My Brother, the Priest

Here is an article my mom wrote about my brother, the priest, for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas webpage. It gives her (and my dad's) perspective about his vocation. Click here for the original. I have to say that my brother's ordination days, both as deacon and priest, were pretty darn special.



Klingele Family
Little did we know, when our seven year old son Brian asked, "Can priests get married?" that God was already planting ideas in his head. After explaining that priests would be too busy to properly take care of a family, he was off to St. Patrick’s School. Later at a school Mass, the pastor was speaking about vocations and asked Brian if he would like to be a priest. He shook his little blond head no, so Father asked him what he wanted to be. Brian said, "I am going to be a bishop because they do not have so much to do." We chuckled over his answer and tucked it away in our memories.
Brian was a normal child, the fourth of five children. As he got older, he was excited to be able to serve Mass. He was a good student, enjoyed sports, and played on baseball, basketball and soccer teams.
We were a little sad when Brian decided to go to the University of Dallas as Eric, Heidi and Janet had gone to Benedictine College and we were very impressed with it. But once again, the hand of God was at work. As part of their curriculum, all UD students spend a semester in Rome. While Brian was there, we began to receive post cards from basilicas, cathedrals, monasteries, etc. and were pleased to hear him talk about going to daily Mass. On one postcard, he wrote, "Something is happening to me over here." The next semester, after returning from Rome, he called to say he was changing one of his majors (he had planned to major in math and physics) to theology as he was discerning entry into the seminary.
The idea of a son in the seminary was not foreign to us since Eric, our oldest son, was already at Mundelein Seminary discerning the possibility of a vocation. We were thrilled and amazed that God might call both of our sons to the priesthood. (As it turned out, Eric found that he was called to the vocation of marriage and is now a wonderful husband and father.)
Of course, there were times when we worried about our son becoming a priest (the commitment, the daily struggles, the vows to be taken) but eventually, when the other children began to marry, we found we were worrying about the same issues, only in a different way. Ever since our children were little we prayed that they would always follow the will of God, and He answers our prayers daily.
Archbishop Keleher asked Brian to study at the North American College in Rome and, once again, we had mixed emotions. What a great opportunity, but he would miss many holidays, birthdays, weddings, even the funeral of his Grandpa. Although our hearts sometimes ached for him, we had the great joy and blessing of visiting Rome three times while he was there. On the first visit, we were blessed beyond all imaginings, to attend a private Mass and audience (25 people) with Pope John Paul II. We still feel overwhelmed with emotion recalling the Holy Father looking into our eyes, smiling, placing a rosary in our hands and extending his hand to our family as he was leaving and saying, "Behold the family!"
The ultimate joy was Brian’s ordination day, the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, June 29, 2002. The Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City was filled with family, friends, priests, Serrans, Knights etc. As Archbishop Keleher laid his hands on Brian’s head, the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon him making him Father Brian Klingele, a priest of God, able to change bread and wine into the very body and blood of Christ. With Mary, we humbly say, "How can this be that our son, born in a simple home of ordinary parents, could be chosen to perform this greatest of all miracles?"
My Mother, 92 years old and very feeble, sitting proudly in the front pew and witnessing the ordination of her grandson, said with tears in her eyes, "I never thought I would live to see this day."
Our prayers for him remain the same, that he will always be a holy, happy priest and follow the will of His heavenly Father in all things.

Murphy's Law for Moms, #18

If you try to get your house ready for your realtor to come and take pictures, be prepared for the fact that your children can mess up the house faster than you can clean it.

On and On

If you ever have a chance to ride in the car with us (and who would be crazy enough to do that for longer than 15 minutes?), you would be treated to a running commentary from Dominic:

"A pond! A pond!"

"Twuck."

"I see a twactor."

"Dere's my favowite pond!"

"We goin' up high!"

"Wook at dose twees obah dere!"

"We goin' down. Whee! Pond! Whee! Twuck! Wheeeee!"

"Dey are buildin' somepin obah dere."

He is such a funny boy!

A New Kind of Decor

Aaahh, time to kick back and relax. What else do you decorate your mantel with when you've packed everything away?
Don't worry, Grandmas, Daddy was hovering close by!

Look What I Found!

Joseph, being the super sleuth that he is, found the bottle of Scotch in the recesses of the lazy Susan (it was too tall to go anywhere else). I don't think it has even been opened in 4 or 5 years. Why are babies fascinated with anything that is not a toy?

You Know Mom is Tired, #5

You know Mom is tired when she tries to put the milk away in the cabinet, and only notices when it doesn't fit.

Sisters!

The Mystery Beep

I'm taking a break from calling utility companies for our new place (oh what a joy, it seems like everyone has to mail me an application, it's a good thing I don't need the water turned on tomorrow!). Anyway, as I sat down at the computer I heard this mysterious beep. It's not very loud and it only happens about every 10-15 seconds, but it is driving me crazy. I can't figure out where it is coming from. Every time I go in one direction, it sounds like it is somewhere else. Ah, I've got it, it's a ventriloquist beep. So now, I must go, once again, to search for the source of the mystery beep. If I find it, I'll let you know.

Update: I found the source! Dan is getting ready to paint the basement and all the furniture is piled in the middle of the room. I knew the phone was unplugged and moved somewhere and I found it in a drawer in that very pile and yep, it is the phone making that beep. Now that I know what it is, it doesn't bother me anymore!

Oops!

Joseph has been learning to eat with a spoon and he just loves it. He gets to be like everyone else, after all! One night he got to eat some ice cream out of a real bowl. See that mischievous look on his face?
The next picture (which I didn't get) should be of a broken bowl on the floor!

Murphy's Law for Moms, #17

If you take 4 small children with you when you go shopping at Wal-Mart(by yourself!), you will find yourself becoming frazzled, frustrated, flustered, and exhausted.

The Wonder of a Caterpillar

Catherine, Anne, and cousin Isabella

He Can Dance!

Last weekend after the wedding dinner, when music began playing in preparation for the dance, Dominic started cutting loose. He doesn't get his moves from Daddy! Some hidden gene, perhaps.

Trip to Victoria

This past weekend we went to Victoria, Kansas for the wedding of Dan's niece. We stayed in the house that used to belong to Dan's grandfather and now belongs to his uncle(Fr. Al). Dan's mom lives two houses down the street, but her casa was full.

So the kids got to explore the little family chapel: Dominic is thrilled to sit on the tractor:
Joseph gets a turn:
The girls are trying to feed apples to the horses, but I think they (the girls) are too scared to get close enough.

Note in the picture above the twin steeples. If you have ever driven across Kansas on I-70, you have passed the sign for the Cathedral of the Plains (the church is actually named St. Fidelis) and have seen these very steeples off in the distance. If you ever have the chance to stop, it is well worth a visit. My family did that very thing long before I ever met Dan!

Dan's great-grandfather helped build the church back in 1908-1911. If I have the story straight, each family had to haul so many wagonloads of limestone to the church site. (Dan can correct me if I have any of this wrong!) The big 100 year celebrations will start this fall and end in 2011.

Mystery Solved!

A while back, we sat down to dinner one day, and Dan noticed the table leg was loose. Well, after dinner he fixed it and thought no more of it. Until, a few days later, it was loose again. Then, again. And again. Let's see. Who could be doing this? We thought for sure it was this kid: Or maybe this one:
Then one day, Mommy caught the little culprit in the act:
How do they figure these things out?

Daddy Did It!

Not that Joseph cares. Hey, shorts under your onesie might get to be in style!

Mommy is in Trouble!

Joseph, who is all of 13 and 1/2 months old, is walking everywhere and is now able to open the bathroom doors.

Murphy's Law for Moms, #16

If you give little girls in pretty little dresses glasses of red punch to drink, you will be sorry on laundry day.

Speaking of dinner..

...here is Joseph "helping" Mommy fix dinner one night. I need that one right there, Mom!
Let's see, what else do we need?
Of course, half of that stuff is now packed away!

Dinnertime!

This picture is a little dark, but it is the only one I got. The kids had gotten out the play food and put it on their little plates and sat down at their little table. The next thing I heard was "Bless us oh Lord and these thy gifts..." followed by a "Hail Mary," which we usually say at mealtime. It was so cute. They did a good job, too!

Funny Story

Our realtor sent me this funny story (can you tell she has been around our family a few times?). That dog could come from our house.

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

More Zoo

I am one cool baby. Hey, Mom, look at me!
Peek-a-boo!
Playing in the petting zoo barn.
Look at those faces. I think it's time to go home!

Zoo Time!

Last week, while Dan and my dad were painting, my job was to get the kids out of the house. So, one day, when they were painting the kitchen and the hall outside of the bedrooms, we went to the zoo. For five hours!

We made a stop to see the giraffes and Catherine helped Anne put her sandal back on. What a big sister!
And what are those bars and railings for anyway?
Time for a picnic lunch, or maybe I should say, picnic snacking.
Then off to watch the grizzly bear playing in the water. I asked Catherine if she wanted to play in the water with the bear, and she said, "No! It looks yucky in there!" Smart kid.
It was getting hot outside so we went into the rain forest and it actually felt a little cool in there. Time to climb on more railings.

You Are So Busted

When you play with Mommy and Daddy's camera... ...and take pictures of yourself...
...and the twins...
...you will always get caught when Mommy downloads the pictures to the computer.

If You Empty Out Your China Cabinet...

...your 13 month old will soon discover that interesting fact. If one child crawls in, another is sure to follow...
...providing endless hours of entertainment!

Pack and Paint

This past week we have been busy packing... and painting.

Oh, Those Twins

One morning at breakfast, Dominic threw a fit and didn't want to sit in his chair. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I don't want to sit by Anne."

Mommy: "Why don't you want to sit by Anne?"

Dominic: "I don't like Anne."

Mommy: "You love Anne. She's your sister."

Dominic: "I don't love Anne anymore."

Oh, the whims of a 2 year old. Later that same day, Anne and Dominic came upstairs together holding hands. They walked around the living room looking for something. I asked them what they were doing and Dominic said, "I helping Anne find Pink Baby."

I Finally Heard a New One

Everyone who has more than a couple kids, especially if they are all little, has heard the comments:

"Are they all yours?"

"Wow, you must have your hands full!"

"Better you than me!"

"Do you have twins?"

"Are they triplets?"

"Oh, you have a boy and a girl now, you must be done."

The other day, I came out of Walgreens with all four kids (4, 2, 2, and 13 mo) and was busily trying to get everyone into the car and buckled in their seats. As I was working away, I heard someone chuckle and say something. I looked up and a few parking spots away an elderly couple were next to their car and the man was looking at us and he repeated, "Is it in the water?" I looked at him blankly and he laughed and said, "There's something in the water. You don't need any more." I guess he thought he was being funny. I didn't know what to say at the time so we just left. Anybody heard that one before?