In the Heart of my Home

Catholic Carnival

Time to curl up with a cup of Christmas Tea. Sarah has gathered a Christmas rosary of posts for you to read as you ponder the old year and welcome the new one.

My Heart's at Home for the New Year Daybook

***

Outside My Window ...
it's still very dark.

***

I am listening to...
the wind howl outside. I don't think it's going to be very cold today but it is certainly windy! Sarah is snoring on my chest and Karoline is talking to her little wooden figures on the floor behind me. It's 5:30 AM. Going to be a long day, I think.
***

Towards rhythm and beauty ...
Mike is home all week.He's been sick with a nasty virus,so many of our plans for this week have been skirted. The rhythm of our household seems to have given way to endless Wii contests. It's still Christmas:-)

***

I am thankful for ...
a slower pace of life than the past few months have held.

***

From the kitchen ...
Split Pea soup and beer bread. We've used every last bit of that Christmas ham. And more fresh cranberry orange salad while the cranberries last.

***

To live the liturgy...
I'm doing some revising of the daily prayer plan as the new calendar year approaches. First, I'm ordering a booklight. All my prayer books and such are in a basket by the rocking chair in my bedroom. Mike is always still asleep when I awaken. I can't turn on the light in my room. With the booklight, I can still keep my notebook of prayers, my current Magnificat, my copy of Divine Intimacy and the Patmos books all together in one place, so I'm all set no matter what time of day. As I set out into the new year, I recognize how important it is to set times. I also recognize how simply I can do this. I am a nursing mother who must stop everything to feed my baby very often throughout the day. Those are my "set times" for prayer as well.
***

I am wearing ...
a plaid flannel nightgown and fuzzy Christmas socks.

***

I am creating ...
a new menu plan and shopping list. I'm going to think about it once and then just repeat for the rest of the winter.

***
To be fit and happy:-)
I'm going to join Barbara Curtis on the Fat Flush Plan. I've used this before with great results. Barbara articulates beautifully why Weight Watchers just doesn't work for me. Fat Flush helps me with total detachment. Also, it eliminates those food categories that I know are problematic for me personally. It's easily adapted for nursing moms and it dovetails nicely with Jen's Saint Diet.
***
Towards a real education ...
time to bring fresh life to the learning room! We're going to do a deep cleaning and we're writing new ideas for Serendipity! I promise to finish the last two Alphabet Path posts before January 5th.
***

Bringing beauty to my home ...
I love the way my home looks for Christmas. This year, I'm ready to box it all up earlier than usual. I'm looking forward to clean, uncluttered spaces.

***

I am reading  ...
The Purpose Driven Life and A Catholic Perspective on The Purpose Driven Life.

***

I am hoping ...
to make time for T-Tapp and Wii Fit every day.Fortunately both are right here at home and very kid-friendly.

***

Around the house ...
The laundry is nearly all caught up!
***
One of my favorite things ...
the morning after a good night's sleep. 

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
a "Mommy date" with Nicholas, an overnight getaway with Mike (and Sarah) if he feels better soon, New Year's Eve fondue and casino games here at home.

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing~
   

 

After years of being a "boy house," I think it's safe to say we're a girl house now!

Lessons Learned

I've had writer's block lately. Not my ordinary writer's block, but some kind of strange variation. I can think of all kinds of things to write, but I have no time at the keyboard to give them voice.And then, on those rare occasions when I do have some time and all my conditions for allowing myself time at the computer are met, it either doesn't seem worth saying or it would take too much time to write in the time allotted. But this post has been bubbling for months. I promised Stephen's godfather, Bill, that I would write about lessons learned during bedrest. I saw Bill at the shrine Christmas Eve and remembered that I'd yet to make good on my promise. Bill is a 50-year-old bachelor who goes survival camping in Alaska for fun. I'm not sure what he can take from the experiences of a 42-year-old pregnant woman trying to care for 8 children from bed, but I'll give it a shot. Because I promised, and this seems like a good time of year to review lessons learned.

• I learned who my friends are. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, God gave me the grace of knowing and understanding true friendship. This was an answer to a very explicit prayer and I'm grateful for the clarity. From those friends, near and far, I learned how to "visit the sick." I learned so many ways to care and to comfort and to be supportive. I'd list them here, but I'm afraid I'd forget even one and hurt someone's feelings. If ever you want ideas for how to love someone who is homebound or sick for a long stretch of time, email me. I'll send you a long list.
• I learned to ask for help. Well, not really. But I did learn not to turn it down if it's offered. Progress, I think.
• I learned how important prayer support is. When someone asks me to pray for them, I take the request seriously. I learned how much comfort and peace I found in knowing people were praying. Now, I offer the efficacious novena to the Sacred Heart daily for the intentions of everyone who has asked my prayers and then, if someone comes to mind or there is an urgent need, I pray a St. Anne chaplet as soon as humanly possible (this is often a middle of the night prayer).
• I learned a whole lot about marriage. Some of it I wrote about before, much of it I'll hold (and treasure) in my heart. I've seen God do great things over time and I've seen Him do more than I ever asked in a short time. God is awesome!
• I learned I have limitations. This one is tricky. It's not that I didn't know I had limitations before bedrest, it's just that I always figured that if I pushed myself harder or worked longer, I'd get past that limitation and on to the next boundary.Furthermore, I thought it was in my best interest and the best interest of those around me to push. Somewhere along the way, I had learned to equate performance and productivity with "goodness" or even holiness. When on bedrest, my world became very small and my activity very limited. I went to sleep at the same time every night. I woke at the same time every morning (both sleeping and waking were keyed to the medication dosage schedule, but it's still a relevant point). I never even considered pushing past those "hard stops" because I had too much respect for the physical burden I was bearing. My baby's life was at stake; I wasn't going to try to outsmart Mother Nature. How often--even very recently--have I forgotten the limitation lesson? There are only 24 hours in a day. It is stupid (and I use the word very intentionally) to try to do more than 24 hours worth of work. It is stupid to spend too much of those 24 hours on things that don't bring me closer to heaven. We don't know the hour or the moment. God doesn't grant grace in proportion to our productivity or our "perfection."
• I learned that conversation means more to me than documentation. This came as a bit of a surprise. You know how sometimes you wonder "If I were going to die in three months, how would I spend this time?" Well, there was a chance I'd die in childbirth. If I'd had acretta, statistically, the chance was as good as the chance I'd have died from cancer all those many years ago. I thought that I'd write for my kids, organize pictures and memories, leave a printed legacy. Instead, I talked to them. Listened to them. And spent an extraordinary amount of time praying for them.  I wasn't maudlin and I wasn't obsessed or even convinced my days were numbered, but I did get a good glimpse of what and who really mattered to me and I'm grateful for the insight.
• I learned that labor isn't what I thought it was at all. I used to teach childbirth classes. I had seven unmedicated deliveries, including a VBAC. I can't count the times I've said that natural birth is empowering. Really, it's not. God has all the power. If we think birth is empowering, we're really kidding ourselves. We have no power of our own--He has it all and we only work with Him or against Him. I learned that we have no control. God is so totally in control of birthing experiences. We can choose our medical personnel and we can even choose where we'd most like to deliver, but He writes the story. It seemed that every time I went to see the midwife, I became more powerless. I know that some women will write and tell me that I had the wrong midwife or I need to learn to be more assertive or that homebirthing is a viable option to avoid unnecessary intervention or that I needed to be less willing to listen to people in white coats. And I would tell them that I once thought that way, too. But now I understand that "stuff happens" when women are pregnant. And often, that stuff is serious and out of their control. The people in white coats are often our greatest advocates and often they are the difference between a healthy mom and baby and a very bad outcome. I learned to listen in humility, even though I'd birthed more babies myself than all of them put together and even though I thought I knew my body well.Sometimes, handing over all illusion of control is really a greater skill than learning how to "manage" labor without drugs or "manipulate" the medical community.Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to do nothing--but trust.
• I learned that you absolutely cannot expect your children will behave a certain way if you are not right there seeing that they do. Whether this involves how they use their time (television, computer, Xbox) or how they do (or don't do) their chores, children need close and careful supervision. Mothering in my house is a very active undertaking. A whole lot of bad habits took root because Mom couldn't see what was going on. January will become "habit month" in a big way.
• I learned that children love it when Mommy is still, when they can find her and know that if they climb up next to her, she'll stay right there and hold them. If they're really big, the same holds true. They sit next to her, and if she doesn't move, pretty soon they start talking. When Colleen solicited advice for me at the beginning of bedrest, I read through all the comments. Tears sprung to my eyes when I discovered one left by Laurel, a friend from college. Of all the commenters, Laurel was the only one who'd ever lived with me and Laurel was the only one who'd been around for my last life-threatening experience. And so she's the only one who saw firsthand my tendency towards frantic, perpetual activity, a tendency that's only become more pronounced as my workload has increased. I haven't seen Laurel in years. She's been off in exciting places being the diplomat's wife and Mommy to three little people. But it was Laurel who said,"May this somehow end up being a gift ... maybe of stillness!!"  In all those years since Laurel and I were housemates, I'd never once been truly still.And it was exactly as she thought it might be: a gift of stillness. There's so much to that. If we are truly comfortable in our own skin, we can be still. If we are cooperating with our friends and colleagues and not competing with them, we can be still.If we are open to our husbands and children, we can be still.  And if we are prayerful and truly faithful and we know God is in control, we can be still. To be able to be still is a gift and--for me--a rare grace.It's a grace I don't ever want to waste.

Jen, at Conversion Diary, is collecting posts on lessons learned in 2008. I wrote mine before I read hers, so I think I have more than 8. There is an  inspiring collection of links there.

After I have a nap.

Katie, on Sunday afternoon: Mommy, I'm bored. When's Easter?

Peppermint Day

Peppermint Marshmallows

 

Peppermint Cocoa

11/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups cane sugar

1 cup powdered French vanilla coffee creamer

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk

1 bag of Starlight peppermint candies, crushed in food processor

Combine all. Makes 5 cups dry mix. Stir four TBS mix into a cup of hot milk.

Pretty peppermint presents!
HT:LifeBeautiful

Helping Those in Need

Even after the holidays are over, Margot Davidson at Hillside Education continues her new ministry, Helping Those in Need.
For the month of December, help will go to the Stephens family. Mandy is a homeschooling mother whose husband has been diagnosed with a neurological disease that has been rapidly deteriorating. Mandy says that has embraced his faith in an inspiring way--as  never before--as he struggles with the disease. He is in incredible pain. You can well imagine the strain that dealing with this has put on their family this last year, but things are at a critical point now. The donations from Margot's website will go to cover mortgage payment, car, and insurance. There are several items available in exchange for your donation now.Click on over: there's a signed copy of Real Learning, yours for the taking!

Christmas Dinner (more retro-blogging)

Honeybaked Ham

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Creamed Corn
Spring Mix with Pomegranates and Goat Cheese
Maple-buttered Brussels Sprouts
Beer Bread
Peppermint Ice Cream 
Cannolis
Sparkling Apple Cider

Midnight Mass at the Basilica

 
 
 

 


 

I'm being followed

People kept telling me I "have" to Twitter. They insist it's way cool. They insist it's the next greatest thing after blogging (which is a love-hate thing in my life, to tell the truth). But "they" can't really articulate what it is or why. So, I thought I'd investigate for myself. I learned you can't find out much of anything without creating an account. So I did. And now I'm getting emails every few minutes telling me that "so and so is following you on Twitter." It's kind of creepy. Makes me want to check and make sure I re-hooked my bra after the last nursing. Makes me want to be sure there's not spit up on my shoulder. Makes me want to clean up the area around my desk. Makes me wonder...are they going to follow me into the laundry room to switch loads, to the kitchen to unload the dishwasher, to Katie's room to strip the bedsheets? Why in the world would anyone care? And even if they did, I can't DO those things and write about them at the same time can I? 

Clearly, I still don't get it...

Light Your Christ Candle and Pray

This is Colleen hacking in to ask your prayers for our friend Maria . Elizabeth is on her way to provide prayers and support at the hospital as it looks like little #8 intends to arrive earlier than expected Maria's pregnancy complications are necessitating an early C-section that looks it will take place some time this afternoon.  Please keep Maria, her baby, and the attending medical staff in your prayers at this hour.

Update from Elizabeth: The OB has said that he's all in favor of a trial of labor. So the induction has begun. Will Maria hold her little boy on the Feast of St. Stephen or the Feast of St. John?

Pray!Pray!

I'm a little slow to update--so sorry! Maria's little boy was born on the night of December 26. He's just over five pounds and was breathing room air right away. He was in the NICU very briefly and when I talked with her yesterday, he was resting comfortably with her. He's doing remarkably well and Maria feels just great!

The Morning After

Blogging in real time is becoming a distant memory. I can't seem to take enough time from living life these days to properly document it. I am hoping that Mary Beth will download pictures today. Perhaps we can work on another photo essay or two.

Here's a funny little cyber-twist: I went to Christmas Eve Mass after all. I sat in the sacristy with Sarah, far from the germy  festive crowd. So I missed seeing Nicholas receive his First Communion, even though I was there. We thought we were recording it at home. We weren't :-(. Mike says he can get me a tape. In the meantime, I've enjoyed your notes telling me you saw my children. Usually, I narrate my life for you; this time, you are filling in the details for me. I'm blessed by your emails.

It's the morning after and the creatures are stirring. Back to living the life; the documenting will have to wait until later.

Merry Christmas! It's a season and we plan to keep on celebrating. 

St. Joseph

I bumped into myself online today. I was following a link to a link to a link--you know the way that can happen sometimes when you're nursing and can't type but end up mindlessly clicking here and there. This time, I happened onto a string of adoption blogs and found myself being quoted there.

I've never adopted, but my heart and soul has been touched by adoption time and time again, from the time I was a little girl and my aunt and uncle adopted a little girl from Korea all the way to now and daily conversations with my best friend who is an adoptive mom. This column was written three years ago, for the men I am blessed to know and love--the men who brought children safely home.
~~~~
My son Christian was searching the bookshelves yesterday, apparently frustrated by the dearth he saw there. Since we have well over 1,000 titles at his disposal, I wondered what was missing.

"There's hardly anything on Joseph here! I understand why we need so many Mary books, but nobody says much about Joseph, you know? And he was a hero … " he trailed off.

A hero indeed. Though I hadn't spoken it, I had been meditating lately about the heroic good of St. Joseph and the Nativity. Commonly, we look at the story of Christmas as a birth story: We have a round-bellied Madonna riding on a donkey until she gets to a cave where animals joyfully welcome a lovely baby. As a mother who has been nine months pregnant during Advent and a mother with a newborn on Christmas Day, it is easy for me to identify with the birth story.

But the Nativity story is also a story of adoption. A strong man heard the call of a God to take into his heart and home a baby that was not his biological child. Against the raised eyebrows of those around him, but because he dearly loved his wife and the God they served, he traveled a great distance. He wasn't sure what he'd find there; to say that the accommodations were less than what he was used to is to understate the case. And then, almost immediately, it was his job to rescue the baby, to save him from grave danger.

Once they were safely at home, he raised the child as his own. He shared the faith of his fathers; he taught him the family trade. Certainly, there were challenges in this family that related to the adoption. This child, at 12, left his foster father for three days to return to the home of his real Father. How many children of adoption have experienced that same restlessness and caused the parents who have rescued them the grief that Mary and Joseph felt while they searched for their child?

St. Joseph was faithful. Perhaps he recognized that we are all children of adoption. We are all broken, disenfranchised, wounded and in grave danger. Our Savior makes us brothers and sisters, heirs to His throne. We become one family of faith, like that little family in Nazareth so many years ago.

For some reason, the Lord has surrounded me by the miracle of adoption. I have seven children. Five of them have godparents who are adoptive parents. Most recently, Christian's godmother welcomed a little boy from Liberia, just in time for Thanksgiving.

When I look at the fathers in these families, I am struck by their courage. Adoptive moms assure me that adoption is rarely ever a man's idea. And it is almost always an idea born of a woman's pain. The sorrowful heart of a mother meets the sorrowful heart of a child and together they begin a new life. But how do they get to "together?" They become a family through the courageous actions of a man who sees the pain of his wife and listens to her as she tells him about the pain of the child. Rarely, do these women beg and plead. Rather, like Mary, they trust God. They pour out their hearts in prayer and God convicts their husbands. The program director for a Catholic adoption agency assures me that this is not the case of weak, badgered men who cave to whining women. Rather, they are tender, brave men who recognize a mutual need and hear a distinct call.

The father who adopts is strong and faithful. He travels to places like Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Guatemala and even hostile Africa. He saves the baby — often from abject poverty, illness or death. He is the St. Joseph of our times.

There are literally millions of children in this world who need rescuing. We are called in James 1:27 to care for the widows and the orphans. What does that mean exactly? Do we toss a few coins in the poor box or wrap an extra gift at Christmastime or do we take a risk? Are there brave men out there after the heart of St. Joseph who will travel great distances to difficult places to rescue a baby and give it a home all because it's the will of God? It is the will of God.
These are the weakest of us, the poorest, the most defenseless. In this country, we cannot fathom children who scurry along the murky puddles in Haiti scavenging for a few slender fish, only to come up without anything. These children are so malnourished that their hair turns orange and falls out in clumps. There are "dying rooms" in China where children who have cerebral palsy or missing hands or missing ears are left in the dark to starve to death.

And what will become of the children who grow up orphans if we do not have men like St. Joseph in our midst? According to Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation begun by Christian music legend Steven Curtis Chapman, who has adopted three daughters, "Statistics regarding the future prospects for children who emancipate from orphanages, the foster care system, or who grow up as street children are profoundly bleak … . Theft, prostitution, homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration and suicide affect the lives of the vast majority of those children who grow up as orphans and never find permanent, loving homes. In short, orphans by definition are children who for whatever reason have found themselves in need of permanent, safe, and loving families. And for such children, being taken in by a family through the "spirit of adoption" is their greatest need"(http://www.howtoadopt.org/).

They were going to stone the Mother of God. Joseph knew the baby was not conceived by him. He didn't understand it. How could this baby be his to raise? How could he be asked to overcome the opinions of his community, the misgivings of his own mind, and listen to the call upon his soul? Where would he find the courage? How could he possibly provide for the childhood of the child of God Himself? Why couldn't this be simple? Why couldn't he marry Mary and just conceive a baby of his own? Instead, he must set off on a two-year odyssey to distant and hostile lands to bring home a baby that didn't even look like him. And what of the future? This was an extraordinary way to build a family; how could he know what the future held, particularly with a beginning like this?

A hero? He was a hero. He was a strong, courageous, man of faith. And there are men like him today. They are Paul, and Joe, and Mark, and Chuck, and Scott, and Kevin, and Ed. They are ordinary men who are called to extraordinary measures for a humble, helpless child and the love of the woman who becomes the child's mother. They are the men of the Christmas story. God bless them!

Where's Santa Claus Now?

Bridget has some links so you can track Santa with NORAD and Google Earth. Great fun even if you don't "do Santa."

Nicholas on the Perils of Childbirth

I was chatting with Nick yesterday on the way to confession and he was wondering aloud if he could possibly get all seven sacraments. I reminded him that it's tough to get both Matrimony and Holy Orders:

Me: Remember Ryan's grandpa? He was ordained a priest after his wife died. So, he got both. It can happen, but it's pretty rare.

Nick: So, I could do that. But, I probably won't get Annointing of the Sick, huh? I don't get really sick.

Me: You never know. I've been annointed five times. Three when I had cancer and twice before Sarah was born.

Nick: That was a good idea. You could have died in childbirth.

Me (growing concerned and wondering which big kid offered Nicky too much information): How do you know that?

Nick: Star Wars.

Me: Oh...

Nick: Luke's and Leia's mom died in childbirth.

Me: Well, that's pretty rare these days. Women just don't die in childbirth often at all. You know that, right?

Nick: Of course. Your husband would have to go to the Dark Side and then strangle you...
That's not gonna happen.

Whew. Glad to hear it.

My Heart's at Home for Christmas Daybook

***

Outside My Window ...
The sun is rising and there's a heavy frost on the ground.Morning has broken after the longest night of the year.

***

I am listening to...
Sarah breathing. Is that wheezing?
***

Towards rhythm and beauty ...
This week's rhythm will be to the carols playing unceasingly. There is so much beauty in this season! I'm planning on soaking in the sights and sounds and smells of Christmas right here in my domestic church.

***

I am thankful for ...
a baby who "knew" I was wondering and worried and answered me with a smile.

***

From the kitchen ...
we had dinner for 22 last night. That's really not that many when you consider that 11 of those 22 are here every day.

THE MENU
antipasto with prosciuttio and salami, roasted peppers, artichokes, olives, provolone, tapenade and bruschetta
artichoke and spinach dip with tortillas
~
lasagna
spaghetti with bolognese sauce
Caesar salad
green beans
rosemary and olive bread
~
Texas sheet cake
pear pie with freshly whipped cream
Nicholas' birthday cake

Today, we eat leftovers. Yippee!
***

To live the liturgy...
Nicholas and I are going to meet Fr. Peter this morning for confession. At midnight Mass, Nick will receive Our Lord for the first time (and you can watch if you like. It will be televised on EWTN.) Nick's first Communion was delayed because of bedrest. And now that Sarah can't go to Mass until after flu season, it looked like he was going to have to wait until spring or I'd miss it. But...Mike is directing the production of midnight Mass from the Shrine. If Nicky receives then, Mike will be sure it's on TV and I can watch. Pretty cool, huh?
***

I am wearing ...
a flannel nightgown, fleece bathrobe and happy socks.

***

I am creating ...
18 boxes of fudge for Mike to take to the office tomorrow.

And I still need to blog Gingerbread Day and Peppermint Day and Nicky's Birthday and the extended family party. More retro-blogging.

***
Towards a real education ...
would you believe me if I told you my brain keeps going to the place where I've filed educational philosophy? I have some ideas for freshening things up in January.
***

Bringing beauty to my home ...
I love the way my home looks for Christmas. Michael has a nasty virus. When he's feeling better, I'll ask him to take photos for a bloggy tour of the decor.

***

I am reading  ...
(still)
The Gift of Faith, recommended on Faith and Family Live! This book very well may be the best book on faith I've ever read (I'm not finished yet).It's written simply enough to be readable even in translation. It incorporates Scripture,sacrament, Tradition, and the wisdom of the saints to offer a fresh perspective on the spiritual life.I'm reading it slowly and I know I'll return to it again and again. It also made my Christmas gift-giving list.
~
I spent a few hours in the van this weekend while my kids played games and went to Mass. Sarah and I hung out where the germs couldn't get her. I read Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas. It was a quick read--lots of white space and clear language. It was a nice reminder of the reason for the season and I think it will be a really good book to pass on to the young teens in my life.

***

I am hoping ...
everyone feels well by Wednesday.

***

Around the house ...
laundry is still my nemesis. Michael tells me that he can get into the dorms all during the winter break. There are 14 washers and dryers in his dorm. It's free. Do you know how tempted I am to load every last stitch of laundry into the van and go hang out in a college dorm for a couple of hours and then be
all caught up?  
Very. I'm very tempted.

***
One of my favorite things ...
Sarah's smile. I wonder how many times she will smile before it won't make me cry?

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
driving around to look at lights (tonight I think), a little more bustle tomorrow, Christmas Eve seafood feast, midnight Mass, a quiet Christmas day at home. Well, as quiet as it can be with nine children.

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing~
    

Three little girls after a big party.

she smiled

6 dimples:-)

i just had tell someone.

Happy Feet

Aren't these the most darling, whimsical socks you've ever seen? I've never had handmade socks. I think I'm in love. It's been a rough week. I've worn these socks nearly every day and every time I look down, I smile and remember that really, I'm very happy. And grateful.
It's a warm and whimsical world.

I'm trying. Really, I am.

I wrote this on Monday. And I had the best of intentions to slow down and just rest in the joy of the season. Really, I did. But it's Wednesday afternoon and I'm still running too fast and pushing too hard. The thing is, I know I'm on the fast track to a train wreck. So, I'm starting fresh, re-reading my own words, and resolving to rest in Him. I'll slow down if you will. Deal?

The Christmas Novena Begins Today

Here's a beautiful novena to the Infant of Prague.

Advent Daybook

***

Outside My Window ...
The neighborhood glows with Christmas lights.

***

I am listening to...
The new Amy Grant Christmas album. I love Amy Grant!

***

Towards rhythm and beauty ...
We are thoroughly immersed in the feasts and traditions of Advent. This year, it's all coming together without too much stress. We're doing what we've done in years' past (with a few additions provided by creative friends), and reading what we've always read. It's still awfully busy though!

***

I am thankful for ...
a season of reconciliation, peace, and joy.

***

From the kitchen ...
we'll have Peppermint  Day this week (not sure which day yet). We'll read peppermint stories and make peppermint bark and peppermint marshmallows. And it's time to finalize a menu for the extended family Christmas gathering.
oh and...
did you know that pomegranates have long been associated with fertility? And did you notice that they are only an early winter fruit? Perhaps that's why I have six babies born between September 29th and October 31st. I love pomegranates.
***

To live the liturgy...
I am enjoying having Magnificat magazine around once again. The Advent supplement is good food for thought and prayer and I'm finding myself drawn into the daily rhythm of the Church's prayer after getting out of the habit recently.
***

I am wearing ...
jeans, a button down flannel shirt of Mike's and Christmas socks. I have no plans to leave the house today and these are good clothes for nesting.

***

I am creating ...
a picture post with our Advent doings so far. Maybe tomorrow...

***
Towards a real education ...
I don't know why I thought that I could recover from surgery, feed an infant who still forgets the suck-swallow-breathe sequence sometimes, put my house back in order after bedrest, do all the Advent cooking and crafting,AND resume academics. I can't. And for the next 18 days, I'm not even going to try. We own everyone of the Christmas books on the sidebar. I'm just going to read aloud for the forseeable future.
***

Bringing beauty to my home ...
I love the way my home looks for Christmas. Perhaps when Michael returns home, I'll ask him to take photos for a bloggy tour of the decor.

***

I am reading  ...
The Gift of Faith, recommended on Faith and Family Live! This book very well may be the best book on faith I've ever read (I'm not finished yet).It's written simply enough to be readable even in translation. It incorporates Scripture,sacrament, Tradition, and the wisdom of the saints to offer a fresh perspective on the spiritual life.I'm reading it slowly and I know I'll return to it again and again. It also made my Christmas gift-giving list.
~
I spent a few hours in the van this weekend while my kids played games and went to Mass. Sarah and I hung out where the germs couldn't get her. I read Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas. It was a quick read--lots of white space and clear language. It was a nice reminder of the reason for the season and I think it will be a really good book to pass on to the young teens in my life.

***

I am hoping ...
to reconnect with some dear friends.

***

Around the house ...
There's an awful lot to do! The children have been busier than they usually are in December with sports.Laundry is challenging Mt. Everest both in height and unsurmountability.  The house never really recovered from bedrest and time away when Sarah was in the NICU.The clutter situation is really out of hand. But I'm resisting the urge to have it all done by Christmas. Better, I think, to make it a January project.  

***
One of my favorite things ...
the morning after Michael arrives home for Christmas break. It's so nice to wake up knowing all my children are under the same roof again. And that has become our new tradition for St. Lucy's day. We can't do it without him!

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
driving around to look at lights, Peppermint Day,and an evening out with Mike and Sarah .

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing~
 
All set for Gaudete Sunday dinner.