Crafty Chloe

Crafty Chloe is a new book that catapulted to the top of my children's best-loved list. The story of a little girl whose talent is creating things, Crafty Chloe tells what happens when Chloe is invited to a birthday party, but can't buy the perfect gift. At first, she fakes a case of Chicken Pops. The pictures of her bemused father are darling. (He was modeled after Todd of Oliver + S fame). Then Chloe gets busy building and sewing. She's resourceful, creative, and downright inspiring.

When this book first arrived, I was busy. My three youngest girls squirreled away to read it to themselves. They came bolting upstairs as soon as they finished reading, yelling, "We have to go  Crafty Chloe Online!" They were eager to try the craft projects there.

It took me a few grocery trips to find a necessary Clementine box. Ours is cardboard. There are no wooden ones to be found. Then, despite the fact that we were at Home Depot three times a day every day last week, they were all out of "normal" paint stirrers.  They were chopping large, industrial ones. I kept holding off, thinking I wanted the shape and size of the smaller ones. Yesterday, between pediatrician and X-rays, I decided to go ahead and get the chopped ones. I  only picked up four. I couldn't bring myself to grab more than that.

I left the paint stirrers at home and headed with Nick to X-ray (he's fine). The kids took over and didn't follow the directions at all. We had blue paint left from the closet project. They even saved a stick for Nick to paint.  Sarah is devastated that this bed is not pink. Other than that, they're rather pleased with themselves. I think Chloe would applaud as well. (All pictures, Mary Beth's phone pix.)

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And Annabelle? She is charmed by her new bed:-) Annabelle was name for this book, by the way.

I'm dashing out the door this morning. Do you have favorite storybooks with craft themes? How about favorite crafts-with-kids books? Please let us know all about it.

For more about our Storybook Year, click here.

Family Recipes: Meat Sauce for Pasta

When my sister was getting married, she asked my Aunt Lisette for family recipes. Aunt Lisette happily complied by hand lettering all our family's pasta sauce recipes. And then she doodled a bit on the page;-). She's incredibly talented and the resulting painting was a work of art we all wanted to hang in our homes. And so it is that we all have the same painting, framed differently in each house. My dining room, admittedly, is the home to the simplest frame, but I love this more than any other art hung in the house. 

Here, for you, is the meat sauce recipe that my aunt drew on our heirloom paintings.  

Saute 1/2 cup finely chopped onions in 2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Remove the onions when they become golden and just soft. Add 6-8 Italian sweet sausages, pork or beef ribs. (I often use a combination of meat) When the meat is thoroughly browned, return the onions to the pan. Add 2 large cans of imported Italian tomatoes that you mixed in the blender. It is optional to remove the seeds in a Mouli-Grinder (Gramma did this). Add seasonings: salt, pepper, 5-10 leaves of fresh chopped basil. You will need to add 1 cup of water. Simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Serve over fresh pasta or macaroni--Rigatoni, Ziti, or Spaghetti, Fettucine or Linguine, etc. Garnish with freshly grated Romano cheese (Locatelli is the best). 

In the Moment: This Day is Getting Away from Me

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

I spent the whole day in the garden last Tuesday. The weather was perfect and I found that I actually enjoy pulling weeds. Who knew? Today, it's barely forty and I am not at all interested in getting out there. Hopefully, the weeds aren't either.

::listening to 

The washer washing and the dryer drying. Mondays are big catch-up days after busy weekends.

::clothing myself in 

Warm cashmere socks a la Elizabeth DeHority. It's so ridiculously cold after such a nice, mild winter.

::giving thanks for

a productive morning. Now, if I can just keep chugging on.

::talking with my children about these books

Since I'm going to share my own reading on Thursdays at needle and thREAD, I thought I'd share some reading from the children's choices.

Mary Beth is binge reading through the John Paul 2 High School fiction series and enjoying it. 

Stephen has begun Lord of the Rings, part of a course on Lewis and Tolkein.

Patrick is reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

And Katie has a series of her own going. After having literally memorized huge chunks fo the Little House books, she's reading the Anne Pellowski series. She's utterly captivated. She knows that she comes from Polish roots and the combination of Polish culture and Catholic references are truly endearing to her. 

::pondering prayerfully

Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake. If you keep good companions, I can assure you that you will one day rejoice with the blessed in Heaven; whereas if you keep with those who are bad, you will become bad yourself, and you will be in danger of losing your soul. ~St. John Bosco

   

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Last week, we had contractors here to build in shelves and drawers in closets. Life revolved around tearing out, spackling, and painting to get ready for "the closet guys." And then, it revolved around putting everything back and repurposing furniture previously used by little girls. This week, it's all about getting back to normal.

::creating by hand

I plan to join Elsie Marley this week for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge and spend at least an hour a day sewing for children. So far, um, yeah. I plan to do it.

::learning lessons in

Organization, humility, beginning again. My kids forgot to take out the trash last Wednesday night. Our neighbor was beyond annoyed. He called the Homeowner's Association and they came out. Really embarrassing. It's back to a rock-solid actual checklist and inspection of such things. There is an old adage I've known for 20 years or more: Don't expect what you don't inspect. True that. 

::encouraging learning 

I'm still having conferences with my kids, but we're making great progess. More checklists happening. I'd gotten away from lists and records, but I'm back now. I need them. A lot. (see above)

::begging prayers

for all the people who have joined our weekend prayer community. I carried your requests with me to Mass and I will keep a candle lit for you throughout the week.

:keeping house

Speaking of old adages, there is much to be said for "a place for everything and everything in its place." We are making great progress on having a place for everything. For instance, typical suburban houses aren't made for nine beds and they aren't made for linens for nine beds. Now that we've made maximum space of the closet in the little girls' room, I've moved Sarah's dresser into my bathroom and it's storing towels and sheets. I'm pretty sure I heard the hall linen closet sigh with relief. And so on and so on. Teeny, tiny, baby steps. 

::crafting in the kitchen 

I heard your request for meat sauce to go with the manicotti. Hoepfully, I'll get that one written up tomorrow. I went to the Famer's Market for the first time this season. Yay! Saturday morning fruits and veggies are the best. I'm looking forward to spending the whole growing season indulging in my standard lunch: a cup of Greek yogurt, a half teaspoon of raw honey, and whatever fruit is ripe and plentiful and local. (Psst, they already have strawberries:-) 

::loving the moments

One day last week, Nicky and Karoline and I went to visit the geese. Karoline has named them all since we go nearly every day. Usually, though, I take all the little girls. It was really fun to just have those two children along. The dynamic between them is special and I loved witnessing it. Nicky caught some good video with his iPod camera and he even managed a few good pictures of a bird of prey. And then I got a few pics, too;-).

::living the liturgy

I plan to begin to use 33 Days to Morning Glory with all my kids this week, in preparation for Marian Consecration on the Feast of the Visitation. More about this book later in the week, I think.

 

::planning for the week ahead

We didn't get to make that aforementioned bee trip. Maybe this week. We have 4 orthondontic appointments on Wednesday. That means we'll have four people moaning and groaning and drikning frozen smoothies Wedesday night. Mike and I are looking forward to a fancy grown-up lunch to celebrate my stepmom's birthday on Saturday morning. Sephen is being confirmed Saturday night. Mary Beth has her first performance with her new dance school on Sunday. And then, I think Sunday evening is just begging for a celebration cookout.

All pictures this week are from my iPhone. I'm having a wonderful time getting to know the camera.

Lord, Hear Our Prayer

The internet is a very powerful force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-fulled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith.

But how about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?

Gospel, Luke 24:35-48

³⁵ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

³⁶ They were still talking about all this when he himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you!'

³⁷ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost.

³⁸ But he said, 'Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts?

³⁹ See by my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.'

⁴⁰ And as he said this he showed them his hands and his feet.

⁴¹ Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?'

⁴² And they offered him a piece of grilled fish,

⁴³ which he took and ate before their eyes.

⁴⁴ Then he told them, 'This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.'

⁴⁵ He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures,

⁴⁶ and he said to them, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

⁴⁷ and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

⁴⁸ You are witnesses to this.

 

Think

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. Either he will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.

~St. Francis de Sales

Pray

Christ Jesus, please open my eyes. Help me to see you in my neighbors and my family. Help me to let you live in me and to be your ambassador of peace.

Act 

With whom  can you break bread this week? Invite someone to dinner--a priest, a neighbor, someone outside your usual company. Share a meal and share yourself. It doesn't have to be fussy or fancy; be at peace as your prepare and at peace as you share.

How can I pray for you this week? How can we pray for each other? And please keep us posted on updates to past prayer requests.

Time to Connect

I think it was about three weeks before Easter that he mentioned it again. 

"You should come with me to Miami." I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes. This crazy idea was a clear illustration of the disconnect. This man has no concept of what the three weeks before a major holiday hold for mothers. He doesn't understand that we were going to throw Bluebell Week in there a month early, that soccer season began the day we were to leave, that we were going to move most of the contents of two bedrooms right after Easter. He was suggesting that I just take a week off and leave everything. Go in an airplane. For four nights away from my toddler who still nursed herself to sleep.

But just as my eye rolling ceased I saw for a brief moment the look on his face.

I didn't say anything. Instead, I sulked and thought to myself that he was adding something pretty huge to an already crammed to-do list. I needed to finish spring cleaning before Easter. I needed to cook and bake and get ready to host his extended family for the holiday. And besides all that, who takes a vacation at the beginning of Holy Week? The whole idea grated on my liturgical sensibility.

The next day, I dashed off a whiny email about my predicament to a very dear friend--the kind of friend who would read my ungrateful rant and say not a word until much later, when I'd come to my senses. And even then, she would not remind, she would just smile broadly at my note telling her how wonderful this whole idea was. My initial complaint was blown away with a puff of  loving grace.

Shortly after my haughty email, I called my father. Would he, could he, could they, please watch six of my children for four nights so I could go to Miami? Of course they could, came the ready reply. And then he handed the phone to my stepmother. She listened to my litany of ifs, ands and buts. And she wholeheartedly encouraged me to go. She was happy to have them, happy to give us this chance to get away.

The three big boys would remain at home so that they could go to school and to work. I drew up a long list of chores that required manual labor so that they wouldn't kill each other would have a positive outlet for all that energy.

I knew that Mike would be at work all day while I was there. So, I set some intense writing goals. I prepared three embroidery projects. I downloaded two new books to my Kindle. And then, after a conversation about something entirely different with my friend Becca, on a complete and total whim, I ordered this book. I described it a little to you last week. Here's what I said:

I spent Holy Week reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus. There are a small handful of books in my life where I remember exactly where and when I read them because those times and places are turning points. This book is one of those. It is easily at the top of that list. This incredibly readable volume makes some of the most beautiful truths and devotions of the Catholic faith understandable (at last)  and accessible (even to busy mothers of large families).  Fr. Gaitley brings together fine threads of several spiritual traditions and weaves them into a beautiful and exceedingly useful tapestry of a do-it-yourself retreat. It is Ignatian spirituality made accessible. It is the Little Way of St. Therese for all of us. It is consecration to Mary and devotion to Divine Mercy explained in plain language and made clear to little souls. Mostly, it is a rich volume of Merciful Words that brings Merciful Love to its readers. You don't have to have a weekend to make the retreat. You can just read a little each day until you are finished. If it's your heart's desire to get to know and understand Jesus better, tell Him. He'll help you find the time. I heartily recommend that you hurry and get yourself a copy of this book--what a beautiful way to spend the Easter sason.

I started reading on the plane. By the time we landed, I knew that this Holy Week was set apart for me by God Himself, in His infinite mercy. This time would be a time of retreat. I would fill my days with God and spend my evenings with my husband. No interruptions. No distractions. Just the three of us.

I kept to my general prayer program.

I started my days there at the gym. The hotel bike is considerably newer than my 13-year-old one. The voices from divineoffice.org joining me in prayer were familiar, even far from home. Mike and I had leisurely breakfasts at an Argentinian market. We walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel and he went off to work in his office right next door. I returned to the room and to my retreat. At ten o'clock, I went back out for another walk, soaking up the gorgeous sunshine and drinking deep of the lovely town that is Coral Gables. I stopped at a sushi restaurant and ordered a salad to go to bring back to my room. Back to my retreat. When I got there, the bed had been made, the room straightened and it all smelled like a tropical breeze. It's amazing how clearly one can think in the absence of clutter and a to-do list.

At three o'clock, I walked again. One day, I looked see where the closest church was. I walked three miles to The Church of the Little Flower. I wish I had  pictures for you. There's a tour here; you can even see the street I walked. It's actually only two miles, but I got lost on the way there. Then I walked back to the hotel, stopping at a cafe for iced tea to bring back to the room. I sat in the courtyard and read some more. After a day or so of filling this way--of relishing much needed silence--words came back. I found myself drawn to keyboard, fingers flying and thoughts tumbling from my hands. The time I spent at my computer wan't much at all, but it was rich.

The embroidery went untouched. I didn't have my camera, so the very few pictures I have were taken with Mike's cell phone from our table outside at dinner one evening on South Beach. But the images in my head? All art created by Him.

Mike and I enjoyed wonderful evenings. We had all the time in the world to finish conversations, to think deep thoughts together. His workday was pretty intense and he was not on vacation at all, but he was so genuinely happy to have me there. We ate great food and we took in the sights and sounds of the unique culture that is south Florida. I saw through his eyes and my own the places and people he spends so much time with. It was all good.

I returned to my home and my children early Holy Thursday afternoon, in plenty of time to make a seder dinner and go to Mass together. Mike did not join us until Easter Sunday.

Despite all my reluctances, I know I spent those days right in the middle of God's will. I am so grateful that my husband saw much better than I did how much I needed to get away. I'm grateful to my father and stepmother for sacrificing their own quiet and rest for my rowdy, energetic crew. And I'm grateful to a merciful Jesus for the gift of graces he showered on me.

I am so glad I said Yes!

Joining the ladies at Suscipio this week for Moments of Grace.