Happy Birthday, My Mary Sunshine!
/Dear Mary Beth,
I remember that sonogram so clearly. The doctor pointed to what he called a "butterfly" and told me that our boy streak was a thing of the past. I fairly flew down the hallway to the office of his physician's assistant--something in me knew that I needed a female to celebrate properly. I carefully carried my black and white photo home and showed it to Daddy without a word. He took one look and said, "It's Mama's best friend!"
Truer words were never spoken. You are growing into the finest friend I could ever hope to have. You are faith-filled and cheerful, idealistic and optimistic. You have a sparkling sense of adventure and a ready laugh. And you care. You care about important things and you think deep thoughts. We laugh about your overuse of exclamation points, but, really, I know they suit you well. You seem to exclaim over life in happy wonderment more often than not. Ordinary periods just don't suit you; you need exclamation points.
I asked you to choose the pictures for this post and you loaded them up and saved them in draft before I even began to write. It doesn't surprise me one bit that you chose pictures with Sarah Annie in them. You are the sunshine in the world of three little girls. Rarely, are you without one or all of them. They are blessed beyond words to have you in their lives, sprinkling creativity and good cheer on their sweet childhood days.
Here we are, my precious little girl, at the end of your little girlhood. Thank you for granting me the great gift of growing alongside you. I was ever so blessed to share your sunny, wonder years with you. Today, you are a teenager. I'm looking forward with delight (and a little trepidation;-) to the days ahead of us. And I know with all confidence that my Mary Sunshine you will always, always be.
I love, love, love you!
Mama
Credit for all photos: Nicholas (who isn't allowed to use the camera without permission, but I'm glad he did just this once)
Oh! to be patient...
/If I had a dollar for every time I've heard it, I could probably sendmy ninth child to college. "All those children! You must be so patient." It's as if people think that hospitals infuse patience after delivery. Or maybe they think that only people naturally gifted with patience are able to conceive more than twice. Or maybe they think that being in the presence of lots of children automatically results in patience. In reality, patience is a highly valued virtue in a home with many children and we all work to cultivate it. Some days, patience is much more abundant than others.Read the rest here.
Note to Self
/Don't ever write anything as foolish as this again:
Towards a real eduction::
::a complete, uninterrupted, unexceptional week stretches ahead of us. I'm so glad.
I have pneumonia.
Whatever.
Daybook: Brrr...
/Outside my window::
::it's dark and raining sideways. It is cold and there's the threat of that northern Virginia phenomenon known as "wintry mix."
I am listening to::
::children cleaning the kitchen. And a sweet baby who is wheezing. Oh dear.
I am wearing ::
::a plaid flannel nightgown.
To be Fit and Happy::
:: sheesh. I'd just settle for being able to talk and breathe without coughing and wheezing.
I am thankful for::
::praying friends.
::We can never have too much confidence in the good God who is so
powerful and so merciful. We obtain from him as much as we hope for.
--St Therese
I am reading ::
:: How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life at the recommendation of a fellow soccer mom.
From the kitchen::
::we're tweaking the autumn menu and expanding it to a three week cycle. One week cycles were crucial for the last couple of pregnancies and some shorthanded seasons. This autumn, though, I have some very able sous chefs who are more than capable of taking plans and running with them on their own, so we're going to have some happy variety for the autumn and into the winter.
I'm thinking::
::that Rich Edgar deserves an award. And you can vote anew every day. How crazy is that? Speaking of voting, it's Homeschool Blog Awards time again.
I am creating ::
::a talk for the campus ministry at George Mason Thursday night. I usually turn down speaking engagements, but as Sarah's birthday approaches, I am reliving my gratitude for the energetic prayer warriors who carried me through our season of crisis. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them for the evening and talking love. Besides, how often is that a grown son invites you to talk to his friends about marriage?
On my iPod::
::nothing new this week. Any suggestions?
Towards a real eduction::
::a complete, uninterrupted, unexceptional week stretches ahead of us. I'm so glad.
Towards rhythm and beauty::
::I'm clamping down on screen time for all of us. No screen during school hours unless it is directly related to studies. That includes TVs, computers, iPods, cellphones--and "quick checks" of any of those. Same rules for Mom. Monkey see, monkey do. I think we all need more quiet and focus.
To Live the Liturgy::
::I'm going to really focus on daily Mass readings this week and take Lisa's suggestions for the daily liturgy reflections at USCCB.
I am hoping and praying::
::for resolution to a bunch of up-in-the-air things. Any resolution at this point. I just want to know.
In the Garden::
::pansies and bulbs still need to be planted. I'm thinking that the weather will clear and warm a bit by Tuesday.
Around the House::
::some focused de-cluttering is in order.
On Keeping Home::
::Like the school schedule, I hope that the homemaking schedule is ordinary, ordinary, ordinary this week.
One of my favorite things::
::wedding bands. Isn't there something that just makes your heart skip a beat when you notice--really notice--your husband's wedding band? I remember the first time I noticed it the day after we were married. I caught my breath. I still do.
Sarah Anne this week::
::Let's see. She crawled about two scoots (maybe). She pulled herself to standing and then let go! Sarah wants nothing to do with being on all fours, staring at the dirty carpet. She much prefers to be upright and reaching for the world.
She loves to play peekaboo and is blessed to have no end of people willing to play with her.
How's the burnout recovery going?
::Now, it's just flu recovery.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week::
::I'm really determined to put together five productive, academic days. I hope everyone stays healthy enough. Mary Beth's birthday is Friday, so there will be a bit of celebrating, suitable for the momentous birthday that marks the beginning of the teens. Depending on how the playoff week goes, we might head west a bit for a soccer championship on Saturday
A Picture Thought I'm Sharing:
Hard to know who had more fun.
