Monday Morning Almanac

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

We took a drive to Front Royal on Saturday. As always, the lovely Blue Ridge delivered a glorious autumn show. Have I ever mentioned how much I love living in Virginia? Oh, well, maybe a few times;-).

::listening to 

Amy Grant. We've grown up together. 

{Nicky's prized possession, relocated to a new room.}

::clothing myself in 

Khaki pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a blue denim jacket rolled at the cuffs, and a handmade Anna Maria Horner voile scarf.

::talking with my children about these books

Pinkalicious. The littlest in this house pulls rank now and then (she outranks us all) and everyone does what she says. Her room is now cotton-candy pink, with one purple wall to appease Karoline. 

::thinking and thinking

About my mission. I clearly have not posted 31 days in a row, but I am reaping in a big way from this study. I'll update you later today. I'm amazed and grateful for the wild ride God has taken along with me as I look anew at vocation. While I'm 22 days into the prayer and meditation, I've only completed 10 posts. I promise I'll finish the whole 31 posts.  In time. Thanks for your patience.

{my view when I open my eyes in the morning}

::pondering prayerfully

“My present trial seems to me a somewhat painful one, and I have the humiliation of knowing how badly I bore it at first. I now want to accept and to carry this little cross joyfully, to carry it silently, with a smile in my heart and on my lips, in union with the Cross of Christ. My God, blessed be Thou; accept from me each day the embarrassment, inconvenience, and pain this misery causes me. May it become a prayer and an act of reparation." ~Elisabeth Leseur

::carefully cultivating rhythm

The last few weeks, rhythm was squashed into oblivion. We had birthday week, two orthopedic emergencies, a totalled car (unrelated to either orthopedic issue), Mike traveling, and a house full of contractors all day, every day, for two weeks. I was rocked to my introverted core. This morning, everyone is walking without a limp, my house is squeaky clean, I have dinner planned, and we will have a peaceful, planned day. God willing. Please, God, be willing!

::creating by hand

Drapery fabric is on the way! We're going to begin as soon as it gets here. In the meantime, I'm knitting away (very slowly) on my California shawl, helping Katie sew a blouse, and committing to getting those blocks finished for the anniversary quilt. Happy, happy, happy to knit and sew! I recognize how important these handworks are to me and how necessary it is that I plan time for them. 

{old curtains, new spot for them}

::learning lessons in

Oh, those Mama lessons! What a school for souls this vocation is! I'm learning that I still have much to learn. I messed up bigtime during birthday week and completely missed communicating in the love language of one of my children. I'm not sure either of us will ever fully recover. I'm still gulping the lump in my throat

::encouraging learning 

It's long been known to me that children learn at their own pace. That's one of the reasons we chose to homeschool. Friends, at long last, my most challenging student of all is cranking along and "getting" math. This means I am unexpectedly spending hours a day sitting next to him, working through college math, but I'll take it!

And I think that purgatory might be a place where one fills in all the teacher/school/counselor/parent forms on the Common App and repeatedly gets the error message every single time she saves. 

::begging prayers

for my peace of heart and others' gentle forgiveness as I try to catch up on things let go during the firestorm of the last couple weeks. I let more than a couple people down and I'm going to need a huge infusion of grace to regain equilibrium.

{the wall still awaits the icons, but we have a little pocket of peace here}

::keeping house

The middle and top floor of my house are perfectly clean. Every nook and cranny, wall and window, drawer and closet. Every flat surface above the floor has a new coat of paint and I so love the colors that surround me. Now, it's time to implement a new chore system, taking into account that in the next few weeks, two of the three big boys will leave our home. Nick and Stephen will go from sharing a room all their lives to each having their own rooms. We did a little switch preemptively. Nicky shares a room with Stephen, but he has always wanted to share a room with Paddy. When we learned he was leaving early for UVa, we moved Nick in with him and Michael in with Stephen. Michael is moving out in early December. This way, Nicky gets his much-adored roommate from now until he goes in January and then every time he comes home from college. It's just weird to think how huge this house is going to seem without them...

I've tried to capture a few images of the new colors, but I haven't gotten the hues true at all. Maybe next time.

 

{so good to have a functioning kitchen again, first thing in the morning}

::crafting in the kitchen 

I'm going back to a solid three week paleo meal plan. I'm really, really happy about this. I see its benefits and I'm committed to making it a habit for the long haul. My kids seem fairly happy with it, too. I think some nearly-paleo chocolate chip cookies helped. Recipes forthcoming. I've been Instagramming pictures of things we all are happy to eat. Follow me there, if you like. I'm heartofmyhome. You can also click on the little button at the top of the righthand column with the camera. This works even if you don't have an Instagram account.

 I registered to begin the Whole30 again. From the beginning of Lent until mid-June, I was following this diet for hypothyroidism, more or less. Then Kristen Kill mentioned to me she was doing Whole 30. They sounded essentially the same and I found a lot of support for the hypothryoid diet on the Whole30 pages, so I did Whole30 in July. I made it to Day 26 and then caved for a grain-free, dairy-free and utterly fabulous cookie. I went Whole 30+ from August 1 until our California trip and then I added wine and a little sushi rice. But I was really vigilant about all else while in California. And I was feeling well and very much seeing a difference.

When I returned home, I messed up bigtime. Birthday week and two weeks of non-functioning kitchen, and I  just didn't have the discipline to withstand either the unpredictable messes and crises or the abundant sugar at hand. I have paid dearly. On a couple days, my joints have hurt so badly, I've struggled to do the simplest things to move about the day. And there have been days my hands were so stiff that the thought of keyboarding anything has brought me to tears. I'm convinced that this way of eating is non-negotiable for me. I started Whole30 all over again. It took a few days to even get to functional again, but the past couple of days have been much better. I'm in for life. I have to be.

::loving the moments

when I have time to talk with my husband.

::giving thanks 

for the good men who have shared my home these last few weeks. They've worked so hard and cared so much about doing an excellent job. Their handiwork blesses us abundantly and we're so grateful to have gotten to know them. 

living the liturgy

Have you heard about the Advent Workshop? Do come hang out with us! Even if you're not local, click over and let me know your favorite Advent resources. I really need your help, y'all.

And...I'm doing a happy dance. Our mission has relocated daily Mass (again, I know). This time, it's five minutes away with no chance of traffic. Happy, happy, happy! This my friends, is truly living liturgy!

 

::planning for the week ahead

Mary Beth will be Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday. While I have a few thoughts in mind for this day, I'm interested to know how you celebrated your sixteenth birthday. Does your family have any traditions for your daughters? Ideas? 

{Mike completely renovated the foyer bathroom. Sarah helped him.}

{my new favorite place to sit}

Lord, Hear Our Prayer

The internet is a formidable 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-filled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.

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?

{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}

Gospel

 Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Think

“When we had our children, our ideas changed somewhat. From then on we lived only for them. They made all our happiness, and we would not have found it except in them. Nothing any longer cost us anything; the world was no longer a burden to us. As for me, my children were my great compensation, so that I wished to have many in order to bring them up for Heaven.…” ~Blessed Zelie Martin

Pray

Sweet Jesus, help me to remember that the things of this life are fleeting. Jockeying for position, trying to be first, worrying about status and stature here is truly a waste of precious time. Give me the wisdom and the grace to look for opportunities to serve instead.

Act

Plan a few hours some time this week to simply enjoy the company of your children. No burdens. No grand expectations. Just a simple setting for soaking in the good--the great compensation-- that they are. Jot a note or two to ponder later. How best to serve the least of these? What love language do they speak? 

And I beg your grace as I squeak my own prayer request in this morning. I have a dear local friend who will deliver her ninth baby today. It could get a little tricky. Please, please keep her in your prayers!

Needle & thREAD

Today I'm posting needle & thREAD because, remarkably enough this week, I've actually sewn a little. Sewing tends to frustrate me and it takes too much patience for me to stick with it. But, my mom wants me to make this tiered skirt and I'm pretty sure she is intent on me finishing it. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll get a chunk of time and finish it. As of now though, I leave you with a picture of a work in progress.

 

Now for the reading part. Recently, I read Joy in the Ordinary. I'm going to admit I was skeptical. It was about a girl who wanted to become a nun, really? I didn't want to read about some girl that wanted to become a nun. I will say though, this book is well worth anyone's time. Joyce wants to become a nun, badly--almost to the point where she's forcing herself. When she comes to the realization that she won't be able to stay at the convent because it's truly not her vocation, her life gets turned around in remarkable ways and she finds out who she's really meant to be. This book left me very happy,but also a little bit sad that we can't all find our own Dominics. I'm pretty sure they don't exist. That issue aside though, I can't wait for a sequel to this book.

While I was sewing a tiered skirt and reading Joy in the Ordinary, Katie and Mom were busy making a picnic blouse and reading Caddie Woodlawn. 

 

~~~~

Does autumn call you into your sewing space? Are you thinking flannel pjs or cozy quilts? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-)

The Undivided Heart

So, I wrote 1300 words on this topic and this chapter. I poured out my guts. I bared my soul. I really laid it all out there. And when I uploaded the picture, just before hitting "post," I deleted the whole thing. All of it. All the links. All the well-organized thoughts. I just wrote 1300 words on why I need to step away from blogging and it disappeared into cyberspace. Gotta wonder if there's some sort of meaning in all of that.

Anyway, my neck hurts and my hands hurt and I'm tired. There's no chance I'm reconstructing that post any time soon. Good night:-). 

I will mention that I linked to Kate's thoughts extensively. Those links are worth taking a few moments to re-create. 

And here's the picture. Makes more sense with the post. The totally-deleted-cannot-be-retrieved post.

{Oh, and needle & thREADers, Mary Beth will be here in the morning with a post for you.}

~ ~ ~

Are you thinking about the mission of motherhood, too? I'm going to join The Nester for 31 Days. I'm going to host a 31 day "retreat"here  to remind myself (and anyone who wants to come along) of the mission of motherhood and matrimony. If you want to do your own 31 Days on anything you choose, head here and join! If you want to retreat from the noise of the 'net for a month and focus your own sweet home and family, grab a “Remind Myself of the Mission” button and curl up with a candle, your Bible, and this good book! Let me know your thoughts below. We can help each other hear His mission. 

Click here for the whole series.

"B" is for Baking Blackberry-Blueberry Butterfly Pie with Our Besties

8 cups of berries 
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
3 tbl corn starch 
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tbl lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon -- optional, but makes it so good!
2 tbl unsalted butter cut in bits
Milk as needed

2 refrigerated prepared pie crusts

Instructions:

1/ Heat oven to 450
2/ Gently toss berries with sugar, cornstarch, salt, spices, lemon juice, and zest.
3/ Pile into rolled out dough -- making the pile a little higher in the center.
4/ Dot with the butter
5/ Cover with the top crust
6/ Seal edges with fork or fingers
7/ Place pie on baking sheet -- to catch drips
8/ Brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar
9/ Cut 3-4 slits in top of crust -- to allow steam to escape
10/ Bake for 10 minutes at 450
11/ Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 40-50 minutes or until golden brown
12/ Cool on rack before serving warm or at room temperature

All pictures, the recipe, and the warm afternoon of baking generously and graciously providing by my friend Megan and her daughter Katie. Note, Sarah had three outfit changes during the course of baking pie. Megan is all patience with a girl's need for the perfect dress. In the end, she provided a dress with butterflies!

God willing, I'll be back later with an update to the plans for C week and perhaps a bit more on those 31 Days to Remind Myself of the Mission.