Snow Day!: My Heart's at Home Daybook

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Outside My Window ...
It's a snow day! There are about seven inches of snow on the ground and it's still falling. It's very, very cold, so I think there will be much in-and-outing today.
 
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I am listening to...
shovels scraping, children yelling,the dog barking, squeals of delight. I'm so, so glad for snow at last.
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To Live the Liturgy...
Monday will be about reminding the children of Lenten resolutions after the Sunday "mini-Easter." I think that sometimes it's better to find some other way to make Sunday special and to maintain the Lenten resolutions throughout all of Lent.
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To Breathe Deeply...
More T-Tapp Basic workout and the Walking Workout. It was great to get out on Friday and to walk with baby in the front pack. It's going to be cold in the early part of the week but I'm hoping to squeeze in more and more outside walking-with-baby time as the spring approaches.

Towards rhythm and beauty ...
Lent has a rhythm of its own and there is beauty in the sobriety of the season.

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I am thankful for ...
a chance to start anew on Monday mornings.
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From the kitchen ...
 Hot cinnamon tea and prayers for the gentle woman who introduced me to this particular blend.

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I am wearing ...
 black knit pants, a white tee shirt with a gray cardigan. Fuzzy socks.
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I am creating ...
a Lenten prayer corner--still.
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  On my iPod...
Hail Mary, Gentle Woman. Ever since it came up on this thread (and this and this), I've been listening every morning, in order to get the song stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and so to inspire gentleness in myself.
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Towards a real education ...
I have nearly finished the booklists through the end of the academic year. Colleen and I had a big brainstorm this weekend and are re-energized. Good thing, too, because it's not long until her wee one arrives.
Today, it's a snow day. I'm not even going to try to stick to the academic plan. We'll snuggle up and read books when they're tuckered out from the snow play.
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Bringing beauty to my home ...
I am inspired by my friend Megan, who hosted us for tea last weekend. I'd like to set up a little tea table. I know it will be temporary--Karoline is just now old enough not to wreck it (I think) and Sarah Anne is too little to be a threat. We might have a season to enjoy it. 
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I am reading  ...
For Lent
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With Christian:
Before I Go: Letters to My Children About What Really Matters

With Patrick:
Because God is Real

With the others:
St. Patrick's Summer

For me:
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 started it during Advent and then lost the book. It "just appeared" on the theology shelf in my library closet yesterday when I was looking for something else. Perfect timing for Lent!

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I am hoping ...
for good things for my husband who is looking at two unexpectedly extremely challenging months at work--all good things, but lots and lots of work to get there.
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Around the house ...
the goal is to maintain our newly found sense of peace and order (still). This is the intention I bring to St.Anne every morning. She is such a faithful intercessor.
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One of my favorite things ...
snow days, fireplaces, hand-knit afghans, picture books, popcorn, rosy-cheeked children, snow days, snow days, snow days! 
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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
The plan for this week is to stick to the plan: the meal plan, the lesson plan, the housekeeping plan, the workout plan. In order to do that, I plan to stick closely to the prayer plan.
I think this is the plan for all of Lent. Hopefully, by Easter it will all be a habit.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing~
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DSC_0812   DSC_0831
The ladies enjoyed a lovely tea on Saturday. Wings were optional.

Be sure to visit Peggy for links to more daybooks.

Here Comes the Sun

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It started September 23rd. That was the first day of bedrest. For six weeks, I was confined to my house, my room, my bed. And then, there was a baby. And I was confined to the hospital, to the well-worn path to the NICU. We brought that sweet baby home. And the doctor said solemnly, "Keep her inside, away from crowds, and out of public places until the end of flu season. Probably late March." I tried not to cry. I reminded myself that I am an introvert, a homebody. I got to know the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. I counted my blessings and there were many.

But, slowly, I started to feel it creep in. The cold. The loneliness. My walls grew closer around me. The baby fussed. The big kids acted needier than the baby. I resolutely told myself a hundred times a day that this was not postpartum depression. We hit rock bottom.

A Package arrived in the mail. A lovely Package. A Package that made me smile to see the name in the sender's corner and brought tears to my eyes when I saw what it contained. It was a hat and booties--a darling hat that fit just perfectly. A hat with sweet hearts over baby's ears. Ah, but I sighed. We never go anywhere. And an urgent need made itself known. I had to get out of this house with the baby. I had to go somewhere worthy of The Hat.

Yesterday was one of my top five worst homeschooling days ever. And I can't even think of what the other four are. As I went to sleep last night, I remembered The Hat. I told Mike that I was taking the children to Bull Run. Bull Run--Home of the Bluebells--is the place where we go every year to herald the spring. It's the place where I am happy and relaxed and content just to be. It's our springtime. Gently, the love of my life reminded me that it is still February. Doesn't matter. I have The Hat. I had to be at Bull Run.

The day dawned a bit gray and windy, but not all that cold. The forecast was for rain by noon. No bother. I was up early. I had The Hat. I told the children the plan. Nicholas balked. He doesn't like rain. It's not a typical "not like," --it's sort  of a "thing" with him. It's a really big deal "not like."  I wasn't going to fight it. I told him he could stay home with Patrick. Christian had to go to art.No matter. This wasn't about them. It was about me. And my baby. And my place. And the Hat.

We took the familiar road and parked at a familiar place. We hiked in to "our spot," all the while noting how gray it all seemed. The landscape had changed. The log I posed the children on every year had  decayed to a point where no one could sit there. Right next to it, however, a new tree had fallen--bigger and sturdier and longer. "Just perfect," Katie declared. "There are too many of us now for the old log anyway."

Several trees had fallen. The top of their favorite climbing tree was now laying across the river. I thought of those windstorms last month, the tree that fell and claimed the life of a beloved pastor. I heard trees creaking around me and branches snapping in the not too distant distance. Good thing Nicholas stayed home, after all; he would not have enjoyed this time at all. We tried mightily to find signs of spring. There were a few small buds and some tiny shoots, no signs of the bluebells yet, though.

I snuggled my sleeping baby (she sleeps?) and breathed deeply of the fresh air. Oh! how this place speaks to me, even in its grayness. I thought of how much I missed it last fall, when the leaves were changing color, and my only glimpse of fall came in my inbox through the kindness of a friend's photos. I remembered my long talks with God and how begged him to grant me many springtimes to hang out with my children in the woods. I thought about how much I wanted to walk that trail with this baby. I breathed gratitude. And hope.

I just sat there, nibbled on pistachios, and watched the delight of my two-year-old as she saw this place anew.   Marveling at the familiarity and the changes, I understood that this place is ever old and ever new. My children looked different to me in the natural light. They were sweet and innocent and silly and fun. The baby slept soundly on my chest, warm and loved beneath The Hat. My head cleared. My shoulders relaxed. I had faith that I could get safely to the end of winter and reach confidently for the holiness of spring. Recalling that God has written two books, Scripture and nature, I resolved to read them both this Lent as my soul stretches and my face turns towards the Son.