A Family Event

Well, we have ourselves a runner.

Blake ran a local 5k race over the weekend.  We weren't sure what to expect, as it was his first official 5k, and he hasn't been running as much since track season ended.  I told him that if he could do it in under 30 minutes I thought he'd be doing great.

I was at the finish line with some of the little ones.  I couldn't believe how strong he looked as he came in!  He ran it in 25:49, and was barely winded.  I ran this race years ago, and I remember it being kind of overwhelming.  It's on the city streets, and it seems to take you further and further away from the park, and all the while you know you have to get back there somehow!  I really thought he might end up walking some of it, but he didn't, he ran the whole 3.1 miles.

I'm so thankful that he's found something he likes to do, that is so good for him.  I think he has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to watch him grow and develop as an athlete.  I'm also hoping that having a runner in the house might get me back into it.  We'll see.

And in one of those full circle, how funny is that, kind of moments, I was standing with Blake right after he finished the race and I looked up and saw an old friend from high school.  I ran cross country and track with him, and he was the best runner on our team, far better an athlete than I could ever dream of being, and my son had just beat him in a race!  Of course, he's 30 years old and was pushing a stroller as he ran... but still! ;o)

The other highlight of the night was the One Mile Fun Run.  Open to any and all participants, we challenged the younger kids to try it out.  I even put my running shoes on and jumped in there with Isaac.  He was so cute!  He would run all-out for a minute and then just stop.  I would ask him if he was done, and he'd say, "No, me run!"  and start running again.  We did that for about a half mile, then he stopped and asked me to pick him up.  So we dropped out, and walked over to the finish area to wait for the other boys, except when we got there, Isaac took off running again.  He ended up looping back around and running through the finish line while everyone cheered, thinking he had finished the whole race.  It was the cutest darn thing ever.  I wish I had pictures.  Owen, Peyton and Oliver all finished the mile in around 12 minutes.  They all looked so proud!  I don't think it occurred to any of them that they could run a race like their big brother.

The weather was beautiful, and it was such a fun way to end the weekend, all together as a family, being active.

A Word of Advice

If you've had a long week, and you're tired to the bones, and your mind won't stop spinning with all that is on your plate... If you're working at the computer, even if it's something important, and even if the hours in the day are too short to do it all, if you're busy, occupied, tied up... even if you're all these things at once, and a little voice from behind you says, "Mama, will you play Go Fish with me?".... do it.

Drop everything and run, don't walk, to the floor with that child, and play Go Fish like you're five years old again.

It'll be worth it.  I promise.

And Another!

Yet another birthday celebrated in our family today.
Isaac is the big 3.  (He still pretty much acted 2 today though ;o).)
We took him to the zoo, had pizza for dinner, cake and presents.  It was a nice family day.
I kept forgetting that it was Father's Day as well!  I guess that shows where priority falls.  A 3rd birthday trumps a grown-up thing thing any day of the week.
Mr. Smith did get to sleep in a little bit, (The man gets up at 4:30am six days a week, 8:30 is like sleeping half the day away.) but that was the extent of the recognition for him.  He got his gift earlier in the weekend...which leads me to the Big Event we had this weekend... which leads me to how. darn. exhausted. I am right now, and I'll have to save it for another post...
Happy birthday, Isaac!

Happy Birthday!

Have to sneak on here before the day is officially over, to acknowledge my baby's big day.  Sebastian is ONE.  I can hardly believe it.
I think I woke up this morning and realized a new identity.  I am currently a woman without an infant.
That doesn't seem to happen very often.
Now if he decides to wean anytime soon, we'll be in truly uncharted territory.  The last time I was neither pregnant nor nursing (or both), was in July of 2007.  That lasted for exactly one month.  I've had 3 pregnancies since then, 2 healthy babies and a little saint in heaven.
We'll see what's in store for us this year.
God is so good.

A Saintly Intervention

Full disclosure:  I am not a dog person.

I have never really had the patience for animals as pets.  I don't like a dog that is too invasive, attacking you (albeit with love and excitement) as soon as you walk in the door.  I have a lot of duties to juggle on a daily basis, and adding puppy care and training to the list was not something I was eager to do.  Still, I considered it for the sake of my family.

Many times throughout our 12+ years of marriage, Mr. Smith and I have toyed around with the idea of getting a dog.  We've researched breeds, gone to shelters, talked to breeders.  We both grew up with dogs for pets, and he, especially, wanted to have one for our family.  Right about the time we were getting serious about getting a dog, several years ago, we realized that Owen is allergic to them and we wouldn't be able to.

Fast forward to 2 years ago.  My sister and her husband did extensive research, and decided on a cockapoo as their choice breed.  They brought home a boy puppy named Bruno.  A year later they gave Bruno a playmate, his half-sister, Paisley.  Our boys fell in love with these puppies on many visits.  We realized that the claims of them being hypo-allergenic, non-shedding dogs were 100% true.  Owen had no problem being around them.  We began to consider getting our own.

As conversations on the topic progressed, and excitement at the possibility grew, I put in an email to the breeder, asking him to let us know when they had a litter available.  He did.  We went out the next day.  We came home with Bosco.

He was incredibly cute.  A little ball of fluff and joy.  The boys loved holding him, playing with him.  He was sweet, tiny, slow moving, and timid.  For about 3 days.  Then he woke up.  He chewed on things, pottied in the house, began nipping at the little ones, and he barked.  Oh, the barking.  Not too long into this puppy adventure, I began to have serious doubts.  About our sanity, mostly.  About how we could possibly keep this up.  How I could possibly learn to love and care for this little fireball that was wreaking so much havoc on my daily routines.  All I could see when I looked at him was a chore.  Sadly, dollar signs would flash through my mind.  I suppressed thoughts calculating the amount of money he would cost us over his lifetime.  I tried to push aside the anxiety I felt over this decision to add to our family... with a dog.  A dog!  What were we thinking?!

I knew I could quickly be consumed with regret if I didn't change the way I was thinking.  There was no going back, Bosco was a part of our life and I had to come to terms with that.  Really, I had to embrace it.

I thought of St. Francis of Assisi.  What a wonderful saint.  And one of his loves?  Animals!  Surely if this great saint could hold animals in such esteem as part of God's creation, then I could learn to love this puppy.  I began to ask St. Francis to help me.  I asked him to pray for me to love this dog.  Whenever I started to feel overwhelmed, I would think of St. Francis and know that there is good in caring for and loving God's creatures.

My heart began to soften.  I found myself enjoying time with Bosco.  I would stop several times a day to rub his belly and scratch his ears.  I felt a smile cross my face immediately at the sight of those eager puppy eyes, tail wagging, hoping I'd play with him and shower attention on him.  Even when he was being naughty, even when others in the house were fed up with him, I, a non-dog person, could see the bright side of having this furry creature in our midst. 

I don't see dollar signs anymore.  I am no longer counting the cost or the toll, but now the fun and the blessings.

I can promise you this:  This change was not within my own power to obtain.

Thank you St. Francis.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing an open mind with a change of heart.

Giveaway Fun

Amy's hosting a giveaway, over at Knit Together.

An adorable Saint Michael the Archangel doll.

Go take a look!

(and while you're there, congratulate her on the good news!)

Baby's First Haircut

  before...

 after!

my little blondie

Sebastian was getting so shaggy!  Plus, he's a little furnace, and I knew he'd never make it all summer with all that hair.  It actually wasn't his very first, I've had to trim it before to keep it out of his eyes.  This is the first time I took it all off.  I could eat him up!

What If There's Not an Infinite Supply?

Is it possible, that God gave me a massive amount of patience for use throughout my lifetime, but when it's gone, it's gone?

That I was supplied with this generous, yet finite, quantitiy, and I've used it all up in 12 years of parenting?

That's not how it works, right?

Which means this is just a lull.  Just a momentary lapse in my ability to tap into the God-given, grace-driven well of patience, for the use and good of my children?

Phew.  Good thing.  Cause parenting is impossible without it.

I'll let you know when it returns.

Please Vote!

This website is taking votes for the "Top 25 Faith Blogs by Moms", and a pagan blogger is currently winning... so disturbing!  We all know Catholic Icing is a great site, but she entered late compared to the rest.  Let's try to catch her up with votes!  You can vote once a day, just by clicking on the orange circle.

 

Vote Here

Right Now

~ all of the neighborhood kids have left for school
~ my 5- and 7-year-olds are eating their oatmeal on the patio, and chatting like old pals
~ the baby is crawling around from brother to brother, babbling
~ the 9-year-old is telling me (in detail) about how his daddy taught him to spin a pitch
~ my windows are open, it's going to be cooler today
~ I'm looking forward to a morning out, with beautiful weather and good friends
~ I have a hot cup of fresh coffee in my hands

Right Now
I am blessed.

Right Now
I want to capture this moment, this simple morning, and remember it forever.  When life gets complicated, I want to have this moment to conjure up, to bring relief, a sweet memory.  Living in the moment.

Memorial Day Weekend - 2011

We had a great weekend, visiting my sister, brother-in-law, and brand new baby nephew, on the other side of the state.  With having a new baby ourselves last summer, it had been about a year and a half since we went camping, so we decided this would be a good opportunity to break out the camping gear and give it a go.  We stayed at a sweet little campground about 15 minutes away from my sister.

It's a bit like rolling dice to just pull a campground off the internet and reserve a site for the weekend.  We've done that before and been very surprised by what we saw when we got there (and not in a good way).  So we were a little nervous, but it ended up being just perfect.  On Friday night they showed Gnomeo and Juliet with free popcorn, under their pavillion at dusk.  Saturday morning the kids could tie-dye t-shirts for a small fee.  Then Saturday evening it was free root beer floats.  

I had requested a site next to the playground, but really, you never know what you're going to get.  We've stayed at one where they had 2 broken down swings and a sorry looking teeter totter and claimed it was a playground.  This one was awesome.  It had tons of equipment which was all freshly painted, and they were laying new mulch down under the climbers as we set up our tent.  There was even an old-school merry-go-round, which you never see anymore at parks.  Well, there's a reason you never see them, they're treacherous!  I lost count of how many times a child got hurt, came crying, and was banned from the merry-go-round by Mr. Smith (only to use puppy dog eyes and promises of safe playing to earn the privilege back within the hour).  It was by far their favorite thing there.  I predicted stitches for at least one of them, but there were no major injuries in the end.

On Saturday we took a day trip to a state park.  It had a hiking path to sand dunes and a beautiful, quiet beach.  I couldn't live without my Ergo for things like that.  The weather was supposed to be terrible (in fact, that almost stopped us from going), but it turned out to be perfect.  A little chilly, but nothing that would stop these boys from going into the water even in their clothes.

 Isaac had a run-in with the water...

 which led to this...

and eventually this, big brother's flannel.

Would you believe I didn't get one single picture of the new baby?!  What was I thinking?!  I guess I was too busy cuddling and staring to bother with a camera.

We cleaned up and headed home (after having dinner with the babymooners) on Sunday evening.  There were storms moving in and we didn't want to have nothing but a tent to hunker down in.  We're brave, but not that brave.

Oobleck

Today we made Oobleck!

 

It had been a few years since we did this last, so most of the kids didn't really remember it.  They all had so much fun playing with it and handling it different ways for different effects.

 

It kept them busy for the better part of 2 hours...

 

...and anytime one of my children uses a term like "non-Newtonian liquid" and actually understands what it means...I'd say that's time well spent. 

 

It really is such cool stuff.  Every time I put my hands into it I had a hard time walking away.  Brings out the kid in everyone, I'm sure.

 

Worth noting:  Contrary to how these photos probably appear, clean up was not bad at all.  The dry stuff flakes off and sweeps easily, and a wet rag does the rest.

The Fullness of Life

It's been a long week.  I am tired in a way I haven't been for awhile.

Today should be kind of like the finale though, and I'm looking forward to the end of this show.

Mr. Smith is at work this morning.  Six day work weeks are hard.  Families need the weekend to recover and reconnect, and cutting into the first half of it really takes away from that.

Once the kids are up, we'll be go, go, go until this evening.  A track meet, two soccer games, baseball practice for two, a birthday party....speaking of the birthday party, it's my 5-year-old who is going, his friend from soccer is turning five.  It's a couple of hours at an indoor play place.  Simple and fun enough, right up his alley.  Except that the Mr. and I have to be at a gazillion different places during that time.  No way to even go drop him off.  The mom offered to take him with her, and since the boys have a soccer game together shortly after, she's going to keep him right up til game time and bring him up there for us.

Quite helpful, seemingly, on this crazy day of destinations.  So why am I nervous?

Well, for starters, he's never been away from me for that long.  It should be about 5 hours total.  I understand there's probably some snickering going on right now, after that line.  He's not an infant, and even if he was, the average kid is away from his mom for that long by the time he's a month old.  That's not how we operate.  Also, Oliver has severe food allergies.  They'll be eating pizza, cake, and ice cream at the party.  He can't have any of those things.  Period.  Not a single bite.  I'm packing him a lunch, with a sandwich and chips, and oreo cookies for dessert.  Not exactly the same thing.  I'm hoping he handles it well, since this will be the first time I'm not there to cushion the blow of being on the outside of things.

Do I trust the parents?  Absolutely.  They're sweet, level-headed, doting, Christian parents.  A doctor and a nurse to boot.  Yeah, he'll be in good hands.  Still shooting extra prayers toward his guardian angel though.

The track meet today is the last one for the year.  Truthfully, this sport has been fun, rewarding, and a definite growth experience for Blake, but it's been the most taxing on our family life.  Weeknight dinners have been compromised, and Saturdays have been swallowed up whole with meets.  I'm proud of his accomplishments.  I'm also glad it ends today.

My mother-in-law has been in town all week.  That's made for extra outings, more activity, and more cleaning for company (although, admittedly, not nearly enough of the cleaning).  She heads home today.  Another step toward normalcy.

We have a new niece!  My sister-in-law went into labor early in the day on Thursday, and we waited anxiously by our phones all day for news.  She was born late that evening, and I got to go see her yesterday.  Oh, the blessing of a newborn...so precious.  One down, one to go - my sister is due in eight days now.

Mr. Smith has suggested that we order some pizza tonight, when all is said and done, and sit down and chill out, and... chill out.  I couldn't agree more.

Happy Mother's Day!

A few of my gifts:

• a baby who woke up babbling "mama", for the first time, and kept it up all day
• sweet, handmade cards from my boys
• a note on my cupboard door (the one where the coffee is, my first stop in the morning), from my almost-12-year-old, who's still not too old to leave me a little surprise
• a new (to us) van in the driveway.  one with doors that all open, air conditioning that works, and a radio!
• dinner at my mom's, which I didn't have to cook
• time with every one of my nieces
• SUNSHINE!
• a beautiful Mass
• a God-given husband
• a blessed life

Mother's Day blessings to all!

Holy Saturday - 2011

On Holy Saturday, we dyed Easter eggs, of course!

Did I mention we were sick?  ;o)

Again, quiet day, not a lot of fuss.  We tried our hand at natural dye this year.  It was a lot of fun and I really love the colors we came out with.  

We basically put our eggs in pans, covered them with water, threw in the dying agent and a splash of vinegar , and boiled/simmered them for 15 mins.  This didn't make for very bright colors, so we took them off the heat and let them sit in the pans for awhile afterward.

 there are eggs under there!

 red cabbage

 beets (I thought these would be pink!)

 a can of cherry pie filling

 instant coffee granules

 frozen grape juice concentrate

 spinach (*the spinach was not giving us any color and I got impatient.  I cheated on this one, there were 3 drops of green food color in with the spinach)

 carrot tops

 we also used chili powder (light orange) and curry powder (yellow)

 aren't they pretty?

These are the eggs we hide once the children are in bed.  They hunt for them, along with their baskets, on Easter morning.

Good Friday - 2011

Once again, we were sick on Good Friday.  In fact, what had been a pretty classic flu for the rest of us, has developed into pneumonia for Isaac.  No wonder he spent Easter weekend in a lifeless little heap.  He's on antibiotics now, and hopefully the road to recovery too.  Prayers for my little sweetness are appreciated!

So on Good Friday Mr. Smith just worked in the morning, since we were all planning on going to the Stations of the Cross at church.  Once it became clear that we wouldn't all be going, Mr. Smith insisted that I go alone.  He knew how much I had been looking forward to it.  As I was walking out the door, Oliver decided he wanted to go with me, and I was so glad!

Our parish does a beautiful service of the Stations at noon on Good Friday, with reflections and music, and the kids from the youth group act out the Stations as we pray through them.  It's quite beautiful and moving, and I can't help but tear up every year.

We had Hot Cross buns, for lunch rather than breakfast, since I didn't start making the dough until 10:00 am or so :o).  They were delicious either way.  I'm still conflicted about having such a treat on a day of fasting and abstinence, but a tradition is a tradition.  The children enjoy them, and they're exempt from fasting anyway, and it's a good lesson for us grown-ups to only eat one instead of the three or four I would have liked to have eaten ;o).

We had a simple lentil soup and bread for dinner.

We also started the Divine Mercy Novena as a family.

Mr. Smith and I always watch The Passion on Good Friday evening, and this year was no exception.  However, with all the ups and downs of The-Week-of-Illness, I was wiped out, and am sorry to say I didn't even make it to the scourging.  Sleep was calling, and I gave in.

Holy Thursday - 2011

Despite lots of sick children, and not being able to go to Mass, we had a really nice Holy Thursday dinner.

I combined some of the things I've done in the past with some of the symbolic foods that Jessica does, and it made for a very enjoyable meal.

See all of my little sickie-faces?

 We had:

• a loaf of bread with dipping oil
• a small bunch of grapes for every plate
• sparkling "wine"
• a rotisserie chicken (for the cock that crowed after Peter's denials)
• pitas (unleavened bread)
• baby spinach (to represent the bitter herbs of a traditional Seder)
• small, round crackers (Judas' 30 pieces of silver)
• strawberries (Judas' kiss)
• white tic tacs (Peter's tears)
• fig newtons (Gethsemane figs)

We made sandwiches by stuffing the pita halves with chicken and spinach and drizzling the flavored dipping oil over them.  Really yummy!  It was a very simple meal to prepare, and appropriate for our family, as these are all foods we enjoy.

(That's Lacy's Last Supper craft in the center.)

Mr. Smith read the appropriate passages from the bible before we ate, and we had quite a nice conversation about the significance of Holy Thursday during the meal.
Overall, it was a sweet and peaceful night.

Divine Mercy Craft

 Lacy, over at Catholic Icing, has this simple little Divine Mercy craft available to print for free.

 I was planning on having my kids do it anyway, but I started thinking about how I could use this little guy (who's glued onto a toilet paper roll) to help us in saying the Divine Mercy Novena (which began yesterday, on Good Friday).

We had also made Lacy's Last Supper craft on Thursday, which she designed to use egg cartons as the base.  Since we were done with that craft... -- Okay, here's where I admit something... I don't save things.  I am not sentimental.  I know it isn't realistic to keep every little piece of shaped clay and glitter-glued paper craft/project/artwork that all of my children create from now until the end of time...so I keep almost nothing.  We do it, we enjoy it for what it is, we take pictures, and then we pitch it.  I'm sorry if that is appalling to anyone, it's just me, and I'm not likely to change soon. -- Anyhow, we were done with the Last Supper craft (it was a teaching tool, a craft we all worked on together, and our centerpiece at dinner), so I dismantled it and used a portion of the egg cartons to get nine cups in a row. 

 Still using it upside down, I used a knife to cut a slit in the top of each cup and inserted a craft stick into each one.

 Since the Divine Mercy Jesus is on a roll, he can sit right over the craft stick and rest on the egg cup.

Then I cut a piece of card stock in half and folded both halves and taped them together.  I wrote out the days of the Novena across the front of the card stock, in front of the corresponding sticks.  As we say each day's Novena prayers, we can move Jesus right along with us, all the way to Divine Mercy Sunday.  A great way to keep track of the days on our Novena!

 Thanks, Lacy!

A Lent-ish Lent

Dear Mr. Smith,

I'm feeling... deflated.

This is the 7th straight day of sickness in the house.  Seven days of fevers, runny noses, coughing, complaining, lethargy.  Cleaning up unmentionable yuckiness when someone didn't make to where they should, cleaning it up again, and again.  Administering medication, ginger ale, cold washcloths, and love.  Seven days of waiting for the other shoe to drop, then watching the first one drop again, and then both shoes dropping over and over again.  Day seven of hoping this is the last of it, then realizing it isn't, and coming to terms with the long road ahead.  And it seems there was hardly a reprieve from the last round.

Many bodies make for long recoveries.

All this illness has made for an interesting Lent.

I had visions of reflective prayer, self-examination and diligent work, which all would have resulted in a deeper spiritual reality... and a super clean house, to welcome Jesus again at Easter.

Oh I've been praying alright.  It's just that it's been less of the rosary-in-the-peaceful-quiet-of-the-adoration-chapel variety, and more of the Lord-please-help-me-get-through-this-day variety.

Which, come to think of it, is actually kind of Lent-ish, isn't it?

I mean, what is Lent?  It's a period of fasting and penance.  A chance to prepare for the Crucifixion, and Resurrection, of our Lord.  A time to take up our cross, to test our strength and our faith.  To unite our suffering with Christ's.  To pray, to abstain, to give; and in the process, remember how much we need Him.

I've done that.

So maybe this Lent has been just what it should be.

Thoughtfully Yours,
Mrs. Smith

Puppy, Love

We settled on Bosco for a name, and we love it.  It seems fitting for a feisty little pup like him, and is such a strong and manly name, it almost gives the illusion that Mr. Smith got the St. Bernard he always dreamed of, rather than this hypoallergenic ball of energy.

Puppies are exhausting!  I almost can't keep it straight, who I have in my arms, the toddler, the infant or the puppy!  And trust me, there's always someone in my arms.

One of the reasons (among many) that we wanted to bring a dog into our home, was for Isaac.  I know I said I'm going to write about his speech progress, and I will, but we've seen that dogs are good for him when he's been around my sister's puppies lately.  So far it's been fruitful.  He says dog, good boy, c'mon, and even attempted his name a few times.  But when it came out "Bobo" the other boys made him self-conscious by fawning over the cuteness of it.  He's sticking with "Dog" now.

And on that topic, I have to record here Isaac's latest, and my favorite of all, speech accomplishment.  Yesterday morning, as I carried him around the kitchen gathering items for his breakfast, I told him I love him for the first of a thousand times in the day.  He leaned into me and said something back that sounded an awful lot like "I love you too".  With Isaac, you can't make a big deal out of it.  He's a stubborn little thing, and if he thinks you want him to do something, that's the best reason he can find not to do it.  I kept quiet about it and didn't hear it again yesterday.

Then this morning, same time, same place, same routine, I said it again and listened closely.  This is what I heard:  "Wa bo dew".  In a sweet voice, with a sweet smile, and love in his eyes.

Sometimes grace comes in very small packages.

Our Newest Addition

...he's a 7-week-old cockapoo.  Won't you help us name him? --------------->

How We're (not) Celebrating

Warning:  The following statements may fall into the category of TMI.

Peyton started heaving his insides out on Tuesday overnight.

He continued most of the day yesterday.

I didn't do much St. Patrick's Day prep.

By this morning he was feeling much better.  I was able to run out and pick up a few things for shamrock shakes and limeade (and popsicles for Peyton), hoping to pull something festive together.

Then, this afternoon, Isaac's insides presented themselves to me on a silver platter.  (actually, on the kitchen floor.)  And about a dozen times over since.

I did start the day wearing green.  But that was at least 4 shirts ago.

More importantly though, our St. Patrick statue made it to our home altar, and we managed to read our St. Patrick books.

And in an effort to be grateful for ALL things God puts in my life (I am reading One Thousand Gifts, after all), I am finding things to thank Him for, even in the midst of unpredictable illness:

• for the ability to care for my children, and do it well
• for so many tummies that are healthy the vast majority of the time
• for humbling me to serve them, and, therefore, You
• for a safe, clean, comfortable home in which to endure illness
• for a husband who comes home and takes the baby so I can eat dinner with two hands
• for the slower pace and low expectations that come along with a sick day
• for my washer and dryer
• for faith...that a new day will come, and it will all be okay

So it isn't what I thought it would be, but it is good just the same.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, and blessings to you!

Random Updates

The Lenten cleaning is coming along, although not as smoothly as I'd prefer, of course.  A busy weekend + A fussy, teething baby = A messy house.  Oh well.  I'll post an update on our first two weeks later this week, and I also want to get a tally going on my sidebar for our 40 bag challenge.

Spring sports have begun.  Blake had his first track practice last night.  This is our first experience playing a sport with our parish's school team.  Praying it goes well and is a good experience for my sweet boy.  Soccer for two boys and then baseball for two coming over the next several weeks.  It's going to be a busy season.

Speaking of busy -- Isaac is starting a new endeavor with speech therapy.  I need to document his progress here, or I'll have no chance of recalling later how things went during this time.

Be back soon...

Our Crucifix

We moved into our house almost 8 months ago, and we still have bare walls.  Well, not all of them, but a lot of them :o).

You know how it can be so difficult to bring yourself to put a nail in those pristine, neutrally-painted-to-attract-a-buyer, fresh, clean walls?

Not that I thought we'd leave them bare.  I just wanted to be good and sure about what I wanted and where.
The thing is, we didn't bring a lot here to hang, and buying wall art hasn't exactly been in the budget. 

We knew we wanted a crucifix though.  The largest one we owned previously was mine from my bedroom growing up, and it's about 6 inches tall.  It's above our bed, and really more suited to hanging over a doorway.  We wanted something that could stand on it's own on a wall in the living room.  We looked at Catholic stores and websites, but everything we saw that would work, and appealed to our taste, was so darn expensive.

I came across this one from catholiccompany.com
At first I thought it was too good to be true.  The more I looked at it online though, the more I thought about buying it.  The reviews on it are great.  It's the size we wanted (20 inches!), and far less expensive than even the much smaller ones at our local Catholic stores.  The material is actually resin, but fashioned to look like wood.  I took the plunge.

My only fear by the time I ordered it was that it would look cheap in person, but the reviews said otherwise so I went ahead with it.

It is breathtaking.  I can hardly believe this is my wall.
I ordered it on Wednesday and it arrived on Friday, very quick.  Their shipping is a bit steep, but I also ordered a Communion gift and a book, and it didn't go up, so I feel like I got my money's worth ;o).

If you're looking for a beautiful crucifix for a reasonable price, I highly recommend this one.

Lenten Cleaning

During the first three days of Holy Week, Easter housecleaning takes place
in many Catholic communities. This is more than just another secular custom.
Its purpose is to prepare the house for the blessing by the priest on
Holy Saturday, and is an outward sign of the inner newness of soul of the family.
This meaning should be made clear to the children so that they may help prepare
the house for the Church's blessing. By Wednesday of Holy Week the cleaning
should be finished, and the remainder of the week should be considered as
semi-holidays. (from EWTN.com)

There are six Saturdays during Lent, not including Holy Saturday.

When planning my Lenten cleaning, Saturdays are important because Mr. Smith is home.  I plan to organize my cleaning by the week, and  I know I'll have those Saturdays to finish anything I didn't get to Monday through Friday... even if it's everything.

Let's back up a little.  I recently made a checklist for our regular weekly cleaning.  I have each room listed, then the things that need to be done in that room itemized.  As we finish them, we check them off.  For example:

o   kitchen

o   sweep
o   vacuum
o   mop
o   clear/wipe countertops
o   wipe appliances
o   wipe cupboards
o   clean stovetop
o   clean high chair
o   clean out fridge
o   clean garbage can
o   finish dishes
o   empty dishwasher

It's a one page document and I print it out on Thursday morning.  We're generally home on Thursdays and Fridays, and I like to get a head start on the cleaning.  There have been times that we've finished everything on Friday, and that frees up our Saturday for family time.  During our regular chore times on those days, we chip away at the list.  Anything that's not finished has to be done on Saturday.  Of course, anything that gets done on Thursday morning is at risk of being undone by Sunday, but I had to come to terms with that long ago. The goal is to have all of that basic cleaning done well once a week, along with all the daily maintenance, and to have a peaceful, work-free Sunday.  It's never perfect, (there have been many weeks when "clean out fridge" gets a line through it, rather than a check mark next to it) but this system has helped move us closer to that goal.

So during Lent, I plan to keep up on our regular cleaning routine, as well as work on one extra area per week.  These are my dirty half-dozen:

• basement utility area
• clothing (sort, donate, organize)
• basement play area
• closets (linen, craft/sewing, foyer, shoe, boy's)
• bedrooms
• food (fridge, cupboards, snack cabinet, pantry shelves)

If we can tackle one of these areas each week, and keep up on our 40 Bags in 40 Days, I will feel pretty darn good about things come Holy Week.  My plan is to print our regular cleaning list at the beginning of that week, so that by Wednesday of Holy Week our home will be prepared for Christ's rising, and we can concentrate on preparing our hearts.

Week one is the basement utility area, and we only have three days now!  It's the most pressing, since it includes my laundry room, but also the closest to being finished, which is why I chose it for this first short week.  

So, that's the plan.  I will try to update our progress on Saturdays!

The Beginning and The End

We celebrated yesterday, in true Mardi Gras fashion.  We Alleluia'd our lungs dry.  Blake played the chorus on the piano for 3 minutes straight, while the younger boys ran around, singing and dancing and screaming it out.  We ate donuts, we ate paczkis, we had pizza and king cake.  We played video games to our heart's content.  It was too much, but it was as it should be, for it was the end.

a less-than-perfect monkey bread version of king cake

  

The end of the indulgent season we've been living.  The end of ordinary time.  The end of the Alleluia.  At least for a bit.  We placed our golden letters into a purple bag.  And stapled it shut.

Today, the ashes.  The fasting.  The reflecting.  The quiet.  Mass this evening as a family.  All is as it should be.

Small Steps Together

From Elizabeth's blog - 2/28/11 :

 

"Just give up.

Give up me. All of me. Give up worry. And all my illusions of control. Do I really want to be in control anyway? Wouldn't it be better for all of us if God were in control? What is worry anyway? Can I hold worry and trust in the same soul? If my soul is filled with worry, if I am anxious about the things of this world, can it be filled with Him? If I am worried, am I really able to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness?"

 

 

From Small Steps - March 2 :

"Unhappy is the soul enslaved by anything that is mortal."  --St. Augustine

 

From my heart - March 2011 : 

 

It makes so much sense, doesn't it?  My brain and my heart get it, they know what I should do... and yet the free will, the habits, the weaknesses, that affect my daily actions are constantly working to the contrary.

I had a fairly typical day yesterday.  I was thinking after lunch, "this has been a really good day".  Mr. Smith got home, we ate dinner, and pulled out a family game to play.  I was slicing fruit up for dessert and the boys were getting the game ready at the table....when my mom called.  Let's suffice it to say it was not a pleasant phone call.  Something that was important to me, that I had worked hard on, had gotten really messed up.

I was angry with her, with other people involved, with myself for my part in it.  I was so upset, of course I got short with the boys.  I was close to tears, and over the top with anger.  I went off by myself, abandoning my family, to breathe (and seethe).  Mr. Smith was sympathetic, he understood why I was upset and he tried to talk it over with me.  I had been saying Hail Mary's and asking for peace, but it wasn't coming.

Then, I just made a decision.  I decided right then that I would not let it take this evening with my family away from me.  What had happened was nothing life-altering.  It was mostly vanity and annoyance that was eating at me, I realized.  Not good reasons to abuse my family.  So I told myself and Mr. Smith that I was over it, not going to worry about it.

At first I had to fake it, for sure.  My insides were still boiling, I just wasn't showing it anymore.  Then after a bit, the inside caught up with the outside and I started feeling more peaceful.  A little time brings a lot of perspective, and I knew by then that what had happened wasn't worth sacrificing a good day for.

So that's what I'm trying to do, to look for times when I can make a conscious decision to just stop, and change my path.

We can't expect not to hit those bumps, they'll always be there.  And our failed human nature will allow the initial flare up.  But there's always a point where we make a choice about how far we take it and how deeply it affects our day and our spirit.

Initially I'll still feel like I failed, just by letting something get in and cause a hiccup.  Victories are sometimes small and imperfect though, and a victory it is, to make that decision for the better.  We bless our families by sparing them, even if not perfectly or wholly.

When I bump into something that I can feel is getting me off track, I've been trying to keep this (sent to me by a friend with good timing), or something like it, in mind:
 "The accomplishment of the divine will is the sole end for which we are in the world."   --St. John Eudes 
Again, it's so much easier to stay on track when you keep your eyes on the goal.  I ask, "Is being upset,  worrying about this, or concerning myself with it at all, going to bring myself and my family closer to Christ, now and eternally?"  Most of the time, the answer is no.  Then I know what I need to do.

Everything in its Place

Dear Mr. Smith,

I'm so glad,
that your toothbrush,
is next to mine today.

Instead of in your bag,
in another state,
like yesterday.

From Home Sweet Home,
Your,
Mrs. Smith

2011 Lent: The Plan

-Fat Tuesday-

Mardi Gras Celebration:  Pancakes, King Cake, Paczkis (oh my!)

Pizza carry-out for the last time
We give up all food of any kind that's not from the grocery store.  No drive-thru coffee.  No fast food dinners.  No restaurants of any kind.  We don't eat out much at all as it is, but when we do it's very expensive for so many people.  This is a good way to save money, after all the over-indulging of the Christmas season, as well as a lesson in self-discipline and sacrifice.

Put away the Alleluia 
Our happy little golden letters.  They'll find their home again on our altar table for the Easter season.
 

King Cake 2010

-Ash Wednesday-

(fasting, abstinence)

Evening Mass, Ashes

Blake 2010

-Throughout Lent- 

PRAY:

Daily Divine Mercy Chaplet

Sunday Rosary

Friday Masses

Stations of the Cross

FAST:

No restaurant/carry-out food of any kind

No candy

No video games

TV-free Fridays

GIVE ALMS:

Extra 10% from spending allowance to donate to charity

Gather food items to donate

Give time at food bank

Lenten Calendar
We've done one similar to Jessica's the past few years.  One of my favorite Lenten traditions.
 

Crown of Thorns
We've always done a braided salt dough crown with toothpicks for thorns.  We pull out a toothpick for each sacrifice we make during Lent, and when they're all out on Holy Saturday, we paint the crown gold and glue jewels on.  It's a great concept, but implementing it has sometimes been a pain.  The dough can get moldy by the end of Lent if it's too moist.  The toothpicks are difficult to pull out, especially if they're pushed in too deep to begin with.  We end up breaking them off, and are left with a somewhat dangerous crown in the end.  So instead of our original crown of thorns, which we would miss if it were absent entirely, I was absolutely delighted to see Charlotte's version.  I plan to pick up the things we'll need this week to adopt this new tradition.  
 I want to keep the visual and tangible reminder of our daily sacrifices though, which is why this year we're going to bring in:

Sacrifice Beans
An empty jar, a bowl of dried beans.  With every sacrifice made, a bean gets transferred to the jar, with hopes of all the beans being moved by the end of Lent.  We've done this before, using beads or stones.  What the children don't know is that those dried beans just might become jelly beans on Easter morning.  A sweet reward for their walk through the desert.

40 Days for Life
We'll be spending some time praying in front of an abortion clinic, with our local 40 Days for Life campaign.

Pretzel Fridays
The soft pretzel recipe in this book is awesome.  I think it'll be a fun tradition for meat-free Fridays.  
 

-Lenten Cleaning-
40 bags in 40 days
Is anybody else doing this this year?

...detailed Lenten cleaning plan to come!

 -Feast Days-
St. Patrick
 St. Joseph
The Annunciation

St. Joseph Altar 2010

-Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Easter-
...plans to come!

Getting Organized

It's time!
We've had such a busy/overwhelming/exciting/crazy year, that I've allowed myself to get really off track on a lot of things.  Other things, I've never really been on track with.
I feel an opportunity though.  At this time in life, lots of pieces have fallen into place, some of which have eliminated many of my excuses (crutches, really).  Right now:

• I don't have a newborn.
• I am not pregnant.
• We aren't in the process of, or planning for, a move (now, or ever, God willing).
• Our home has adequate space for our family.  Room for living, schooling, and playing.
• I do not have to work outside of the home.
• We are all healthy.

Now of course, this doesn't mean my life's a breeze.  I have lots of everyday challenges (tons of them!), don't we all?  But they're of the ordinary sort, the ones that I've taken on and accepted as part of my vocation, part of this life that God has called me to.  It's time for me to embrace my life's circumstances and incorporate them into everyday functioning.
What better time than Lent, right?  To prioritize?  Get rid of the muck?  Strip down to the essentials, to make room for grace?
Plus... I have no memory anymore!  I don't do baby books.  I'm terrible about printing pictures, much less getting them into organized albums.  I make lots of lists (many, many lists), but when the focus of the list has passed, it gets tossed!
In preparing for this coming season of Lent, I looked around to find the remnants of what we done in the past, and I found... nothing!  I don't have pictures, blog posts, lists of any kind.  Thankfully, my childrens' memories function much better than mine, and they remember everything.
So, after a brainstorming session with them, we have our Lenten plans mapped out.  I'd like to get them up here, in this ever-permanent little space of mine, so that next year we can build on our plan without having to start from scratch!
Blessings to you who still come here to visit me!  Bear with me as I try to make better use of this space!

10 Things I Learned From My Children This Week

1. An A+ on a math test is a thousand times more special with a sticker next to it.

2. Never let a 2-year-old eat Pringles on your bed.

3. Fevers can be random and scary.

4. Adoption instead of abortion is just plain common sense.

5. I am capable of maintaining physical contact with my baby for 11 hours straight, no breaks. (note #3, above)

6. A paper towel can substitute for a coffee filter, in an emergency situation.

7. There is, in fact, such a thing as too much pizza.

8. 6th grade English is where we cross the line between what comes easily for me to teach, and what I have to really think about. 6th. grade. English. Deep breath.

9. Cabin fever is a very real thing.

10. Sometimes it's okay to call it quits at noon and pile into bed to watch a movie. (Or, in my case, to close your eyes and listen to the movie while a 2-year-old flicks your nose and points at the screen.)

And I thought I was teaching them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May you find Joy in the Babe in the manger, Peace in birth of the Savior, and Happiness in your heart and home.

God Bless You and Yours,

Mrs. Smith

I'm Sensing a Pattern

-- UPDATE --

The very night of this post, Mr. Smith's brother and his wife (N&L), gave birth to a beautiful baby... GIRL!

only one chance left for now, for our boys to have a boy cousin. my sister and her husband have their ultrasound next week!

Dear Mr. Smith,

It's happening again.
My brother called. We're getting another niece.

In case you've lost track, here's a little chart:

Between us, we have 4 siblings + spouses

----------my side ----------------------------------------- your side--------------

- R&K- = 2 girls - --------------------------------N&L - 1 girl, having ??? any minute
- R&H- = having a GIRL in may
- A&S- = having ??? in may

-------------------------- mr.&mrs. smith = 6 BOYS -----------------------------


I've got ten bucks on what those ??? are going to come out as, what do you think?

Surrounded by Testosterone,
Mrs. Smith

p.s. You know this is all in good fun. I'm thrilled for them and love all my sweet nieces. And I wouldn't trade a single blue blanket or ounce of mischief for all the bows and tights in the world.