Flower Girl

This weekend, E had a delightful time being the flower girl in her grandparents 'wedding'. How many little grandkids get that opportunity?? What a lucky little girl.

Grandma and Grandpa had their marriage 'blessed' by the Catholic church on saturday and it was a lovely ceremony at the church with food and cake back at their house afterwards. E wore her dress from my sister's wedding, and she was so excited the whole time. She floated around in the clouds of tulle, and danced for everyone at the reception with a truly regal look on her face. In a word, she was adorable.

H and Z were pretty cute too, and everyone enjoyed the wedding cake (which was the highlight for the kids).

The night before the wedding E did a great job of writing her own card to them. She told me what she wanted to write, I wrote it for her on a scrap, and then she copied her own words onto her card. She's getting so good at her handwriting- although we have to work on getting the words in the right order. At one point, when I was off doing dishes, she had started copying words at random onto her card and was quite upset with me when I tried to explain that it wouldn't make any sense to them if she didn't do them in order. Sometimes the logic of children astounds me !

Congratulations grandma and grandpa! We love you.

Happy Birthday Mozart!

A normal day around here, with some Mozart thrown in for learning fun. We spent the morning vaccuuming and washing the floor, and then we settled down to a nice lunch of pita pizzas with the calming music of Mozart in the background.

We talked about string instruments and what a violin was... then the kids practiced playing their 'math block' violins (I knew those were a good investment LOL).

Then we spent a little time on the internet looking at some good sites on Mozart and classical music:
we read Mozart's Magical Musical Life: an online story book
we listened to some programs from Classics for Kids.
and last, we played around on the New York Philharmonic Kids website.
The kids liked that:
-he was homeschooled as a kid just like them
-he wrote his first piece of music at age 5
-he had long hair like a girl :-)

fun distractions...

A friend just sent me some more good websites to check out:

MadSci
This has lots of great stuff in it: I am often amazed at the quality of some things you can find on the internet. Check out Cells R Us for an online book on cells for elementary kids... or The Natural History Museum in London's page for kids where I found out What Kind of Dinosaur I am, or something I'm sure you all will want to try at home (ask your mommy first): Strawberry Pop-Tart Blowtorches.

The Exploratorium: the museum on science, art and human perception.
Fun links like a Visit to an organic Egg Farm or something Z will appreciate soon yucky.com

Hope your day is going good :-)

The things above.

Forgive my descent into the things of above, but since I've been home from my beautiful retreat, my spirit has been reflecting and trying to process some things about faith.

I am by nature a control freak -- just ask my husband -- and so I have this innate need to control everything, plan things and always know what is happening next. I can see this same trait in my little kindergartener who always wants to know what we're doing, where we're going, and what's for lunch, breakfast dinner and desert (all before 9am). Anyways, it's stressful and can be a great source of anxiety for me when things stop going according to my plans... when I can't see what will happen in the future (like if a kid gets sick, or I don't know how to do a task I am supposed to do, or if 3 people need me at the same time as I'm trying to make dinner etc...).

Ever since I got married, I've been trying to make myself into this gentle, kind, loving wife and mother who always puts others above herself, is never selfish and is, in a word, holy. It seems the harder I try, the harder it gets, and the more I try, the more I fight against the good that I want to become. On the outside I might look like a perfect mom/wife (right?? LOL), but all you'd have to do is spend an hour here during dinner preparations, or in the morning when we're late for church to see that I haven't quite got there yet!! (why is it always the ones we love the most that are the most difficult to be kind to?)

This morning, while taking some quiet time alone in my room, I read a beautiful passage from a book that gave me great peace. It's from Reflections on Faith (known in the USA as The Gift of Faith) by Father Tadeusz Dajczer.

If you feel strong in your natural abilities, your faith cannot develop and deepen. That is why you have to experience your weakness; you have to realize that you cannot do some things. This will be the call to faith. Your weakness, inability, and helplessness will become like a crack through which the grace of faith will squeeze into your heart. Through our injuries, God gives us the grace of deepening our faith...
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit.. for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 5:3). Only when we acknowledge, in the spirit of faith, our own helplessness, do we become poor in spirit and allow the power of God to act within us.

Children come so naturally to this don't they? They know they can't do everything... they know that they can't beat the bad guys, stop the thunder storms, and fix the broken toys. That's why they reach out to us.. and ultimately why they have such an easier time believing in God.

Today I realized something very profound... I've been going in the wrong direction all along. Instead of trying to grow up and make myself into this perfect person, I should have been trying to become more like a child and fall back into that trust I once had in the things above. Yet another thing my children are teaching me in our home school.

Silence

If you could see me, I would look so well rested and calm. I have just returned from a wonderfully silent three day retreat, and my soul and body are both rejuvenate.

To a mother of small children, silence is a precious treasure . It can only be found in those rare, golden moments in the afternoon when all three are napping at the same time, or in the dark, middle of the night (if no one is wanting milk, a reassuring kiss, a night light, or a trip to the bathroom). Unfortunately, both are times when a mother is often asleep, herself.

This weekend I was given a beautiful gift: two and half whole days where I could finish my thoughts uninterrupted, eat my meals without wiping up spills, say my prayers in peace, and even go to the bathroom with the door closed :-). My darling husband stayed home with all three kids, including our little nursling and took such good care of them so I could enjoy my retreat.

The silence left such a void in my head that for the first little while I didn't know what to do! No "Mommy, I have to go pee"... "mommy where is my teddy bear?"... "I want a snack!!". No dishes to put away, no dinners to plan, no diapers to change, no reading lessons to do. Just the quiet peace of a small chapel, the snow falling in the trees, the deer walking in the meadow outside the window, the inspiring meditations from our retreat director, and the quiet small voice of God that is so often drowned out back home.

Everyone should have the opportunity to go on a silent retreat!! The silence and the time apart can raise us above the daily fog that we live in, so we can see the sun and the bigger picture of what's important in life. I'm so blessed.

PMs, housekeepers, and moms

A conversation about the election today:

"What are you doing mommy?" (as we are going to the polling station to vote today)

"When we vote, we are picking who is going to be the leader of our country"

“Hey, Mom, maybe you will win! You can be the leader of the country!”

“(laughing) No, sweetie, only the people who wanted to be the leader are on the list.. There was only 5 people to choose from and I wasn’t on the list…But maybe one day you can do that if you want to.”

“Yeah! Maybe I can be the leader of the country and I can make sure everyone does the right thing and I can take care of people… I can be a housekeeper!! "

------------------

Don’t you just love the simplicity of children? It’s so obvious in her eyes that the leader should take care of people… just like how a house keeper does. In her eyes, a housekeeper is in the same category as the Prime Minister. What value children place on the work that moms do day in and day out: taking care of their basic needs and making sure bad guys, cars, dogs, thunder storms, fevers, colds, and little brothers don’t get them.

funny school moment

While explaining to her that you start a letter with "Dear so-and-so," E wanted to know if comma was their last name.

flashback

I just found this picture today: it's yours truly in 1993 at TEC (Teens Encounter Christ... a retreat weekend for teens in the Anglican church). (WOW!! A whole 13 years ago)

This is the group where my dear husband and I met in 1994. I was a candidate (participant) for TEC 17, and I met him the following year when I went back to the retreat to work and help out. I remember thinking he was really CUTE, but a little too zealous for me. Somewhat of a bible-thumper.

Fast-forward to the year 2006:

-They are now preparing to host TEC 43... my, I feel OLD!

-Me and the bible thumper have both converted to the Catholic church (which incidentally is the original group to have started TEC) ... so now he's not a bible thumper anymore, he's a crazy catholic convert :-)

-I married the bible thumper, had three kids, and now homeschool them

- Today, as I type this very post, I am getting ready to leave for my Ignatian-style silent retreat, that actually takes place at the exact same retreat centre!! oooooooooooooohhhhh.... what a neat coincidence.

-oh, and that bible-thumper is really more like a saint.. because he is staying home with all three kids (including the baby!!) so I can have a quiet, prayerful retreat. You all need to pray for him because H doesn't quite sleep through the night yet, and is still nursing. I sure hope she does ok!!

Assorted links I found today

I came across some of the neatest things today, while I was buried up to my eyebrows in the 'links' that I have saved over the past few years. Dh told me I would be much better off organizing them with folders, and I suppose he's right, so I spent all morning sorting through hundreds of interesting webpages that I always intended to go back to one day.

Here are some that I found:

A miniature version of Bag End... from Lord of the Rings

Mr. Piccasso head

I Know That.com Lots of fun games to play... I spent all night designing widgits and painting fun pictures

reading in real life

We've been focusing on trying to get a reading lesson in each day this week and we are doing great! E is starting to be able to read words much faster than before, and she even read a word out in the real world today all by herself!! I was so proud of her to see her trying out her new skill without me:

We were in the van waiting for daddy to get the rental one we need while our oddessy is in the shop, and her and Z were busy pushing every button they could find to see what it would do. Z's favorite was when he turned on the headlights and the "ding... dong... ding... dong..." would play to let me know that I left my lights on. :-) They spent a good five minutes alternating between dancing to the 'pretty song' as they called it, and flashing the high beams into the office we were parked in front of.

Anyways, while she was trying to show Z how to turn on the 'music' again, she read the words on the lever: o...f...f "Off!" O...n... "on!". She was so proud!

morning chores

Today the kids got up nice and early and got all of our morning chores done cheerfully before they went downstairs. What a nice treat! E now has a list of chores she does each morning to help add routine and responsibility to her life. Z helps out too, with mommy's assistance.

After chores, we had breakfast, did a reading lesson, watched a math video and did a math lesson (she's learning 2+2 and 3+3). Then we drove my grandma to the dentist, went out for lunch and visited the toystore.

The baby is teething again and is very grumpy and clingy this week... all I can say is thank the dear Lord for naps. I'm sure they were invented for mommies. This weekend I'm hoping to get away for a silent retreat (more on this later)... I hope the baby will be feeling ok by then.

Western Canadian Catholic Homeschool Conference

FYI

Western Canadian Catholic Home School Conference
March 9, 10, 11
"Rebuild My Church"

Located at:

Providence Renewal Centre3005-119 Street Edmonton, Alberta

Prices:

INDIVIDUAL Early Bird $45.00 - After Feb 10 $55.00
MARRIED COUPLE Early Bird $75.00 - After Feb 10 $95.00

Conference runs Thursday thru Sat.

Thursday is Registration, Mass, Benediction
Friday talks, Mass etc..
Saturday talks etc... and closes with Mass at 4:30pm

Meals (optional but must be pre-booked)
Thursday - Supper $10.00, Friday - Breakfast $6.00, Lunch $10.00, Supper $10.00
Saturday - Breakfast $6.00, Lunch $10.00

Talks:

Friday
The Place of Reason - Archbishop Thomas Collins
Mother, Father, Husband, Wife by Fr. Andrew Bogandowicz
Concurrent Sessions:
#1 Q&A for beginners,
#2 Natural Family Planning(Billings method)
#3 Music, Gift of the Church
Bill C-30 The Film by Eric Spoeth - home school grad and film maker

Saturday
Keeping our Children Catholic - Mariette Ulrich
God's Respect for His Creation - Fr. Paul Moret
Faith and Reason - Archbishop Collins
Home Schooling Comes of Age - Michael & Bernadette Coren

Saturday Couples Event Banquet - Shop, Visit, Pray, Eat, Laugh
Returning by request Michael Coren (brillant speaker last year)

Saturday afternoon/evening
2:00pm arrival - shop at the curriculum fair, visit etc...
4:30pm Holy Mass with conference attendees followed by Banquet & Social hosted by Home School Grads (very nice last year)
Limited Numbers - Pre-Registration only

Cost for Sat Couples Event
-for conference attendees - $50.00 couple or $30.00 individual
-for non-attendees - $60.00 couple of $35.00 individual

Cheque payable to:
Western Canadian Catholic Home School Conference
Mail to:
9921-86 Street
Fort Saskatchewan, AB
T8L 2X9
phone:780-998-3163
wcchsc@yahoo.com

You can stay at Providence Centre - rooms must be booked separately byphone:
Call Paul or Wendy 780-998-3163

Used curriculum Sale - Pre-registered materials will be set out for salefirst - Others will be sold as space permits.$5.00 registration fee10% of sales will be retained to cover the costs of this service.Materials are to be brought in and removed by conference attendees only

Painting with Watercolors

On Saturday afternoon, while the kids were upstairs bugging their dad and making a mess in their room, Mommy took out the watercolor paints, brushes and paper and started having fun without the kids!!

Of course, as soon as they came down and saw the fun, they wanted to join in! We had lots of fun painting and coloring.

E got a really neat book for Christmas called
The Magical Garden of Claude Monet, by Laurence Anholt. We had fun looking at the way Monet painted, and then tried doing our own impressionist paintings.

After she finished, we framed some of them and hung them on our wall. She is so proud!

The last photo is of E at her new Art Class she is taking. It looks like a fun class!

Life with Kids Under the Age of Reason

... or Snippits of my weekend

E to her brother: "Do you want to play princess? You be the prince and I'll be the princess"

Z: "No! I don't want to be the prince, I want to be Tigger!!" (and he bounces her).

*******
Mommy: dancing to Great Big Sea (and looking quite cool, if I don't say so myself)

Z: "no!!! THAT'S not how you do it!"

Mommy (quite indignant): "Then how do you do it?"

Z: Jumps off his chair and proceeds to do a very good impression
of the dancing Santa Claus that his great Grandma has at her house

*******
Z: "I'm hungry! I want a snack!"

Mommy: handing him an apple "here you go sweetie"

Z: "NO!!!!!! THAT'S NOT A SNACK!! I WANT A SNACK!!!!"

Mommy: "This IS a snack!! EAT IT!"

Z: "NO!!!!! THAT'S NOT A SNACK!! I WANT A SNACK!!!!"

Mommy: "What's a snack then?"

Z: "A SNACK IS A SNACK"

*******
Mommy: trying to make dinner before daddy comes home

Z: "I WANT A SNACK!!!"

E: " What's for dinner? Can we have chicken nuggetts? what's for dessert?"

E: Looking on the stove, "AAAAAWWWWW! But I don't LIKE stirfry! "

H: " babababababa...." drops bowl of food on floor " WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Mommy: "SHHHHH!!! Will you all be QUIET?? We are having STIRFRY and NO SNACKS! and if you ask me again I'll..... I'll...."

H: "WAAAAAAHHHH!"

E: as Z hits her on the head " WAHHHHHHH!!!!!! MOMMY!!!! HE HIT ME!!"

Mommy: "Z, go sit on the stairs!"

Z: " I'm not Z, I'm tigger!"

Mommy: "GO SIT ON THE STAIRS!!!!"

Z: "WAAAAHHH!"

E: "WAAAAAHH!"

H: "WAAAAAHH!"

Mommy: trying to rescue the dinner that's burning, "When is that Dad of yours coming home??"

Smoke Alarm: "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

Mommy: "WAAAAAHH!"

reading with your eyes closed

We are getting so much done this week... must be because I'm feeling so good again. (I'm not sick, and I'm also in a rare moment of brain clarity... moms- you know the space between the pregnancy hormones that make you a little spacey and the breastfeeding ones that make you even worse?)

The key to getting homeschooling off to a good start is to nab the kids while they are still happily sitting at the table eating their breakfast :-) This morning we started off with Language Arts, and did a whole round of spelling, reading, writing and even some coloring.

I had to laugh during 'reading' time when I looked up at Elizabeth though. She was reading to me a bunch of words in a list. I guess it's to practice building up her 'fluency', or speed, in reading. Anyways... she looked so proud of herself'... because she told me that she could read with her eyes closed! She figures that if you can do something with your eyes closed, you must be REALLY smart!! She always practices walking with her eyes closed, and has been known to try eating and dancing too... so I guess she thought she would add reading to her list of accomplishments.

How do you argue with that logic?

Reading is improving!!

We are so organized this morning, that we finished a lesson of math, reading, and art all before 9:30!! I guess E must be a morning person and while she's eating her breakfast at the table in the morning is a great time to corner her and get some phonics slipped in.

She was so proud of herself because she read a whole story by herself today and was reading so much faster than before:

A Cat
from the Little Angle Reader book 'A'

Ann has a cat.
Ann's cat is Nat.
Nat sat.
Ann can pat Nat.
Ann has a pan.
Nat ran to Ann.
Nat had ham.
Nat has a rat.
Nat ran.
Nat can nab a rat.

... I know, it's not too exciting of a plot line, but what do you expect when you're limited to three letter words with one vowel?

In math, we learned about 2+2 and 3+3, and in art we learned about warm and cool colors, and how to draw things that are overlapping.... we just started with balloons, but I think I can extend this to drawing her princesses: the clothes overlap their bodies, so you only draw the dress, not the whole body. We'll see if she can get this concept. I've learned this year that so much of this stuff is developmental and if you just leave it alone for a few months, she 'gets it' so much easier without any work from a frustrated teacher. (this lesson I learned first when I was an overambitious wanna-be homeschooler trying to teach a two year old how to count and read numbers on paper).

p.s. Z is finally learning how to hold a pencil the right way. HWT really helped me teach that. (pretend your hand is an alligator and the alligator eats the pen). He loved that, and then proceeded to draw me a picture of an alligator. so cute!

Kindergarten is so much fun!

I am so blessed to have started thinking about homeschooling waaay before my eldest daughter was old enough to even talk, because I have had lots of time to sort through all of the opinions and methods and books and styles out there. When we started this year of Kindergarten I was all gung-ho to turn her into a super academic star!!!!

Now, half-way through the year, I am starting to see the wisdom of letting kids be kids, and easing off on my expectations of both myself and my child. Kindergarten is fun! Lots of playing with toys, reading stories, making crafts, listening to music, and playing outside. I don't need lesson plans and schedules for that! That is real life for us.. it's what we do everyday because the 2 year old and the baby naturally facilitate it for us. She still has the luxury of a nice nap in the afternoon... lots of time to play with her siblings, lots of time to watch mommy do work around the house and learn how to help her, lots of time to make up elaborate stories that she acts out with her dolls or princesses.

If she doesn't learn to subtract, tell time, tie her shoe laces, recite poetry, count by fives, etc... she's not going to be behind. The funny thing is, it's when we spend a few weeks doing NO school at all that she makes the most progress when we get back to it.

I guess she's teaching me so much more that I could ever teach her: relax. giggle. enjoy playing with your family. take naps.

Just a mix of stuff

Last week we were busy with two play dates filled with giggles and screams and princess dresses. Z came into his true light when he discovered the power of a little boy pretending to be a bear, a Tigger, or anything that can chase girls around. The house was filled with lots of running and screaming little girls, and one very rambunctious little boy who kept switching between growls, and quotes from Winnie the Pooh: "Where are you Long ears?"

I was also treated to the wonderful imagination of little girls left alone too long in the basement. When I went down to check on them, I discovered a vast and intricate spider web blanketing the room. They had gotten into my yarn, and had a wonderful time weaving their web through bikes and chairs and daddy's drum kit. Later, they came upstairs and decorated cupcakes in honor of the Feast of Epiphany, and then built a wonderful castle out of blocks. With her other friends a few days before, E had fun making bracelets with her beads, playing house, and again running away from her silly brother.

I am always delighted to see the wonderfully fun things children can come up with when they are running around without a television tying them to the couch. What a treat it is to watch their curiosity and creativity.

We also spent time this weekend reading a children's atlas that I picked up at a thrift store. I taught Elizabeth how to use the index to find places by their coordinates on the edges of the page. She thought that was great fun and we spent some time looking up cities and towns that she knew.

Later on, she wanted to practice her cursive writing (she's decided she wants to learn to write 'pretty' like mommy and has begun to teach herself), so I showed her how to write her first name in cursive and she caught on right away! Here's her attempt at doing her name (with princesses added for a bonus!)

Day two of real life after holidays

Back at it again!! Today, like the lucky homeschooler she is, Elizabeth has done her schoolwork in her ballet/fairy costume, complete with sparkly wings and a tutu. The teacher is lucky too: she's lounging at the front of the classroom in her PJs.

This morning we are back to reading in the Old Testament, and we came to E's favorite story. Here is her picture and her narration she gave to me after reading the first half of the story:

(the picture is of baby Moses in the basket with his mom and brother on the left side of the shore drawn very small because they are far away, and with pharoh's daughter and her servants on the right side of the shore. Moses's sister is also on the right side and she is far away too so she is drawn small.)

Moses and the Israelites
By Elizabeth Blair
Age 5

There was a new pharaoh who ruled over Egypt and so God sent a new man to come and take care of the Israelites. A girl named Jochebed wanted to save her baby and so she made a basket of straw and then put the baby into the basket and then put him in the river. The baby started to cry, but it kept on floating. Pharaoh's daughter found the basket. She opened up the lid and she gently picked up the baby. She took him out of the water and then she hugged him and she named him Moses because she pulled him out of the water.

Moses grew up in the palace. Moses tried to take care of the Israelites and Pharaoh tried to kill Moses so he went to another country and then he became a shepherd. And something strange happened: he saw a bush on fire, but it wasn't burning up. From inside the bush, God spoke to Moses. He said "Moses, take my people somewhere else. A place called Canaan".

Lets start 'school' again!!

Well we haven't done any 'real' school for quite some time, although we did learn lots of things each day over the Christmas holiday:

-We watched the March of the Penguins together as a family, and the kids loved it! We skipped the two scary parts, but other than that it was a great movie, and the kids learned lots from it.

-We read all about Monet and his paintings in a new book that E got for Christmas from Nadine and Stephen

-We went for a nice long walk down the ravine in our community and saw what winter does to the trees (no leaves), the stream (turns to ice and you can walk on it), the plants (lots of neat looking seed pods)... And we had lots of fun with walking sticks and the odd patch of snow.

-We listened to Handel's Messiah many times, as well as the Nutcracker suite and danced and danced.

-We watched the nutcracker ballet on DVD and learned the whole story (with commentary from Elizabeth to help us along).

-We played many family games: guess who (teaches logic), dominos (teaches math and matching) etc..

-What a fun time!! I love vacations.

Today, we got up nice and early and cleaned our rooms and then did some schoolwork:

-It's the feast day of St. Elizabeth Anne Seton so we read a long story about her and talked about Italy where she lives (Elizabeth decided she wants our WHOLE family to move to Italy... Including grandmas, grandpa's, cousins, aunties and uncles). After we read the story Elizabeth told it back to me in her own words. She did a great job!

-For math, we practiced counting and writing the numbers from 0-20, and then she did some addition problems.

-We also picked out a book about animals off the shelf, and looked up penguins, where we found pictures and tidbits about the Emperor penguins. Elizabeth drew a nice picture for me of some penguins: A daddy penguin sitting on the egg (they do it for the moms, so the mommies can go back to the sea and eat), with a little boy penguin who came back to visit his daddy. She added detail to them that showed she really paid attention to the movie: black clawed feet, the egg tucked under the daddy, the baby penguin with the grey/black tummy (turns white as he gets older), and the bits of yellow on the daddy's neck and head.

-after lunch we read Ping (a great book about a duck on the yangzte river, and now all three are napping, so i'm off to relax.

Knights and Princesses...Preschooler style

Our little five year old has the most contagious laughter. It would often only rise to it's full hilarity when other children were around... But now that her brother is becoming quite the playmate (and developing his own silly sense of humor), we are regularly treated to her loud peals of laughter throughout the day.

Yesterday morning, while I was still half-asleep in bed trying not to wake up yet, they began to play princess and knight - acting out those roles which, deep inside, all of us want to play. (I just love watching how boys and girls are so different... And so predictable in how they play. Just a few days ago they were playing on my bed while I was trying to sleep (do I detect a pattern here??) when Zach, wearing his new Superman PJs comes with a toy hammer, starts banging on the wall above my head, and tells me he's going to 'knock down the wall!". Then, sweetly from the bed Elizabeth smiled and beamed with pride as she showed Zach his Superman cape that she had lovingly folded up for him in a neat pile like mommy folds the laundry.)

Anyways, back to yesterday morning. They began to play princesses and knights, and I listened to their game, expecting the usual: bad guy comes, prince kills the bad guy, princess says 'oh! Thank you!' and they get married. Of course, being a princess myself, I know how the game is supposed to end... But this prince had other ideas. I guess that's what happens when you play with a very silly 2 year old boy because this is how it went:

princess Elizabeth: ok, you be the prince, and I'll be the princess!

Z: (in a very growly voice) I'm NOT the prince!! I'm one of the bad guys

(hey! That's not supposed to happen!!)

Z: ... And I have to go pee! (then he runs to the bathroom and pretends to go pee, while Elizabeth has dissolved into laughter that threatens to wake up the neighbor's)

I guess preschoolers really can bring potty humour to any situation!

Congratulations Jenny!!!!

My dear cousin is getting married, and we are all so thrilled for her :-) Her darling fiance had this really cool ring made specially for her. It's the shape of a house with the diamond in the chimney. She said it's because he is her 'home'. Isn't that so sweet?

Elizabeth thinks that they should now have a baby because they will be married and in her mind marriage equals babies... Because they are so wonderful!

I agree :-) Congrats you sweetie pies! We are so happy for you.

Happy New Year

Blessings to you and your families on this special day!!!

We spent a lovely evening together. We had an early dinner with some friends, went home and put the kids to bed, and then played cards and drank sparkling apple juice together in the quiet stillness of bedtime that only a parent of 3 small children knows (or their grandparents after they have babysat and then sent them home), We fell asleep to the sounds of firecrackers going off somewhere in the neighborhood, praying they wouldn't wake up the baby.

This morning we got up early and went to mass to celebrate the Feast of the Mother of God, and now we are home all together as a little family in our cozy house thinking about what sort of nice dinner we will have tonight to celebrate Mary's special feast day.

When I was a kid, I never thought that it would actually be fun to go to bed before midnight on new years, and relish the quiet of the house and the streets while everyone else is out partying.... Church was also very quiet this morning (well except for Heather's singing through mass).

Now as we get closer to the end of the Christmas season my thoughts turn to getting back to our routine of chores, school, work. It's been such a joy to have my husband home for these last two weeks. We have enjoyed having this family time so much...

What more could I ask from God than what I have? It turns out that growing up is fun after all. Being with my own family is the best place to be in the world. I cherish my vocation as wife and mother more than any gift I have ever received. All I could ask for is the grace to be able to be all that I am called to be: a gift to those around me.

My husband...

...has written a beautiful and gentle post on his often-neglected-because-he's-so-busy-being-a-good-husband-and-dad blog. Go check it out here if you'd like.

love you darling!

Some new websites I have found

Lakeway Learning This site looks very helpful: lesson plans, schedules and ideas for using Charlotte Mason's ideas in homeschooling... from a Catholic perspective, and for grades K-2 right now. JUST what I've been looking for :-) Thanks Mary!

KidSites.com A website dedicated to finding the good quality kids websites out there. It has some fun links (including another snowflake maker) and is definitely worth checking out...

The Canadian Encyclopedia An online Enclyclopedia of Canada..free! Try their Canucklehead quiz and see how much you know about Canada

iMusic Store: Purchase and then download tons of different audio books for adults and children... I'm really excited about this because I'm forever trying to find good audio books for the kids to listen to, and they are always out at the library (or scratched so they don't work halfway through the story). What a great source!! I think we'll getd Anne of Green Gables, and Narnia first!!

Feast of the Holy Family

Happy 6th Day of Christmas!! I wish you all many blessings on this beautiful feast of the Holy Family. We are still enjoying our Christmas holidays, since my dear husband doesn't return to work until next weds. We have had much fun over the past week:

We have watched the Sound of Music together and have listened to the soundtrack over and over and sung all the songs together...

We have watched the Nutcracker Ballet on DVD and danced and giggled...

We have eaten chocolate and cookies and turkey and ham and stuffing and apple pie...

We have played cards with Sean's new poker set and enjoyed the fun of using real poker chips... and feeling oh-so-sophisticated...

We have cleaned here and there around the house and have dreamed about what our basement will look like when it's all developed...

and... we have even ventured to the mall to go shopping with Christmas money for the kids. No surprises as to what they bought: another Playmobil toy (a princess and her royal bed chamber), and two trains.

Now, as I type, the children are laughing outside with their dad as they run around the yard with rosy cheeks and cold noses. Maybe I'll try to make some hot chocolate for them again (this time with SUGAR LOL).

I love Christmas break and don't want it to end. It's just so much fun to have my husband home and be able to enjoy being a family all together, without the stress of all of our other activities and jobs. I hope you all are having a beautiful Christmas season too.

Blessings to you, and Much Love!!

Tis the Season...

We had a very blessed time with our family enjoying this special feast day, and pray that you all did as well. This is my most favorite time of the year, and this was the best year yet!!

Here's how we celebrated the first few days of Christmas:

Christmas Eve
Being parents of three small children all under the age of six (and hence all under the age of reason!), we decided it was wise to schedule our day around their nap time, so the evening mass and the following Christmas day activities wouldn't end in melt downs and temper tantrums (we learned from experience last year).

We spent the morning playing, cleaning and trying to find that elusive lightbulb on the tree that was burnt out and wrecking the whole string of lights... then after nap time we decorated our tree (or should I say that the parents decorated the tree while the kids played with the ornaments and Heather tried to eat it). Then we had dinner, got dressed and rushed off to church to find a seat in the very crowded church for the very special Christmas Eve mass. It was beautiful and grace-filled, and the children especially enjoyed sitting with Auntie Anna and Uncle Cameron who came with us. They also loved blowing kisses to baby Jesus in the nativity scene as we left for home.

At home we lit up our pretty tree for the first time, along with our white candles for our advent wreath, and read the Christmas Story together on the couch. A great start to a new tradition which can only get better (maybe next year we will be able to hear the story over the baby fussing, and the toddler getting off and on the couch in search of his trains and cars). After our night prayers together, the kids cuddled baby Jesus and laid him in the manger and then they went off to bed to wait for Saint Nicholas to come in the night with instructions from daddy that they were to wait for us before they went downstairs in the morning, and were not allowed to get up too early.

Christmas Day

Which leads us to 4:00 a.m. the next morning when the little angels woke us up to wish us a very merry Christmas! They went back to sleep and got up later at a more respectable 6:00 and we made it downstairs before 6:30. They were very excited to see that Saint Nicholas had brought them stockings full of toys and candy in the night... and there were presents under the tree from mommy and daddy and others.

The morning was lots of fun with lots of smiles and screams from Elizabeth and Zachariah, and clapping of hands from Heather who was delighted with the gingersnap she got in her stocking. E was especially pleased with the Swan Lake Barbie and Prince that her great-aunt was clever enough to find on eBay for her, Zach is still playing with his 'mountain for Gordon' that mommy and daddy got him, and Heather looks so beautiful in all of her new clothes.

Later on in the day all of their grandma's and grandpa's came over, and we had a lovely feast complete with the turkey that is never quite done, homemade cranberry sauce, and pretty red and green veggies from grandpa Jack. After dinner we played a modified version of pictionary with the kids, then sent them to bed so we could eat apple pie and ice cream. What fun!!

We finally convinced everyone to stay later than 8 pm (thanks moms and dads!!) and we had fun playing cards for an hour or so before all the old folks got tired and went home to bed LOL.

My favorite part of the day was when Elizabeth, who was sitting at the table painting her new princess posters, looked up at me with this innocent and beautiful child's face and said "mommy, I just love Christmas time!".

Merry Christmas !!

God Bless you all !!
Love from our Family

Click here if you can't read the text in the picture.

Christmas questionnaire

Sharon tagged me, so I thought I would fill out the questionnaire :

1. Hot Chocolate or apple cider? mmmm... Apple cider
2. Turkey or Ham? Turkey!! (with lots of gravy, but the ham my sister made last night was really good too!)
3. Do you get a fake or real-you-cut-it-yourself Christmas tree? We just switched to artificial, because we love to get our tree really late in the season (yesterday), and decorate it on Christmas Eve, and keep it up until Epiphany. They always die before then, and in fact they are usually dead when we go to the tree lot on the 22nd or 23rd LOL. So we splurged and bought a nice country-style one. One of my favorite memories was when we got to go cut one down in the woods with grandma and grandpa one year as a kid.
4. Decorations on the outside of your house? yup! pretty evergreen garlands, lights, and a nativity scene.
5. Snowball fights or sleddin'? brrr! I guess sleddin, but it's more fun to watch the kids do it.
7. Do you enjoy going downtown shopping? Urgh! no way! I don't like shopping at all anywhere during Christmas! I made some presents, and I bought a bunch online.
8. Favorite Christmas song? Away in a Manger
10. How do you feel about Christmas movies? I have some favorites from my childhood, like Rudolf, and that one where the boy got his tongue frozen to the pole... yeah, I guess I do like them! But we don't have a TV so we haven't watched many this year.
11. When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music? I usually try to wait until at least a few days before Christmas, and then we aren't sick of them for the real 12 days of Christmas!
12. Stockings before or after presents? Duh!! of course BEFORE! Like there is any other way LOL
13. Carolers, do you or do you not watch and listen to them? Never had any come!! but we love singing :-)
14. Go to someone else's house or they come to you? We like to have everyone come here.
15. Do you read the Christmas Story? If so when? We are just starting this tradition: we are going to read it on Christmas Eve when we come home from mass, just before we go off to bed. After the story is done we'll put baby Jesus in our Nativity Scene
16. What do you do after presents and dinner? Clean up!! have pie, and then get the kids in bed, and if everyone isn't too tired, we LOVE playing cards or other games.
17. What is your favorite holiday smell? Cinnamon and nutmeg.
18. Ice skating or walking around the mall? I LOVE ice skating!! can't wait till the kids are a bit older so we can enjoy it. I HATE the mall and NEVER go there :-)
19. Do you open a present or presents on Christmas Eve, or wait until Christmas day? We like to wait for Christmas Day unless some family isn't going to be here (like my sister)
20. Favorite Christmas memory? Being with my family as a child at grandma sonia and Grandpa pete's house playing cards and laughing until my tummy hurts!! I loved Sledding down the big hill, playing games with my cousins, NUTMEG!!, going for walks in the snow, eating Jo squares, playing pictionary and Slang Teasers, watching Wheel of Fortune, helping set the table, trying to get out of cleaning up after dinner, eating Pep candies from Grandpa pete, and cough drops from Grandma sonia, eating Grandma sonia's mashed potatoes. I especially liked the night my cousins and I stayed up late gambling and playing Martha Stewarts Wedding (a card game we invented). I just LOVED Christmas time at my grandparents house. It was the thing we looked forward to all year.
21. Favorite Part about winter? Chinooks! and My anniversary.
22. Ever been kissed under mistletoe? hmm.. i can't recall
23. Tagging... Ok, If you want to fill this out, post it on your blog: (or anyone can just fill it out and leave it in the comments section if you'd like to share you answers with me :-) )
Aunt Val
Jenny
Leslie
Dana
bjupMoM

The excitement is building!

You know it's going to be a good day when you have already managed to get a good two hour nap in before 8 am :-)

After a very poor sleep, I got up at 5 am with the baby to sit in the recliner with her in hopes that she would sleep better there for a bit (she's teething... And I had some Christmas baking with milk in it on thurs night which is more likely the cause). Unfortunately, the kids are so excited about Christmas that they aren't sleeping either and got up at 6, shortly after the baby and me fell back asleep, so I dragged myself back upstairs and had a nap.

When Sean and I both emerged at 8am we came down to the funniest sight: two kids who have been left alone for two hours, jumping around the living room amidst piles of empty wrappers and half eaten life savers. They apparently found the candy that they got from my parents the night before (which I tried to hide and take out again on Christmas day... To no avail). They are now twirling and spinning like tops that won't stop!!! Good thing I got that good nap in this morning :-)

Last night we celebrated an early Christmas with my half of the family because my sister is flying out to her in-laws today for the week. So we spent the afternoon at her house helping her cook a ham and then our parents and grandma sonny came over in the evening for a fun celebration.

She did a great job of cooking! I was there to teach her the finer points of how to cook a big dinner for your whole family. First lesson was while we were resting comfortably on the couch:

me: "the first thing we have to do is get the vegetables peeled and into some water so we don't have to worry about them later. Here's the easiest way to do it: you ask the men if they would please go peel the vegetables"

She caught on right away and yelled "Sean, Jack! Could you please peel the potatoes and carrots?" and of course the men, being well trained into the finer arts of dealing with the women of our family, trotted into the kitchen and bonded while peeling piles of potatoes and carrots.

This is how my mother and my grandmother taught me how to cook and who am I to break family tradition? I still can hear the echo in my mind of Grandma yelling "Pete!" all through the dinner making process. (sure do miss that guy!)

We had a lovely evening together, and the kids were allowed to open their present from Auntie Melissa and Uncle Jack (which was more like FIVE presents... But I digress), and spent the rest of the night running around in their new PJs (Z is now Superman with a real cape!). My favorite part was the roaring fire she bought for a bargain $2 from the Cable company.

Oh! and the baby learned how to clap!!! and she is so delightful to watch. She claps when she gets excited about getting some food to eat.

Christmas Vacation Begins!!!

Daddy is officially on Christmas Holidays now and everyone is very excited! Last night to celebrate, we played games with the kids for a bit. First Elizabeth amazed us with her memory while we played 'memory' (we have a beautiful set of cards with a bunch of different images of the Blessed Virgin on them called Mary Memory), then we played a kids card game. The kids had a great time, and it's fun to watch a spirit of competition developing in Elizabeth. Last year, when we would play games she always wanted to take turns winning. Now she just wants to WIN WIN WIN. It was pretty funny :-)

Oh, and Elizabeth gave us some good logic problems by trying to tell us that Christmas is the day after yesterday... or is it the day after the day before yesterday? She talks like she is so grown up now, and sean and I have to try really hard not to laugh when she comes up with some of these things. I can't believe I have a 5 year old already!!

We also had fun visiting with Grandma Sonia this week and she sent us home with a big bag of cookies and some really yummy Stollen (christmas bread). The kids love going over to her house because she always has treats, and funny things to show them. This time they laughed and laughed at the Cowboy Santa who dances to music
The next day with her as my inspiration (and with her pie plates too), we made three apple pies for Christmas dinner which is coming sooner than I think!!

Busy weekend

This weekend we had lots of fun things to do.

On Saturday night we went over to Sean's brother's house for a Christmas tree decorating party. It was fun for us to go to their new house and be a part of their own new traditions as a young family. (they've been married just over two years).

The kids had so much fun eating appetizers, hanging ornaments on the tree, reading Christmas stories, and decorating cookies. Auntie Anna and Uncle Cameron are so much fun! They always fill the kids up on sweets just before bedtime, and then get them super excited and full of crazy energy. There's something about Aunties and Uncles that does that to them..... ah.. Just wait until they have kids.

Then on Sunday evening we went to a Familia Christmas party at our good friend's house, and had a ball playing with friends. Elizabeth was overjoyed to find three of her little friends there, and they played all night long. Zachariah was having a great time playing with his little friend Joseph (they are almost the same age), and even Heather made a friend. :-) I just love events where there are a bunch of Regnum Christi families gathered together, and the children outnumber us four or five to one sometimes LOL. It's such a joy to watch them all running around and having fun. The gift of life is so precious.

It's almost here! It's Almost here!!!!

I just love this time of the year... I guess that's why I really wanted to get married during advent. It is so cozy and warm, and the anticipation of Christmas around the corner is so much fun. It always brings me back to my childhood.

Now that I have my own children (where have the years gone? I already have more kids than my own parents did), I find it even more fun to be able to watch them get excited about Christmas time. We have so much to do this week to get ready, and thank God I am finally feeling really good!!

What's your list of things left to do? This is ours:

• bake cookies
• bake pies for christmas dinner
• get presents for a few remaining people
• give santa some tips on where to find some dairy-free stocking stuffers
• finish making a few Christmas presents
• clean our house top to bottom
• do the laundry
• finish up our Jesse Tree
• set up our outdoor nativity scene
• buy a Christmas Tree
• buy new Christmas PJs
• get hair cuts for everyone

There has been lots of thought put into Christmas traditions this year, and with me being sick, we have really tried to scale back and simplify. What we want to make sure we do is spend lots of time together as a family: together with just us and the kids, together with all of our extended family, and together with our beloved friends. So.. I have to get this house cleaned up and in shape so we can have our friends and family over and welcome them into our home and shower them with our love :-)

Here is what we are going to do this year:

On Weds we are going to go pick out a tree and set it up in our living room (no decorations yet).

On Friday night we are going for a special dinner at my sister's house to celebrate and early christmas with them

On Saturday night (Christmas Eve) we are going to go to an early evening mass and celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.

When we come home from mass, we are going to get into our new Christmas PJs, put on some Christmas music for the first time this season, get out some good Christmas baking, Christmas oranges and eggnog, and decorate our Christmas Tree together. Then we'll read the Christmas Story, put baby Jesus in the nativity scene, say our bedtime prayers together downstairs and then go off to bed. (after the kids are asleep we'll put out all the presents under the tree, and hopefully santa will come and fill our stockings)

Christmas morning we will get up at a reasonable hour (LOL) and open our stockings and presents, have breakfast, sing happy birthday to Jesus, start the turkey, play with our new toys and enjoy a nice quiet morning together. In the afternoon our family will all come over and we will celebrate the special feast day together, with fresh white candles in our advent wreath, a nice homecooked meal, laughter, love and joy.

Daddy doesn't have to go back to work until after New Years, so we will have all week to play, avoid the packed malls, go for walks and sleigh rides, go to mass, play cards and games, visit friends and family - and have them over, take naps, giggle, make messes... and just plain celebrate the twelve days of Christmas.

I can't wait!!

Dinosaur Math

Elizabeth wanted to learn about Dinosaurs today, so with the magic of the internet I found some math worksheets online to print off for her. There are so many great resources out there for free... You can literally teach your kids for free by just using the internet and your library card!!
(of course that would require much work on mom's part sorting through all the junk out there, and organizing it all etc... So I will still be buying curriculum because it's much easier on me).

Here are a few places we have found with great worksheets (what are some of your favorite sites?):

edhelper.com
homeschool share (free unit studies)
enchanted learning
learningpage.com

We also did another Jesse Tree symbol. We are a little behind because of me being so sick, but that's ok :-) She's starting to get the concept of history and the idea that Moses and Adam and eve and Noah etc.. all came BEFORE Jesus did. I consider this great training for starting up a formal history curriculum in the next few years.


This picture was of Joseph (you know, the technicolor dream coat guy). He was sold into slavery by his 11 brothers who didn't like him (because his dad loved him the best - hence the cool coat of many colors he gave him). I guess Joseph is the guy being pulled behind the horse. He's frowning and the captor is smiling. I love the details she puts in her pictures... Also look how she has the guy on the horse facing the same direction as the horse is. She's a better artist than I am already LOL

Wee Nutcracker

Today was my little ballerina's last ballet class and they had a mini recital for us where they performed the Nutcracker ballet. It was so adorable, and Elizabeth was so proud. This class was just with our local Parks and Recreation program and it was four classes for less than $30. It was so much fun for her and waaaaaayyy less stressful and serious than her ballet school she did last year (not to mention way cheaper too). This is definitely the way to go as far as I can see. The little girls were so sweet acting out the ballet and copying their teacher.
Elizabeth was telling everyone she met that today was her recital, and she was so brave performing in front of an audience.

After we came home from the big performance, she wanted to do some piano lessons . Last weekend I bought a piano book for preschoolers that came with a CD, and she has really been enjoying listening to it and learning how to play the piano. The course is called Music For Little Motzarts by Alfred Publishing, and it's really good. Maybe one day she'll do a recital for us :-) She is definitely into the arts.

After the ballet class she wants to do another art class... And Jenny, you'll be glad to hear that she wanted to know if one of the projects they were going to do in the art class was take photographs (because she knows that Jenny is an artist and she takes pictures LOL).

advent learning

<---Our latest family picture... I was sick there and everyone climbed into bed with me :-)

With me being sick off and on for the last month and a half we haven't done much in the way of formal schoolwork where we sit down and learn something from a workbook, but we've still been busy learning lots every day.

Last week and this week on tuesdays and thursdays, elizabeth has been taking a ballet class called 'Wee Nutcrackers'. She is just loving it :-) On Thursday she has a 'recital' at her classroom and she's very excited about it. She has been learning all about the music by Tchaicovsky (sp?), and having so much fun dancing with her two little girl friends who signed up for the class with her. She can often be caught twirling through the house humming strings of the 'Dance of the sugarplum fairies' and other songs from the nutcracker. She is also fond of his other music from Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.

Right now she is busy eating an apple and listening to a Classical Kids CD called 'Handel's Messiah'. She loves hearing the beautiful melodies and listening to the story that goes with it. Earlier today we were busy making christmas presents and cards.

She has also learned how to answer the phone, and she is very polite and sweet. She picks it up, says hello and then brings it to me like such a little grown-up. I can't believe how fast time flies. It just seems like yesterday that she was crawling around at my feet trying to pull up on my legs, and now it's heather who is busy doing that.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today I am feeling much better... but my house is another story :-) A week and a half without a wife's touch is a long time for a house. Especially with three little kids and their dad running wild through it. (actually, dad did do a lot to help keep up with the housework... but nothing can replace a woman's touch).

We spent the morning doing laundry and more laundry (and more laundry), and also cleaning up the kitchen, and just about every other room in my house. After we (I) had made at least a dent in the work, elizabeth settled down to do some drawing, and then some playing with with her leap pad.

St. Nicholas came to our house on sunday morning, and the kids were just so sweet about the whole thing... the night before, elizabeth came downstairs at around 10pm, still awake, wanting to make sure that I knew that St. Nicholas wouldn't come if me and daddy didn't go to sleep. LOL. Luckily I went to bed early that night, because shortly after 5:30 the next morning, the kids came running into my room with great excitment, waving chocolate in their hands and wanting to give Heather a cookie they found in her boot. (st. nick couldn't forget little heather I guess). Sean and I wearily dragged ourselves downstairs, making a mental note to talk to them about what time they can go downstairs for Christmas morning), and enjoyed their excitment. Aren't kids the sweetest thing ever? I can't wait for Christmas to come!!

Shhh! don't tell the kids!!

In my week of being sick, the Feast day of Saint Nicholas jumped upon us without warning, and we weren't prepared... so we decided to put it off for a few days. It's a good thing it's one of those not-very-well-known holidays, because otherwise the kids would know that we changed the day. HA!!! This is one of those fun parent moments where you realize they believe just about anything you tell them and you could really mess with their heads by teaching them the wrong things :-)

Anyways, I digress... Saint Nicholas is going to make a stop here tonight and put some candy and stuff in the kids shoes (well, boots actually... Elizabeth caught on right away that that meant more room for candy LOL). The kids put their boots on the table so st. Nick could find them easier. Elizabeth is so excited and you can just see the anticipation on her face. Zachariah, on the other hand is still a 2 yrold and just a few moments ago was standing on the table trying to put his boots back on his feet, not understanding the concept that the candy can't get in if his foot is already in there too :-)

Each year for the feast of st. Nicholas (dec 6th), he has come and left a letter on the table for them, and given them the traditional bag of chocolate coins, a mandarin orange and some other goodies, and then a big toy/book/game etc.. for them to share. This year we tried to find the 3 wise man set that goes with their playmobile nativity scene (which st. Nicholas brought last year), but sean couldn't find it, so he's giving them a fun animal game instead.

It also happens to be our anniversary tomorrow, and let me tell you, six years being married to the same wonderful guy hasn't been nearly long enough to show him how much I love him, so I pray that God gives us many many more.

good night all!

p.s. Heather is such a cutie pie. She is pulling up and standing next to everything now and yesterday she pushed the kitchen stool across the floor.

What Children's author wrote you?

This is a cute quiz... apparently I am out of the Little House books LOL.


Laura Ingalls Wilder


Which Children's Author Wrote You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Looks like a slow day

The kids are at the table eating a snack of cereal they got for themselves, and the baby is just waking up from her morning nap, and I wish I was still in bed, or at least laying down because I am so wiped from being sick for a week.

I think we'll have a slow day today. What a list of things I'd like to do... and I don't even watn to know how many days are left until Christmas, but my body is saying no. Thank God it's Friday is all I can say!

Maybe today I can teach the kids how to clean the bathrooms and wash the kitchen floor for school... actually, the image of them doing that unsupervised is rather scary LOL. Just a few days ago I took a gamble on my two year old by asking him to go run and get me some kleenex to wipe my nose. You never know what a 2 yr old will come back with when you ask them for something :-) It's all or nothing with them. He did pretty good. He brought back about 2 1/2 squares of toilet paper. (I was grateful he didn't bring back the whole roll, still attached in the bathroom LOL)

uh-oh the baby is crying... off to another exciting day!!

Good morning!

I've finally made it out of bed!!! I'm still quite weak and out of it, but I'm definately on the mend. Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers and love.

Now that I'm back to blogging, I have no one to blog about because the kids are at the grandpa's house for the day (my father in law...what an angel for taking them and letting me rest).

Let me tell you, family is one of those treasures that is so special. I got sick very quickly on thursday night and Sean had to be at a silent retreat all weekend, so by the love and kindness of my parents, me and the kids camped out there all weekend. They played with the baby, changed her diapers and fed her. They helped the 2 yr old to the bathroom, stopped fights, made them all take naps, read stories and played games. They also took care of me the whole time as I was very ill in bed with a high fever that tylenol wasn't helping.

When my grandma heard I was sick she made up a care package of home made good food and sent it over to me too.

Then Sean stayed home for two days of work to do the same, and today my mother in law came and brought me communion and then stayed to make me tea and clean up the kitchen.

So what have we learned in our school this week?

1. There is nothing as nourishing to a sick person as LOVE
2. A close second is grandma sonia's chicken soup
3. It is a very good thing to help out daddy when mommy is sick
4. When you are sick you need lots of rest, so it's good to be quiet for mommy to sleep.
5. It is good to obey your grandparents too.
6. Grandma and grandpa have lots of movies :-)



I just love my kids to pieces. They are so dear and their smiling little faces make me so happy. Thank you God for the gift that they are.

From Sean

Well, Mel is still down and out, so Daddy is staying home today to watch the castle. Why is it that the smaller they are the more work they create? For example, Heather is dissatisfied with being on the floor, but is also quite dissatisfied with being on my lap while I do this and would like to keep busy, helping mce tow o typwe fors`` example...now she's playing with the fax machine and may have called Hong Kong...

Mommy is so bored of being sick and misses her regular routine with the kids. The kids miss her too, always asking about her. So, I had them draw some pictures to cheer her up.

The one above is Elizabeth's depiction of "Mommy and Elizabeth at a recital".


This one is by Zach, and is either a snowbird flight path, a train track, or his depiction of humanity's struggle for understanding in the light of suffering. He hadn't made up his mind yet. But he gave it to Mommy and she thought it was cute, and that's all he cares about.

Pray for Mel to have a quick journey to Health!!

why is this broken?

just a boring test

Don't Ask

You don't even want to know what i'm doing today.I didn't think it was possible to get the flu two times in one month, but URGH! I'm sick in bed again.

Anyone have any advice on how to build up my immune system again? because I'm obviously quite run down.

The kids are great though, and are such a bright spot in my day though. Elizabeth climbed into bed with me and rubbed my back and was so maternal, and the other two are so sweet too.

Gotta go back to bed.

Another snowy day

Yesterday there was no time for blogging because mommy was busy yelling at the kids and being grumpy LOL... don't we all have days like that? I was also busy getting ready to have a special dinner guest: Father Silvano, our priest. The kids were giddy over having him over for dinner, and much to his dad's consternation, Zachariah kept addressing Father as "silvano". He was quite talkative the whole night, and was showing Father all of his trains.

Today is a much better day... I got up early and made it to morning mass (brrrr!) and had a good 45 min of quiet during my holy hour while Grandma had breakfast with the kids at the bagel store. Jesus and I had a little talk about mothering :-) and even though I wanted to stay and pray all day in the cozy chapel, reading a beautiful book and just being near Him in the Eucharist, He reminded me that He gave my children to me, and that I can only really find myself by giving myself... And that is where He will truly bless me. By being all that I am called to be: mother, wife, daughter. So I reluctantly put on my mitts and big poofy jacket and dragged myself across the street to gather up my darling little children and bring them home.

Now we are again snuggled up at home with the heater on, nice music playing, and making some more crafts to hang on our Jesse Tree. Today we read the story of Abraham and Sarah and Elizabeth wanted to draw the picture of Sarah laughing when God told her she would have a baby (Sarah was in her nineties I believe LOL)... God told Sarah that ANYTHING was possible with God. (so all of you out there who think you are done with babies... Anything is possible LOL... Just remember the movie Father of the Bride 2. Wouldn't that be fun mom?)

We also did writing, and reading (wow, it's amazing how just leaving something for awhile and then coming back to it when she's a bit older seems to help... She read so much faster today, and we haven't done phonics for a month!). She's also teaching herself spelling, because she likes to show me how smart she is :-) I'd really be happy if she could teach Heather to stop pulling up on everything and just be happy sitting on a blanket playing with toys.

All we need to get in now is a little math and we'll be done for the day. Then I'm going to feed them lunch, snuggle them in bed with a good book and then go read my own of tea.