Toddlers and Scholars

Swine flu has hit Notre Dame.

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We walked out of our front door yesterday to see a huge picture of a fetus flying above our house. Randall Terry hired an airplane to drag a huge banner protesting Obama’s appearance at graduation.

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We’re heading down the homestretch. I have 45 papers (between 8 and 15 pages) to grade, 45 exams to give and grade. Lisa has some statistics exams to grade and a 15-page paper to write. They’re all due next Friday.

This summer Lisa will be working part-time doing research for her adviser. I will be preparing to teach a class on American religious history next fall and working on my book project, hoping to have a rough draft by the end of August.

Congratulations to David’s grandparents who celebrate their 60th anniversary this weekend.

Check out this map.

I think spring is finally here to stay, but we’ve had several days lately that have been too wet and cold to go outside. So we’ve found a few new ways to amuse ourselves indoors.

Andrew and Jonathan aren’t really into drawing with crayons. But it occurred to me that they might like to paint. The problem with this idea is that paint is rather messy—especially the non-water-based stuff that was all I could find in the basement. So we tried painting with water on construction paper. It actually worked really well and kept the boys quiet, stationary, and happy for at least half an hour (!). Somebody tell me why I didn’t think of this in February.

When we were done, I hung the papers up to dry so we can re-use them (a nice side benefit just in time for Earth Day). Jonathan looked up and said, “hey, it’s a party up there!” In the picture, Andrew is showing me that he has eaten  all of his lunch and therefore is deserving of a cookie.

–lisa

1. Augustine (5th century): Remember that you are a citizen of another kingdom.

2. Martin Luther (16th century): Expect politicians to be corrupt.

3. Thomas Aquinas (13th century): God has made himself known in nature.

4. John Calvin (16th century): God is sovereign over all, including our suffering.

5. Jonathan Edwards (18th century): God is beautiful, and all beauty is divine.

6. Thomas a’Kempis (15th century): Practice self-denial with a passion.

7. John Wesley (18th century): Be disciplined and make the best use of your time.

8. Fyodor Dostoevsky (19th century): God’s grace can reach anyone.

9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (20th century): Beware of cheap grace.

10.Alvin Plantinga (21st century): Moral virtue is crucial for intellectual health.

For more detail on these thinkers, click on Taylor University philosophy professor James Spiegel’s site.