logged into an account you create and begin to take on a life of their own in cyberspace.

The kids love them and Kathy and I even have a few ourselves. We have to log in and "take care" of them on a regular basis. Through different activities, we earn "Kinzcash" to purchase furniture, food, rooms, clothes, etc.

The online environment is very safe. Users are unable to reveal personal information about themselves, but are allowed to send email and chat, only with pre-selected phrases.

It is a great place to reinforce responsibility and to give kids a safe place on the Internet to go.

Coming Up.....

Hopefully, once we got this moving thing under control and school finally lets out, I'll be able to post some more -

Coming up in....

Parties and Pictures:
Alec's 12th birthday party
Nicholas 12th birthday party
Bob's birtday
St. Mark Derby Day
Emily, Rebecca and Kathy at the Legends Game

Norton's News, Notes 'n' Nonsense:
Updates on the new house
Updates on my job hunt
Kids riding their bikes
Jim and Diane visit
St. Mark Middle School Play

My Catholic Reflections:
Emily's First Holy Communion
Gifts of the Holy Spirit Series
Fruits of the Holy Spirit Series
Favorite Catholic Podcasts and Videocasts

Principal's Pokes and Ponderings:
Family Fun Night II: Aloha Style
Reflection on my tenure at Madison County Alternative and Day Treatment Programs

Kids in the Paper for Making Cards for Pope Benedict XVI

Nicholas and Rebecca were in the April 12th editions of The Richmond Register and Lexington Herald Leader for making birthday cards for Pope Benedict XVI upon his first visit to the USA. I scanned them and present them here (click on them to enlarge them):

From the Front Page of the Register:

From the Back Page of the Register:



















From Page B3 of the Leader (Rebecca is 4 kids down on the right):















co-published in My Catholic Reflections

Catholic Schools Week: St. Mark School Awards

Congratulations to Emily for winning the "Best Teacher Caricature" in the 2nd grade!












Congratulations to Rebecca (third from right) on being on the Principal's List for getting all "A's" on her last report card!



Congratulations to Nicholas (first from right) for being on the Honor Roll for getting all "A's" and "B's"

(Also published in My Catholic Reflections)

2007 Family Vacation: Day 6

Whew! This morning we packed everything up and met the wedding party and guests at ABC (The Atlantic Beach Club) for brunch. Brunch was buffet style and had all the normal breakfast items and also included a fish dish, salad, fruit, etc.

From Sightseeing a...

After the kids ate they went out to the beach for another look at the RI coast. Roger had some albums for Bob that we took and hid away in the van.



We said our good-byes to everyone, promissing to keep in touch once we got back to our busy lives. Jim and Diane took Bob and Gail to the airport to catch their flight at 2:30.

We left and went back to the little tourist stores to buy some souveniers. Since it was Sunday morning, there weren't many stores open. The kids got some little toys and shirts with RI on them. Kathy got a signed cookbook by a local artist - Behind Newport Doors: A Cookbook by Muriel Barclay de Tolly.

From Sightseeing a...

We drove around looking at the big houses on the coast before fueling up and heading to our second leg of the vacation - Cape May!