Daybook-August Waning

Outside My Window

A summer day. A yard that needs mowing again because we actually had real rain this week. Gathering clouds…

I am Listening to

Karoline singing the ABC song, interspersed with Do-Re-Mi…

I am Wearing

A t-shirt, shorts and a heating pad. My neck and shoulders are so tight I can’t turn my head.

I am so Grateful for

~Jen, Julie, and Mary Chris—who made Wednesday much better than Tuesday. Thanks for calling, for coming by, for laughing with me. Gosh, I needed to laugh! (And, Julie, thanks for loaning us Bailey.)

~A lot of time at Starbucks this last week to write and people watch and collect my thoughts. I wouldn't want to live that way all the time, but for that week, it was a good thing.

~Mike's perspective and patience.

I'm Pondering

These words, quoted by one of my favorite priests this morning and sent to me by an old friend. I pray it’s so!

He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took him in.

~Edward Markham

I am Reading
Safe People.

I am Thinking

About this scenario and that scenario and the other scenario, and wishing I’d just know WHICH scenario already so I could get on with it!

I am Creating

New chore charts.  I still don’t know if Patrick will be here or not, but I expect to have that final piece of the puzzle soon. In the meantime, I’ve been working on “training” some small people for slightly larger jobs.

On my iPod

Also sent by my friend Karen this morning.Once upon a time, Karen and I were pregnant together, awaiting spring babies and sharing faith on a college campus. Those boys are 18 years old now.  I am proud to report that I did not cry when I watched this video. Instead, I watched and was very grateful for all the seasons that lie ahead. That’s serious progress, ladies:-)

Towards a Real Education

I polished up the Middle Ages Reading List for everyone from Karoline to Christian.  I finished (for now;-) logging it all in on the CM Organizer. I completely cleaned and organized the sunroom for our learning purposes. We’re good to go! Tomorrow.

Towards Rhythm and Beauty

Yesterday, the little boys’ practice schedules were finalized. I fought the urge to curl up in ball and put my hands over my head (which is where we left off at the end of last season). Instead, I gridded it all into iCal and then I planned menus around it and then I talked with my bigger kids and we planned who was going where when. I feel sort of better. A little. Maybe.

Until Paddy arrives and things get thrown again.

Until Ballet registration and I learn something I hadn’t previously known.

Until Katie starts swimming.

Until the inevitable unplanned….

To Live the Liturgy

Still focusing on St. Monica.

I am Hoping and Praying

~For my father, who is scheduled for knee surgery tomorrow.

~For Patrick who will have some big  decisions to make any minute.

~For my niece, Catie Lea, who begins her college adventure on Tuesday –and for her mama, Michele.

In the Garden

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.

Around the House

We’re going to paint this week. My friend Julie (who is the only reason my husband is trusting me with a paintbrush) says she’ll help with the bathroom painting. I know me: When you give a mom a paintbrush…

From the Kitchen

I’m kicking into the fall menu earlier than I’d like. The schedule is going to require some stewy, slow-cooked things. Personally, I’m not eating any of it. I’m existing on tea, green smoothies, an occasional soy latte, and sushi every now and then. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

One of My Favorite Things

Text messages from my boys—not really, but I’ll take what I can get.

Sarah Annie this week

I think she needs to go in to be weighed and measured. I’ve been looking at pictures of other ‘babies’ born when she was and she seems really tiny in comparison. I saw recent pictures of my cousin’s little girl, who was born a couple of months before Sarah and I had to stop and check to be sure that she was born before Sarah and not Karoline. I’m not really worried because she’s thriving and seems very well, but I have a hunch she’s teeny-tiny.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week

Soccer Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and  a tournament on Saturday and Sunday. Paddy comes home Monday night—I expect our schedule this week will be affected somewhat by whether or not he’s going to return to Florida for the full-year residency program.

We are going to begin our lessons as planned.

And we are going to squeeze those last few weeks out of the neighborhood pool.

Picture thoughts:

 
Me: Kari, that outfit doesn't match.

Kari: Of course it does. Grandma gave me the shirt. Grandma gave me the pants. Both from Grandma, so they match each other. Perfect! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Breathtaking Blessing

An amazing thing is happening in the blogworld. People are taking Ann's words to heart and emailing them to each other with assurances of genuine love. Wounds are beginning to heal. Warm embraces are being exchanged. Apologies are being whispered. A fresh, hopeful breeze is blowing across this far-flung community.

Is there someone you want to bless today?

Ann [and Holley] give you the words to begin:

"I promise I will never speak an unkind word to or about you. Iwill never be jealous of you. I will never compete with you. I will never abandon or betray you. I will love you. I will pray for you. I will do all I can to help you go far and wide in the Kingdom. 

I will accept you as you are, always. I will be loyal to you. Before our loving God of grace, you have my words and my heart in friendship for this life and forever with Him.”

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Giving Voice

The most interesting thing has happened over the course of the last few weeks. Some events in my very real, up-close life have conspired to completely reverse my opinions on social networking. (You can stop laughing, Dallas.) Maybe someday, I'll tell the story on these pages. For now, though, I'm uniquely grateful for the blessings born here on this blog and in the community of blogging women. I'm seeing the genuine joy a blog can be for the first time in a long time.

This morning, my dear friend Ann gave voice to a balm for the painful wounds of saddened friendships. It was a privilege and a joy to hear her dear voice across the miles as she uttered these sweet words: 

"I promise I will never speak an unkind word to or about you. I will never be jealous of you. I will never compete with you. I will never abandon or betray you. I will love you. I will pray for you. I will do all I can to help you go far and wide in the Kingdom. 

I will accept you as you are, always. I will be loyal to you. Before our loving God of grace, you have my words and my heart in friendship for this life and forever with Him.”

A gift. An amazing gift of true charity. Do listen to her whole message.

This afternoon, I was privileged to join a another dear friend across the miles. There is no wound so painful, no hurt so raw as a mother's heart just after she sends her firstborn to college. I know. Three years ago, I was there. And on the way home, I pulled over and called Dallas. (How funny, all these things keep ending up in Dallas. Huh. I'll have to think on that one day.) Anyway, I called Dallas. And the voice on the end of the phone told me to go buy a tablecloth. I can't remember why. But I remember the tablecloth. More than that, I remember the gift of love that was her voice. She was a woman "met" in the blogosphere, reaching across the miles with genuine charity.

Today, I talked with Lisa Hendey just moments after she watched her elder son take flight, bound for Harvard, three thousand miles from home. Sweet Rachel Balducci joined us--nothing like a southern accent and a warm shoulder to ease the pain and share the burden. Looking back, I still can't believe we put these moments on record and shared them. But I think they'll bless you. I know that conversation genuinely blessed me. Please listen. 

And offer a prayer for Lisa. Because it really does hurt in a way that only God can heal.

Happy Morning Crafting

Gracie is an early bird, often ready for the day to begin an hour or more before the other girls awaken. Nicholas is often up, too, but he wants his quiet and his sports headlines and he isn't a very good early morning companion. Just so happens that Gracie doesn't really need to talk to anyone in the morning; she's happiest with a bottle of glue, some markers and popsicle sticks. Crazy, ridiculous happy.

 

So, this summer, I called to mind my own happy mornings at a preschool in Charlottesville, where we'd take a few moments the night before to prepare a table for arriving children the following morning. Usually, we'd leave out the makings of a very simple craft or drawing activity. The assumption is that teachers might be busy greeting children or talking with parents, so these should be activities that required little or no instruction or supervision. Honestly, though, I loved it when I could pull up an undersized chair and work right alongside them.

This summer, the "school" table in the sunroom has been a perpetual craft table. I tidy it at night and try to leave something inspiring there for Gracie and whoever shakes off sleep and joins her there.

 

My very favorite activity at that long-ago preschool was making "stained glass pictures." (I've even shared it with you previously.) We'd cut tissue paper into squares and leave them in a basket for the children. Then, we'd water down some liquid starch and provide soft paintbrushes and plain white copy paper (this doesn't work as well with construction paper). The children would place the dry squares on the white paper and then paint over them with starch, overlapping at will. Can't quite capture it, but there's something infinitely relaxing and rewarding about this process. Really, you must try it.

 

This summer, we took the basic idea and tried it with glass jars, after I saw something similar on a blog I've now forgotten. [Please email me if this was you--I'm happy to link:-)]

Instead of starch, I used diluted white glue. I gathered jars of all sorts. My favorite shape is a Dijon mustard jar.

 

The children "painted" on the squares, being careful not to leave any edges dry.

 

It was a rewarding process and they were surprised to see how different each person's jar was, though they'd all begun with the same materials.
 

The finished product is both beautiful and useful.
 

While they make lovely flower vases, do be careful. They don't take kindly to water drips and filling and emptying is most definitely a mom job.

 

They make lovely votive candle holders, though.
 

And my absolute favorite pencil holder ever.
 

Beautiful, useful crafts that even the littlest hands can successfully complete.

Happy summer morning!