Claytonopolis

Today's Precious Moments, with Hashtags

2012-01-27T21:51:00.001-06:00

I don't have a Twitter account, but I think hashtags are funny, cute and clever (What are hashtags?). So I am writing this post with hashtags.

After a long wait, friends Anne and Taylor are getting to adopt their little girl! They just have to wait 30 more days. #GodisGood, dreamscometrue, happydance
Listened to our five year old son read two stories to his sisters. #successandpatience
Pushed the kids on the swings for a half hour and listened to their giggles of joy. #nicesunnyweather
Hubby made dinner and it tasted great. #secretmasterchef
Received a dozen sweet, soft, and not at all sloppy, kisses, intermittently throughout the evening from our three year old daughter. #thankheavenforlittlegirls
Held baby girl's hand as she fell asleep in her crib. #sleepbyyourselfbygolly
As I wrote this post, Lucy kicked so hard I saw my belly rise up. #stronghealthybabyonherway

Play With Us

2012-01-27T08:05:00.001-06:00

Blackberry Snack

A Nurturing Slide

A Dangerous Boy

Loving Cuddles for a Precious Moment - Then Back to Hitting.

Baby Lucy

Icon Army

2012-01-25T08:59:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in previous posts, we recently painted our great room. I have been slowly re-hanging all our wall-hangings. I have begun to re-distribute some icons around the house. This is pleasing to have heavenly windows throughout the house. Last night, I re-organized and re-hung our icons, which serve as our prayer corner. Our prayer corner is really an easterly facing wall. I like this location of the prayer corner, because it is the first thing people will see when they come into our home sending a clear message of our beliefs and it faces our open kitchen where we spend a lot of time, can easily view the wall and remember our connection to God.

I asked my husband to assist me in putting this area back together, but he was also running interference with the children. I hung the icons as I did the previous time. I added a couple of new icons and moved some others. When I was finished my husband came into the room and said, "Why are all our icons lined up like little soldiers?"

I chuckled and asked him if he wanted me to change it. He said, no and said he just thought it looked strange. I told him that this is how I had done it before just with different icons. I put them this way, because they are all at eye-level of the average adult hobbit. Plus it does look nice and orderly, and what is God if not Ultimate Order.

Eventually, when money grows on trees, I would like to add some nice chest or hutch, where we could store both religious books and music as well as have a place to set up incense and candles. This area is not child-friendly for candles and incense as is. I would also like to add two nice reading chairs so that one could easily sit and read the Holy Word of God or other spiritual type reading.

How you arrange the space in your home and the things you hang on your wall speak volumes not only about want is important to you but also who you want to become. If you don't have a suitable place to pray, you will not. I truly appreciate the Eastern theology of icons and am grateful to have these treasures in our home.

A Venerable Name and Eventful Week

2012-01-20T23:39:00.001-06:00

This has been such an eventful week. On the weekend we painted the large main room in our house. We painted it a color called "Light Incense." It is such a fitting color for the Clayton house. It is a light creamy, yellowish color. It lightened up the big room and we are pleased.

We have this little room that is supposed to be a dining room, but we use it as a play room. It sits open just off of our great room. We wanted to paint this room a different and more dramatic color as an accent to the rest of the house. We were torn on the color, because our kitchen also sits open to the main great room and it is green.

I diverge--this is such a first world problem. These are troubles of having an open floor plan and an ample home. It's not a huge house, but I feel it's enough that we could raise a large family here happily.

Anyhow, we chose a color for our little room called "Cork." It was a golden, bronzy color. It sort of reminded me of the gold one sees in reproduction Icons. One afternoon I painted the little room myself with a three year old and five year old apprentices. I swear I spent more time cleaning after them than I did painting. When my husband came home, he looked in the room and said it look orange. Then he got very grumpy. It did look orange. It had dried a very tangerine color. We had bought a sample paint and tested it on the wall. We did not know how we had made such a mistake. It was so overwhelming. It was just too much. We spent a couple days pondering what to do. We finally bought more "Light Incense." Everyone felt happy sand calm again. I guess we are just vanilla type people and that's okay.

I really want to but a few more large prints for our walls. But there are sooo many other things we need to purchase. Shoes, a new blanket, a carseat for the new baby, more cloth diapers, more homeschool materials…Someday. I know good things come to those who wait.

After a week of collecting supplies, I have finally begun the icon writing process. I have decided to do six copies of the same icon for our Godchildren and friends. It is simple and small so I am hoping to achieve this feat before Easter. It is my practice to send something to the Godchildren at Easter. This week I have gessoed my icons. Next week, I hope to get them traced and maybe paint the cartoon. I just need to keep moving on it and not get bogged down in the magnitude and length of the project.

I think I am doing all right on the New Year's Resolutions. Rome was not built in a day, right? I started working on icons. I sat outside for 1h30 today while the kids watched a movie for their quiet time and I just gessoed and prayed. It was nice. The kids have stopped watching T.V. first thing in the morning. So they are watching a lot less T.V. My answer to that was to simply get up early before them and wake myself up so that I was ready to make them breakfast and get them going on their morning activity. They have not seemed to miss it. I have not had as much patience with the children as I had hoped. It seems like I am always putting out fires and I am not always so quick on my feet to think of the best and calm resolution to whatever is going on. My kids seem to violate every BIG No-No behaviors daily. I do not know why they think their behavior is acceptable when I constantly remind them of how to be respectful. I constantly remind them of the golden rule to help them understand why their behavior is unacceptable. The big no-no's are biting, hitting, respecting each other's space and they are obsessed with saying the words for private parts and bodily functions (it's their toilet humor and they run around giggling). I have been praying more, but not like I had hoped in my resolution. I am working on it though. We have been eating better and that is largely due to not eating holiday food anymore. And I joined a gym, finally. I have had the membership a little over a week and I have gone five times. The kids love going and having a little play time outside the house too.

Now for kid updates:

Alex has fought me every morning on doing his home school lessons. He is so defiant. He wants to play. He wants to do anything, but his school work. I do not ask him to do much. I do not ask him to do something that is above his age. The lessons are enjoyable. Eventually, each morning he decides to sit down and he enjoys the work and gets it done quickly. Usually, I announce that if he does not want me to be his teacher and do his home school work, then he will have to go to public school six hours a day. He immediately straightens up and does the work. He definitely wants to do home school. But, why does he give me such hassle in the morning. One morning this week I was near tears. Home schooling just makes sense to me and we want this for our children. They say they want it too. But, I cannot go through this battle everyday. I know this is his personality. I have known that he is this intense since he was in the womb. I just need to find a way to work with him better. When I ask him to do his home school, I need him to sit down and do it. He is a great kid, loving and we really get along well, except he likes to be his own boss and I understand that. I just have to figure out how to let him be his own boss while still getting stuff done.

Kristiana gave up her pacifier this week. We were going to the store and I told her that she could pick out a special toy if she gave up her pacifier forever. She agreed. We packed up her pacis and went to the store. She picked her toy and paid for it with the pacis. From that moment on she understood that she was done with pacis. She did not ask for the pacifier the rest of the day. She did mention that she just wanted to see Annie's pacis at bed time. Then she went to be bed without any fuss. She has not tried to take Annie's paci like I expected either. She has been without it for days now and she is still fine. Although, we have heard a lot more screaming from this little girl lately. She has one less coping device and so when she gets frustrated, she just screams and screams. Her first reaction to anything that troubles her is to scream or whine. I am working hard to help her react by communicating her frustrations better . Poor baby girl still has fluid in her ear as well. The doctor's office has not called me back, but I am thinking she will be getting a tube in her ear very soon. This will probably help her communication and touchiness.

Annie thinks she is just as big as the other kids. It has been really amazing to see her blossom from baby to little girl. She has been sleeping in a big bed and sitting in a booster chair. She babbles at us like she is really talking. I say babble, but I am pretty sure she is trying to say real things. She definitely understands a lot of what we are saying to her. She plays like the other kids. When they sit down to color, she tries to color on paper too. I took her to a gymnastics gym free play and she did not want to play in the toddler area. She played with the big kids. She hung on the bar and swung. She toddled on the balance beam. They have a long trampoline to run on and she waited in line and ran down it. It was hilarious to see a baby act like a big kid and do it with skill. She wore me out. She is so sure-footed. But, this does not surprise me. Alex and Kristiana were just the same. When Kristiana was Annie's age she was scaling the big kid play ground with speed and agility.

Baby #4 is 25 weeks gestation and growing. I felt pretty good and STRONG this week, because I went to the gym. I am just as happy and excited about this baby as the rest, but I am more at ease with my 5 years and 4 babies worth of experience. In other news, Baby #4 has a name. We are pretty settled on it. It came to us very naturally as did the other kids. It is a name we have long considered and the right child has come along to receive it. I asked the kids what they would like to name the baby and after they came up with some silly names like, "Thunder Go Awesome," they asked me to list a few. After hearing the list, they picked one. They were pretty certain of the name choice. Once Alex makes up his mind, no one can change it. We are going to call our little girl, Lucy Macaria (St. Macarius and Greek for blessed). I really wanted her first name to be Macaria. But I could not sell my husband on it (or anyone else, but he's the only one who counts). We all love Lucy. Kristiana can't wait to call her Lulu.

Oh, was that too much to read? Well, I know some will just want to skip to this next part, and I don't blame you. A few snapshots from the week.

Look! We discovered how to get Alex to eat vegetables.
It's called, "Green Slime Smoothie." Alex saw it on Allrecipes.com while I was looking for recipes for our weekly menu.
He had to try it. It consists of strawberries, bananas, yogurt and spinach.

Two months ago, Alex was given a fast food kids meal toy (blue bird on the right) while I was at my insurance agent's office.
This week he asked if we could get more of these toys. They're called Dino Tots. He calls them Dino Tops, because they only have a top.
I said that I am sure the fast food place did not have the toys anymore. But we decided to make a TyrannoTot out of felt. I made the dino on the left one afternoon this week.

Here is proof that we painted our house and that Annie thinks she is older and bigger than she is.
She speedily, scaled this 8 foot ladder all by herself . Daddy spotted for safety measures.
But, she was so quick he almost did not get there in time for her to make it to the top. Crazy kid.

The Important, Ordinary Day

2012-01-11T23:51:00.001-06:00

Woke up this morning and went to pray. As usual a few minutes later one of the children joined me and curled up in my lap. Monday it was Annie; Tuesday was Alex and today was Kristiana. When the kids sit in my lap I feel distracted and rushed, but I am glad I am getting this time to pray anyway. All the children were awake and hungry minutes after I finished praying. I kept thinking I need to get a shower, but had things to attend to. Around 8:00 a.m. my husband woke up and asked me what time Kristiana's ear doctor appointment was. "Oh! I completely forgot. Thank you, honey! It's at 8:30!" So I jumped in the shower and asked my husband to help the kids get on their shoes. We were out the door ten minutes after my husband had initially alerted me and showed up on time.

At the doctor we had to wait a long time, because their computers were down. Oh boy! I questioned whether it was right of them to make everyone wait so long or if they should reschedule some people. It was very difficult to corral three preschool aged kids in an inhospitable place for so long. But we finally saw the doctor, which I was grateful for and it did seem like they were trying really hard to keep things moving. By the time the doctor came in to see us Annie was bored to tears and had trouble not fussing and screaming. It was hard to converse with the doctor. He said one of Kristiana's eardrums did not look good, but was not a candidate for a tube yet. The other ear already has a tube. I asked if it did not look good because she was just getting over a cold or if it just did not look healthy in general. He said it just did not look healthy. There was no fluid behind it and it was vibrating normally, but not healthy looking. Later that day she complained about ear pain, which now I have to call back and ask if it could be infected. Poor girl.

After the long time at the doctor's office, I decided to run some errands. We went to Michaels to pick up a birthday present, but it turned into a more expensive trip than I anticipated. I really need to be more strict with myself and what I intend to spend when I go into stores like this. You would laugh at me if you really knew how little I spent and the fact that I am complaining. But, I did not go in there thinking I would spend that much.

Then I went to a gym and signed up for a gym membership. Now I have no more excuses, I have to go get exercise. I am paying for it after all. Or what I am really paying for is the childcare, which is wonderfully reasonable when you consider you get childcare and a top fitness facility. My children played in the kids area while I signed up for membership and loved it. They loved it when I took them to the YMCA in Washington over the summer. After they played at the Washington Y, they were rewarded by getting to play in the pool afterward, but they will not have that same great kids pool now. I have a feeling they will tire of this kids place quickly. But, I am going to ride out their enthusiasm while it lasts.

We finally made it home at lunchtime. Annie was asleep. She has been having lots of trouble sleeping on her own since our holiday travels. But, today I laid her down and she slept for two hours. It was a much needed rest for her and mommy.

I made myself and the other kids lunch and they watched television for a couple of hours. In the meantime, I checked my email and Facebook. Then I worked on my Mother's Rule. This Rule is my schedule/rule that allows me to serve God and the five P's of life best (Prayer, Person, Partner, Parent, Provider). I am still working on reading "A Mother's Rule of Life." I took a break to do some other reading. Now I feel I need to complete this book and refine my Rule. I hope this Rule will suit my family as well, because parts of it I will need their cooperation--like for attending family prayer, chores, getting dressed in the morning and so forth. I like how this book emphasizes self-awareness and serving God first.

After our long lunch break, I asked the kids to clean up their toys because friends were coming over and it's much nicer to play in an area that is cleaned up and organized. They agreed and promptly moved the toys they wanted to play with to a clean open space in the house and began to play. Smart kids, but not exactly what I had in mind. Nevertheless, they were quietly and creatively playing. So I decided to tidy their play area, which I knew I was going to help them with anyway, and just let them play.

While I was tidying the toys, my mom called to see how I was doing and to suggest names for our baby. I told her that I did not think that we would name our baby any of the names she suggested. None of them really hit me. But, I am open to hearing name, because you never know when you will hear the perfect name. I mentioned that the kids had already picked a name they liked for the baby. And she immediately said she did not like it. I explained that Andrew and I liked it too and it was a name we had considered before. Then she was so bold to say that we should choose a name that was aesthetically pleasing. It was a stab to the heart. Of all the rude things to say. It did not occur to her that when I said WE LIKED the name that we felt it was aesthetically pleasing and she should be respectful of a name we liked. (I should mention that the name is not unusual or harsh to the ear). Yes, fire rained down from there. It was not a civil conversation from that point on. I took a jab back at what she had named me. She of course did not like my jab and was offended by my accusation that perhaps my name was not the most aesthetically pleasing choice. But, at least she knew what it felt like when she had said what she said to me. This is my child to name after all, and I promised it will be a tasteful, holy name. Say what you will about my name, but no one ever pronounced it right at first glance. It was hard to say at loud gatherings. But, eventually I grew to love my name and owned the identity for myself.

Finally, friends came over and we all visited and played. Things got crazy. Sometimes I worry that my children lack social graces. It may be because of their age or may be because every thing your own children do seems so much worse, and everyone else's children seem perfectly, well-behaved, which they would tell you otherwise. It was not my finest dinner soiree and I am so embarrassed at my service. There was a lot of "it's okay" said. Fortunately, the people we were visiting with are like family and it really is okay to be a little embarrassing amongst people you are so close with.

Everyone was exhausted at the end of the day and crashed after a short clean up. This included my husband. And I am sitting up late into the night logging my day. I cannot tell you why it seemed so important to log this day of all days. It seems every day is busy and eventful. I do not know what I would do with myself if my life were not so full. I am so very grateful to be graced in this way--Good and loving God, perfect husband, beautiful children, good healthcare, money in our pockets, time for oneself, prosperous decisions, a bounty to tidy, amazing friends to share our bread. Wow, is all I have to say.

I do not know how they ended up like this, but I just had to take a picture.
I think Annie just came and sat on Kristiana who was lying on the floor fussing.

Isn't She Lovely?

2012-01-10T13:41:00.001-06:00

I am in love with this sweet face. We did not get 3D ultrasound pictures of the other kids because they all had their faces hidden. But, this is quite something. Technology is AMAZING. We have a lot to be thankful for. Our baby is totally healthy and beautiful. We now know that our fourth child is a girl. This is much to our son's chagrin. He had a big meltdown that he would not have a brother. We explained to him that it was good to be the only son, because it meant special one on one father-son time with Daddy. My husband was a little worried too. As he told the ultrasound technician, "You don't understand. Our daughters are really beautiful and I think we are all in a lot of trouble." Then of course, he worried about paying for weddings and or a dowry to a religious order. But, I said we just need to teach our daughters to sew and bake cakes and arrange flowers and all the sisters can help with each others weddings. This is a good thing to have three girls in a row.

Festive New Year's Child

2011-12-31T11:53:00.001-06:00

7 Quick Takes - 2012 New Year's Resolutions

2011-12-31T11:30:00.001-06:00

In the past I have said I don't like New Year's Resolutions. In my opinion, making a resolution is a guarantee to fail, because it is puts undue pressure on oneself. Plus, if you want to improve yourself, just do it. No "resolution" is needed. I am not saying it will not be difficult. We can all improve, right? Here I go again, making resolutions against my own principles that I should not--Baring all my weaknesses here. But, I am going to take this not so much as a resolution, but rather things I could improve upon.

Here are my suggestions for myself, so I can be better in 2012:

1. Pray. Pray formally, in private, without failing, twice a day, and pray formally with the family twice a day. Along with prayer at meal times that will make seven times a day--a holy number. Every time my routine changes a little, it is difficult to keep prayer consistent.

2. Exercise three times a week--Join a gym with childcare! I think about getting exercise all the time, but unless I can get away from the kids, it's not going to happen. I also feel bad about leaving them with my husband when he gets off work, because he has already had a long day and me too. It would be better if I could go earlier in the day and have someone keep the kids.

3. Eat better - In line with the previous resolution, eat smaller, controlled portion sizes and only eat when I really feel hungry. Delicious holiday food is really hard to eat moderately. I always get to thinking I need to watch portions during this time. ;-)

4. T.V. Habits - Stop allowing the children to watch so much T.V. - Stop using the T.V. as a crutch. Usually the kids watch T.V. first thing in the morning before everyone is ready to do anything else. And they watch T.V. around lunch time while I put the baby down for a nap. The T.V. is the only thing that keeps them quiet and occupied while I lay her down and she falls asleep. Then I let them watch for an hour or so and I get time to make lunch for everyone and eat my own lunch in peace. But, I would like to see them go more days without T.V. at all, or only during quiet time. I would like to figure out what to do with the kids when I need them to be quiet.

5. Date my husband. I really miss one-on-one time with my best friend. I could spend every minute of every day with him and never be tired of him. :-) As it is, we spend a lot of time with each other, but hardly ever without the kids. Therefore, much of the time we are together we are pre-occupied and stressed. We need some stress free time together.

6. Quiet time with God--Write an Icon that is not a child's icon. This longing never goes away. I guess I need to spend less time on the computer, or something. Perhaps all those books I am reading will have to wait a little longer.

7. Patience without yelling, anger or spanking, even when I am tired, stressed and not feeling well. Alex is older and can be reasoned with, I have seen a lot of improvement in behavior by remaining calm and working through whatever behavior problem. I need to be conscientious about how I treat ALL the people in my life. I need to treat everyone with kindness, gentleness, respect and cheer. These are the traits I am trying to teach my children.

With a lot of these I need my husband's cooperation and support. I think I have an important conversation forthcoming with my other half.

The Nativity Project

2011-12-28T23:13:00.001-06:00

It's finally done. A friend asked me to help her make Nativity figures so that she could sew a plush Nativity set that her kids could play with, without breaking. I drew the figures and she is having them printed on fabric and will sew them. I took my drawings and laminated them and the kids painted a cave. Then we placed the figures as though it were a Nativity set. I laminated the figures so we can reuse them from year to year.

Kristiana was my big helper. She worked the longest and hardest on it.

This time Annie helped paint. She finger painted. :-)

This is one of my favorite parts of the set - the two angels and the star.

Happy Christmas Season!

S'nami Boh - God is With Us

2011-12-25T00:49:00.001-06:00

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

As much as l love the truly unique food which helps to commemorate Christmas Eve, Holy Supper celebrations, this year I really enjoyed the fellowship celebrating the meal with our whole church.

Folks brought their cheer and their finest cooking skills. We began by eating blessed garlic dipped in honey commemorating the bitter sweetness of life. This was followed by a wonderful meatless meal. Cedar plank salmon, pyrohies (potato stuffed pasta), kutya (honey and wheat porridge), kapusta (sauerkraut and peas), fruit, cabbage slaw, mushroom soup, stuffed cabbage and bread. I did not take pictures of any of the food. I was so excited about it, I was eager to make it disappear into my belly!

All of the children present were very adorable and squirmy. One person told us their children were with a babysitter. While we think it is important for the children to be present, the 30th time the toddler wants to be picked up, then put down, then runs up the aisle, you start to think a babysitter for evening Liturgies is a VERY good idea. ;-)

I made braided cheese bread for the priests for Christmas. I was particularly pleased by the results, because totally winged it. I did not have a recipe and I made tasty bread! This is a big accomplishment, because I am not a baker.

This is Sister Vitae. She was one of the kids who was in the youth group I lead.
We have not seen her since our wedding nearly 7 years ago. A lot has changed since then.

P.S. I think my camera is on it way out. It does not seem to be focusing well anymore. It's only three years old. :-(

Momma Renee's Advice for Finding a Mate

2011-12-21T23:51:00.001-06:00

I woke up in the night the other night and dating advice is all that was running through my head. Strange, I know. But, pregnancy hormones will do strange things to me in the middle of the night. Anyhow, I thought I would write them down and try to formalize them. Perhaps, someday my children will benefit.

This advice is for the purposes of finding a life long mate. And in my experience this advice leads to marriage success.

1. Pray about it—pray for God’s will to be done. Freshman year of college, I tried out a couple of awkward college relationships (too much expected early intimacy, too much guessing where one stands) and I thought, this really is not working out for me. I decided to give it up, get my head straight, focus on academics and just seek God first. I simply was not interested in this awkward dating game. Finally after a happy semester hiatus, I prayed. I prayed to God for Him to bring me to my husband, or to a religious vocation. I prayed to have no hand in this. I prayed that I only wanted to follow His will in this matter. I prayed telling God I was surrendering this all to Him. God was now in charge. Soon after I began emailing a few college friends over the summer break from school. One friend stood out. It was clear I was enamored, but I was still not pursuing this friend in any other manner than frank conversations about God and other transcendental ideas. We were simply enjoying a burgeoning friendship. One evening we were talking about something completely mundane, but I prayed to my Guardian Angel in the middle of our conversation that my friend would want to talk about his Orthodoxy, as I saw this as a conflict that would keep us apart. At that moment, he asked me what I thought of his Orthodoxy. I pardoned myself for a moment as I freaked out in another room and got myself a glass of water. There was no reason on earth, at that moment, he should have asked that question other than Divine intervention. From that point our relationship exploded into a lot more, as I like to think guided by the hand of our Maker. As I have explained before when we finally came around to more in our relationship my future husband was clear that he was interested in courtship with the intent to marry and not simply dating. Therefore, in your relationship seeking, both in friendship and love, be sure to pray for GOD’S WILL BE DONE.

2. Know what you believe. It is incredibly hard to solidify what you want in a mate if you yourself are not solid in what you believe. You should have a firm grasp on central beliefs essential to life. Such matters include mind, body and soul (e.g. faith, money, nutrition, exercise). This will help in discerning who would be a suitable mate.

When your beliefs are still changing and forming and you have committed yourself to a partner, that person may not see fit to change his/her beliefs as you seek what is true. Your relationship is likely to end. This is why the Catholic Church recommends that Catholics marry the same denomination or someone who is seeking communion with Catholic beliefs. Catholicism provides for a solid belief system covering a broad spectrum of life. If you are going to commit to becoming “one flesh,” you must believe in the same things to act as one flesh.

That is not to say that your future mate cannot help you discover and solidify what you believe. However, once in a relationship, when irrational, erotic, emotions take hold, and especially if it is a physical relationship, it’s hard to discern whether what you have come to believe through this person is true. It is much easier to use one’s knowledge and intellect to discern true beliefs outside of the emotional factors of romantic relationship.

3. Good character is key. It is obvious that you do not want a lasting relationship with someone who lies, cheats, steals. Even little dishonesties could lead to bigger ones. He/she should not be immoderate/intemperate either. If he/she cannot control his/her appetites this could play a big role in damaging your relationship later. A person who habitually overeats could become morbidly obese and die—similarly for a person who drinks too much; smokes. A person who gambles, or person who is addicted to material goods, leads to destitution.

I always say that a man who cannot fast, or you have never seen fast will not make a good mate, because he will not sacrifice for you or anyone…Likewise, your mate should protect your own virtue. You should not be asked to do things against your own moral character and beliefs.

Further, your partner should keep company of the same high moral character. Sometimes people have family members or childhood friends of poor character. It is often difficult for people to see the faults of such friends, because it is someone they have loved from childhood, and or cannot avoid the person. At which you should point out that the person is of poor character and you both should have limited contact with that person. At this, your partner should agree and protect the virtue of you both. Association with people of poor moral character will always result in damage to you.

4. Save it for marriage. Keep physical relations limited during courtship. This is the most difficult for those courting (dating) to keep. Everything about our culture, and our natural chemistry, tells us that we ought to have physical relations with those to whom they are attracted. So why not test out the fun physical stuff? Well, simply put, the first three dating advices are near impossible to discover and complete when intercourse is on the mind. Further, there is a lot of game play involved before getting into bed. This takes up a lot of time that could be better spent in procuring a solid friendship and partnership with your future mate. People who court without falling to a relationship’s physical nature marry quickly. This is NOT because they are trying to hurry up and make their relationship legitimate so the can have legitimate physical relations. They come to the conclusion of marriage quickly because they did not play a lot of games trying to get into bed with each other. Rather they spent a lot of time sharing beliefs and coming to understand the whole person. (People make mistakes. But, you can always try and try again.)

5. No secrets amongst partners. Total honesty about your beliefs and past life is important. Do not pretend that you share the same beliefs if you do not. Do not pretend you have achieved more than you have. If there is some ideal you hope to achieve, be honest and humble that you have not accomplished it, but hope to. Tell the truth about your past. Your past is what made you. Share also what you learned from your past and how you became a better. It will always come back on to you if dishonesty plays a role in your relationship.

6. Honor thy father and mother. In general, your future mate should have a loving relationship with parental like figures. Not everyone is privy to good parents. But, your future mate should be able to forgive his/her parents their faults and love them for the good things they did. And if there really was nothing to love about his/her parents, then he/she should have cut all ties and have a loving parental relationship with someone who was a nurturing parental figure. If there is no one like this in your future mate’s life, this is a sign he/she will not be able to have a successful, permanent, loving relationship with you. Some people are damaged and your love will not fix it. They have to heal from within.

That’s what I have for now. I am sure there are lots of well-written courtship books that could say this better than I. But, should my kids ever ask my advice (they likely never will), I can say, “Funny you should ask. I have just the thing for you.”

The Conception of Blessed Theotokos

2011-12-14T21:49:00.001-06:00

Here is a late post for the feast. All last week I was very ill with the flu and strep throat. I did manage to muscle through the week caring for the children. We even managed to write the icon of the Conception of Blessed Theotokos, but I did not get pictures of the kids working. Kristiana finished her icon of many colors , but Alex did not finish his. I have been working on a major Nativity project, so I did not work on this icon. But, I thought that such a feast could not pass without remembrance. I scanned the Icon I drew and decided to fill it in in paint. It's a far cry from iconography, but it is a remembrance.

Troparion (Tone 4)

Today the bonds of barrenness are broken,

God has heard the prayers of Joachim and Anna.

He has promised them beyond all their hopes,

To bear the Maiden of God

By whom the Uncircumscribed One was born as mortal man,

Who commanded an angel to cry to Her:

Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with You!

Kontakion (Tone 4)

Today the universe rejoices,

For Anna has conceived the Theotokos through God's dispensation,

For she has brought forth the One who is to bear the Ineffable Word!

Last Year's Post:

http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2010/12/icon-writing-with-kids-conception-of.html

Legendary St. Nicholas

2011-12-09T09:53:00.001-06:00

I am really so confused about why we lie to children about St. Nicholas and Santa Klaus alike. A few years back when people started to tell my kids about Santa Klaus, of course it was all lies--"Legends" I guess people call it. Then of course, friends and family asked us about what lies we would be telling our children--you know, so they could keep our lies consistent with the lies they were going to tell our children about Santa. I felt the need to keep the lies consistent as well, especially since this year my son has 101 questions about St. Nicholas/Santa, which is what I have turned the lie into. The more questions he asks the more lies I have to make up on the spot. Initially, it did not occur to me to tell the truth, because Santa was a fun part of childhood for me. It took me to eight or nine to stop believing. I felt like a grownup that year but, if you think about it, that's not very old. When the lies began for our kids, I initially thought that I did not want to be Scroogey and banish such fun from childhood. However, this year as Alex asks more questions the more I have bitter taste in my mouth about lying.

Why can we not tell the children the true story of St. Nicholas including the fact that he is dead and in heaven? I suppose because most of the stories of St. Nicholas that survive in perpetuity are that of mythological legend. It's really no better than all the stories we make up or is it? There are some very good lessons to be learned from those legends that I think are lost today. The legend of St. Nicholas giving dowries secretly in the stockings of three sisters teaches of giving to the less fortunate. There are legends of him protecting children and this teaches us to protect the helpless. All of the legends, involve acts of great faith, fasting, prayer, works of mercy and almsgiving. These things are good. Perhaps we ought to do better learning the proper legends rather than making up our personal pack of family lies about St. Nicholas.

I think a far better thing would be to tell the children that they are receiving gifts in secret, because that is the way St. Nicholas gave gifts, not because St. Nicholas is actually the one giving them. We want to give in this way for several reasons. If we give in secret we need not take glory for ourselves. All glory ought to be given to God who gave us all things. We must not forget this fact that all we have are not rights, but gifts from God. We also ought to give in secret so as not to embarrass the recipient as one may not feel worthy and not accept the gift. No one likes the feeling of receiving a hand out.

The pack of lies of has been told to my children for this year and will sustain through Christmas, because we have family obligations to fill (family traditions are important too). However in the future, I would like to tell the kids the truth about the gifts and tell them the legends as well along with the corresponding morals. It will be so much easier to not be making up lies and stories on the spot that do not express the meaning and importance of good works and gift giving during preparation for Christmas. I think that we can really make this fun too. For example, I think I will ask each grandparent to give a small secret gift for the kids stocking on St. Nicholas day next year. The children will receive the gifts with an understanding that those who love them gave them gifts. They can give a larger not so secret gift to the kids on Christmas day.

One interesting thing that came out of the Alex's questioning this year was, "Why does St. Nicholas like to give to children?" I told him it was because children have nothing. Everything they have must be given to them, because they do not go to work and earn the things they have. And even if kids did work, they would not be able to work enough to be able to support themselves. So we must give to children.

…Okay enough heaviness. How about pictures from the two St. Nicholas parties we went to:

Here is Alex telling St. Nicholas that he has only been "a little" good this year. St. Nicholas told him he needed to be "a lot" good.

Here is Kristiana and St. Nicholas trying to divine toddler speak…Then St. Nicholas gave the kids gifts, but not in secret. (I guess the real gift givers were secret).

At the second, St. Nicholas party the kids are playing "Pass the Money Bag." Music played and when it stopped the child holding the bag won the bag of chocolate coins. But, she also had to come to me to learn a secret about St. Nicholas. I told her that St. Nicholas would share the gold coins with others and I asked her to share them. The little girl excitedly passed out the gold coins to everyone. She was really sweet.

The kids put their shoes under the Christmas tree to receive a secret gift from St. Nicholas.

I made ornaments for the kids to decorate. The far left is the back side of the ornament. We also had coloring pages and a picture I drew that the kids could glue cotton balls on for a beard.

Alex drew the St. Nicholas below all by himself.

Finally, at our party I introduced the kids and mothers to the Ukrainian hymn "Children Who Love St. Nicholas" (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/children-who-who-love/).

All the party ideas and coloring and materials are from www.stnicholascenter.org

Let's Make Lemonade Part II

2011-12-09T08:11:00.001-06:00

Taste Testing the Lemon Rinds: Look at those great sour faces.

One giant lemon produced enough lemon juice to make about 1.5 quarts of lemonade. It was tasty lemonade too. We finished by the end of the day.

Let's Make Lemonade

2011-12-03T11:46:00.001-06:00

My neighbor just gave me this giant, baby-head, sized lemon. His brother sent it from his garden in Florida. Yum. It smells great.

7 Quick Takes: Yoda

2011-12-02T23:13:00.001-06:00

1. Faith and Tradition! - I am still learning the traditions of our Byzantine faith. Some Byzantine family needs to write a book about all the traditions throughout the year complete with prayers and a cd of different tones for the prayers (please). There are prayers for everything and it seems some people know where to find them, but we do not. I would love to learn how to sing all the tones as well, because not only would I enjoy singing the troparians and so forth, but my kids would love it as well. As it stands, I sing only the trisagion prayers and I think the kids get tired of it day after day.

We started by learning the Great Fast and Pascha traditions. In the past four years we have been learning the St. Phillip's fast and Christmas Eve traditions. The Christmas Eve traditions are so wonderful and beautiful. One thing we have never done is use a St. Phillip's Fast candelabra with the prayers. But, hopefully for future Advent seasons we will do this…just thinking about Eastern traditions.

2. They call him, Yoda. In college, my husband was given the nickname, Yoda, among others, because he gave great sage advice to our peers. Lately, my husband is full of good parenting and family ideas. I do not know why he does not share them with me more often. Day-by-day, I feel like I scritch and scratch, and barely get by parenting our children. Honestly, I think I do pretty well, but it is a lot of hard work. Here are three stories of how my husband has helped solve family problems.

3. Yoda Part 2 - Recently, we both struggled a lot with our daughters' sleeping habits. 13 month old Annie was still sleeping in our bed and no one was happy about it. Kristiana was waking frequently and screaming at the top of her lungs. So there was a lot of waking up in the night by both parents. But, we problem solved together. I moved Kristiana into Alex's room thinking that a roommate would squelch her nighttime fears. They both liked the change, but she was still waking. Kristiana was also taking milk to bed with her and she was requesting more milk in the night as though she were a little baby. I told my husband she was cut off from milk. She simply needed to eat more at dinner time. He agreed, but he talked to her all day long about it reminding her that she was not allowed to request milk and she was not allowed to scream. They seem to have a special bond. All his talking to her really helped and now she is sleeping better--not always, but it's better.

4. Yoda Part 3 - With Annie, I bought a crib and moved her to the girls' room by herself. She still would not go down by herself, but Andrew put a blanket over the end of her bed so she could not see light shining in from the door jam. And she could not see us leaving after putting her in bed. Now we can lay her down and leave immediately and she sleeps all night. Yay! We will get some sleep before the next baby comes along. And though I have enjoyed snuggling all night with our little babies the next baby will not be allowed to sleep in our bed.

5. Yoda Part 4 - The BEST advice of the week came from my husband at the end of last week. He worries greatly about homeschooling Alex, because he is high intensity and non-compliant. He gives me grief when I ask him to do his school lessons, which only take an hour if he is good about doing it. We both feel Alex needs an outlet outside of the home, but public school is not our answer. Our reasons for wanting to homeschool are concrete. But, Andrew requested that I get more organized and start earlier in the day with Alex. He said I should sit down on Sunday nights and plan out the entire week. We should get up early get ourselves ready and then wake the kids. Then each morning, after breakfast, after the kids dress, we pray, say the pledge of allegiance to the flag and dive right into homeschool. This has worked brilliantly all week. Kristiana gets little lessons too and enjoys it. Annie can be a trouble maker though. I try to get Alex done by 10:00 a.m. so we can have morning outings. My problem now is what to do with the kids in the afternoon. The kids play a little and spend a little time outside. Alex always asks if he can play computer games, but he always wants to play too long and throws fits when he has to be done. I feel like he needs to keep well occupied in the afternoon too…We are very much considering sending him to preschool next semester just so he can have a better outlet and more activity.

6. Monkey - I have such trouble getting pictures of interesting things Annie does before she stops doing them. She has begun to climb everything. She drives me mad about it. She will climb on top of the kitchen table for almost any reason and she will get into everything. She started climbing to the top of our backyard play gym too. This week, she decided she is brave enough to fling her tiny body down the slid with no assistance. She goes flying down the wavy slide and bumps her head at the bottom, then comes crying to me for cuddles. Then she goes back for more punishment.

7. Clever - One day last week, Annie dragged an outdoor patio pillow to the top of the play house. When she got to the top she threw it up and climbed the rest of the way herself. She took the pillow and threw it down the slide. Then she slid down and landed on the pillow. It was awesome and hilarious. She did it two more times and I did not get the camera in time to film it! She is way too little for such activities. She is very mature mentally, but looks like a baby younger than a year.

A Christmas Poem You Have Never Heard

2011-12-02T15:17:00.001-06:00

I have been reading poetry to Alex at the end of our home school lessons. I have a poetry book that was my father's. It's called, "This Land: An Anthology of Australian Poetry for Young People." It is the best poetry book I have ever read. Alas, a few years back I tried to get a couple more copies of it for my brother and sister, but it is out of print and very hard to find. I emailed one shop in Australia that said online they had it in stock, but when they looked they could not find it. So, I have one tattered, falling apart copy that my sister and brother and I used to battle over. Right now it is in my possession, but I need to make copies and give it back to family.

Here is a Christmas poem I read to Alex this week, which you have likely never heard because it is printed in an out of print Australian anthology. But, the poem itself is fresh, beautiful, interesting and insightful. It was written thoughtfully by a Catholic poet. Perhaps, it may bring new thoughts and discussions within your family.

A Word from the Innkeeper

By Paul Grano

No luck, there's no room here.
There's not a corner of the yard
but has them sleeping packed
as close as pigeons in a market coop.
I'd not refuse you did I have a spot
where you could even seat yourself and wife.
Look for yourself--baggage and camels, and men,
women and kids, a rowdy, thieving mob,
sprawled everywhere. Now, are you satisfied?
In all my twenty years of keeping inns
I've never seen the like before.
Such avalanche of flesh, such herds of humans!
All day long for days
they've drifted in, mud to the knees,
with blistered feet, fagged and empty-bellied.
They've eaten the whole village out--
there's not a wineskin wet,
not a cheese remains. And bread!
My friend, the baker, fell exhausted in a tub of dough.
They found him, sleeping there, a monstrous loaf!
Myself, I haven't slept these three nights past.
I daren't--they'd pinch the very doors for wood.
Well, there it's is, nothing I can do.
The Government's to blame--
I ask you, who but fools would take
a census in the wintertime?
A bitter winter, too, it is--
and if I am a weather-man--they say I am--
my father was, he knew the signs--
and shifting ants for floods, and all the rest--
I'd say the sky is full of snow.
Make on, and find some shelter for your wife.
A pretty girl, she is. You'll be a father soon?
God grant you, sir, a lusty son.
Let's see, let's see--two hundred yards along
you'll strike a narrow track, a cattle-pad,
that branches to the right and leads
into the hills where there are caves.
At least you'll have a roof, and dung for fire--
the cattle shelter there--
but, even so, they're cleaner than the cattle I have here.
The wind has fallen. There's a flake of snow--
a frozen swallow, if you like poetic terms.
My father was a poet. But make faster.
Yes, light your latern now. The stars
are coming out. How sharp and cold they are,
like points of silvered spears! They say
a brand new star arrived the other day,
but stars to me are much alike as sheep.
Good night, good night, my friend. A sound roof,
and a dry bed, and a sunny morning!
Good night. See you do not miss the track--
Two hundred yards along, and to the right.
Good night.

Prepare the Way for the Lord

2011-11-23T08:51:00.001-06:00

A lot of people get indignant about store Christmas displays going up right after Halloween. However, for a lot of reasons this makes sense. In the Eastern Catholic Church (and Orthodox), we begin our journey to Christ's Nativity celebration on November 15. This is 40 days before the Feast of Christmas. For 40 days we fast, pray, offer works of mercy and give alms all in the name of Christ, and preparing our souls to be present at the celebration of Christ's birth. Upon Christmas we begin merrymaking and we do not quit until 40 days later. The preparation and celebration periods are similar to that of Easter.

So, as an Eastern Christian, I say prepare your homes and your hearts. We cannot prepare if we are not reminded everywhere we go. This does not mean we should get all decked out for Christmas immediately. It means hang a wreath to remember the Eternal life God promises, but do not hang the merry lights which remind us Christ is with us. We will save the lights for the Christmas season. Set out the Nativity displays but do not place the baby for whom we are waiting to be born. Go ahead and take advantage of the pre-Christmas sales and give, give, give. But do not open one's own gifts until Christmas. St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, is our greatest example of one who displays the true spirit of Christmas. He spent his life fasting for the feasts and giving to others.

What I get indignant about is being invited to a bunch of Christmas parties before Christmas with lots of lavish feasts and ridiculous menial gift exchanges without a single nod to the poor, needy, sick, imprisoned. I hate to walk the neighborhood the week after the Christmas season has begun and see the Christmas trees pitched out beside the road; and all the Christmas lights come down. If one pitches out Christmas immediately after it is begun, we ARE left with that empty, consumerist feeling. On the other hand, if we celebrate Christmas like the East, we may enjoy the merrymaking and the life and light Christ gave this world for longer and with much love until we begin the next fast.

The Four Fasts: Preparing for Holiday Grace
http://www.catholicmothersonline.com/2010/11/the-four-fasts-preparing-for-holiday-grace/

Nativity Fast
http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/11/nativity-fast-commences.html

Holy Supper
http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2010/12/holy-supper-claytonopolis.html
http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/12/and-word-was-made-flesh.html

St. Nicholas' Feast
http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2009/12/st-nicholas-day.html

What Happens? Life?

2011-11-19T00:04:00.001-06:00

And so it begins--the barrage of rude comments about my pregnancy. It's not my nature to quip back snippy little comments. I really do not feel like I need to be confrontational. But really, what are these people thinking when they open their mouths and feel free to speak about my procreations.

It started at my first prenatal appointment. The nurse was obviously new and she started asking questions and making rude little comments. She asked me if it were my first pregnancy. No, I have three children at home. "Oh, how old are they?" I tell her and she replied in a sad little voice, "Oh, did you mean to have them this close?"

"Uh, [it's really none of your business and completely inappropriate for you to say such things. What if I was having a hard time about it and broke down crying. Then what would you do? Do you have a counseling degree?] well, I would like a little more space in between, but this is fine too. We are excited." Then she had the nerve to ask me later if I was, "OK." I told her, yes, and it is not my first show. I am doing fine, better than fine. This has been the most comfortable pregnancy yet. Maybe, it would be a difficult situation for her, but all her intrusive questions and concern and overt disagreement with my "situation" really got on my nerves. The next time was not much better and I will be talking to her supervisor next time if she makes one more flip comment.

However, today I received the rudest comment I have received to date. I was at the grocery store, which is where I get the most comments because I run into the most people than anywhere else. Most often, people say "You have your hands full," or ask how old my kids are, because they are all so small and look close in age. I ran into a mom from the Karate studio where Alex took lessons. She smiled, nodded and said, "Hi." Then I stepped passed her and grabbed an onion. She spotted my growing belly and said, "Oh, are you expecting." I smiled and said,

"Yes." She smiled again and said,

"Oh, [concerned sigh, as if she were consoling me] it happens. So that's why you have been hiding out." (Actually, not hiding out. Quit. We cannot afford the bait and switch membership increase.)

Huh? What? Smile nod, move away quickly. "Alex, let's go. Move a little faster."

What "happens?" Marital Union? What did she mean? Did she mean "accidentally" having kids close together in age? "Accidentally" having more kids than two, or three? Why do you assume that this is something that just, uh, happened? As if the preceding act between a man and a woman just happened--miraculously. What am I supposed to say? "No, the conception of this child was not an 'accident.'" Really, it's none of her business how "it" happened. And it's really wrong of her to assume that it just happened and that we did not mean for it to happen. Just because she does not want anymore children does not mean I do not want any more and especially not close in age. Oh the fallacies in her little statement and in her sigh. We are really happy to have another child on the way.

I went home and told my husband and laughed. He laughed too and said I should have replied, "Yes, it does. A few times a week with my husband."

A friend of mine, who has six children, always has cute quips for such comments. I can hear her now, "Yep, it sure does happen. It works every time. We have intercourse during ovulation and the sperm and the egg meet…" At this point, someone starts blushing and she stops.

I do not mind, "You have your hands full." It's not really a comment on anything more than they observe that I am busy with small children, which I am. I do mind the tone some people say it with. Whatever happened to "Unless you can say something nice, do not say anything at all." Whatever happened to, "Congratulations." "We wish you many blessings." Why can our culture not just enjoy the beauty in the creation of new life? Choose life.

An Evening with American Leadership

2011-11-11T23:20:00.001-06:00

This week I went to a lecture at Baylor by myself. It was a question and answer session with the university's president, Ken Star (you remember Ken Star from the prosecution of Pres. Clinton), and former Secretary of State under Pres. Bush, Condoleeza Rice. For a few years now I have been enamored with Miss Rice's intellect. I bought a copy of her new autobiography, No Higher Honor, which she was promoting during this visit. It is a massive 784 pages. I don't know when I will find time to complete reading this book. But, I have begun it and it is very interesting. During the evening, Ken Star read excerpts from the book and Miss Rice expounded upon them. It was definitely an evening to remember. Here are a few poorly quoted excerpts from the evening.

1. Advent of a New War - On 9/11, as the president's National Security Advisor, one of Miss Rice's first few phone calls before rushing to the underground bunker was to call the Russian president and let him know that the U.S. was gearing up defense. President Putin's response was in support of the U.S. and this was the first time Miss Rice, a soviet expert, knew that officially the Cold War was over. This was surprising to me, because the Cold War had been declared over publicly ten years earlier. What did she know that the public does not know about the U.S. relationship with Russia? Or was it that the Cold War was so ingrained in her heart that she could not let it go until then?

2. The Hope of a Civil Society - Of course, she talked about the middle east and the sort of problems they dealt with. She described the leaders and international problems. Until now, I never really knew what counter-insurgency was until she defined it during her talk. She discussed that they were faced with a unique problem. They had to provide military, security, infrastructure, welfare relief and more all to create diplomacy and stability, all to help root out those who wish to do harm to the people within those regions and the U.S. alike. In other words, the had to be on the defense and the befriend the locals. The goal was not necessarily to bring democracy to these areas the U.S. occupied, but to bring about civil society, in which those with power and freedom did not exploit the meek. In the end, that may have manifested as democracy.

3. A Proud Moment - One day the presidential Cabinet was having a very serious discussion of whether to allocate $15 Billion to African Aids Relief. They debated how they could justify such an expense. Things that were discussed were such things as the fact that the relief would go where it was most needed and not necessarily where there were stable and responsible governments and therefore it may be misused. Also, the antivirals are not a cure for AIDS they only extend life and was the expense worth it if they were not curing disease. At that Miss Rice stepped in and said that her mother had been diagnosed with cancer when she was fifteen. The treatment she received extended her life another fifteen years. Those years were important. She was there to be a role model for her daughter and see her daughter grow into a woman and be launched into life as a professor at Stanford. Extending the lives of mothers in Africa will be important. They will be there for their children longer and may make good impacts on the lives of others. Following, the tone of the conversation changed. It was a turning point. Another cabinet member stepped and said, "If we are able to do this and do not, history will shame us for it." (Pro-life moment :-)

4. Defining Faith - A defining moment in faith was when she attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The three hour high Mass had completed, the bells began to peal, the pall bearers carried the casket to the doors of St. Peter's Basilica they turned and presented the glass casket to the crowd. At that moment the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine shone directly on Pope John Paul II as if God were ascending his soul to Heaven. It was an awe-inspiring moment. At that moment, she had never in her life been so sure of the resurrection and the life eternal. Later, Laura Bush asked if she had seen it too. She was sure the press would report the moment, but nothing was reported. A week later the Argentine president asked her if she had seen it as well. It was then she thought, perhaps it was a moment only for the believers.

5. What Makes Us Great - Finally, it came time for questions from the audience. They only allowed four questions, but this is where I felt she shined. A female college student asked what advice she had for a young college female to gain the ranks she has achieved. Her response was an old fashioned, All-American, pull yourself up by your boot straps response. She said, "I am afraid sometimes that America is losing what made us great. And that is it does not matter where you started or where you came from. It matters where you are going." America uniquely owns that. We build ourselves up from nothing into becoming millionaires and presidents. We get to define ourselves. She continued, what I am afraid of in the new America is entitlement, when you are given, or demand something you do not necessarily deserve, something you have not earned. Therefore, my recommendation is to not give into victimhood--when someone mistreats you because you are a woman or young. Do not limit yourself by how someone else defines you. If you grow up a black woman in the segregated south, it might mean you need to work twice as hard to get where you want to go. Find mentors to guide you. Be the best. Work as hard as you need to achieve your goal, your American dream.

Archangel Michael, Defend Us In Battle

2011-11-08T22:13:00.001-06:00

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who wander throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I did not believe that we would achieve this icon writing session today. I tried and tried to draw the outline, but it seemed everything, including a very fussy baby got in the way. I tried to remain patient through it. I tried to lay the fussy baby down for a nap, but after being so fussy all she wanted to do was play. She stayed awake for another hour and a half and I continued to work through the madness. Then I tried to lay down the baby again and it did not seem she was going to sleep. But then I thought, it seems that so much is getting in the way, evil is at hand. So I prayed to St. Michael that he defend us against this evil so that we might complete this icon and be holy people. And then the baby fell asleep very unexpectedly. I returned to the other kids and they were ready to paint. We talked about the Icon and painted. It went smoothly and quickly and we have beautiful results to show. If you ever entertained the thought that Archangel Michael might be a myth, stamp out such thoughts now. The way this day started, and seeing how this day ended, it was nothing short of a miracle. It was St. Michael's prayer and presence guiding us away from the "snares of the Devil."

This icon completes Alex's and my year of writing icons together. I feel truly triumphant. This is something we will have for the rest of our lives. We have learned so much from this Windows into Heaven. I hope to give this experience to all my children if we are able.

Kristiana got to have her own Icon. It was a bit simpler than Alex's. She was well pleased and did a good job.

Miss Independent - A Culinary Queen

2011-11-06T21:56:00.001-06:00

I do not know what it is with my kids lately, but they have decided they rule the kitchen. They are constantly helping themselves to food. Much to my chagrin. They have always been very independent children. They are very happy to go and explore the world on their own. This has been good and bad. They like to meet new people and see new things--good. They talk to strangers, tell them personal things and may even agree to go with a stranger--bad...

This morning as I went to take a shower, I asked Kristiana to go to the play kitchen and make me a lunch. I just wanted to distract her while I hopped in the shower. When I had just begun to shower, I heard pots and pans banging in our kitchen. I thought, oh well, not exactly what I asked her to do, but I don't mind if she bangs a few pots and plays pretend. Then when I was nearly finished showering she came into the bathroom and said, "Mom, I can't open the garbage for my egg."

"What, now?" and then I saw a little hand come through the side of the shower curtain and it was filled with a cracked egg shell. Oh my! I was envisioning a kitchen floor covered in cracked eggs. I rushed to put on a robe and went to assess the damage. In the kitchen, Kristiana had pushed a chair up to the stove and had the carton of eggs on the counter. There were about seven eggs sitting inside a pot and one egg had been cracked over them. She also had a pink plate sitting to the side ready to place her masterpiece. I told her that we would save the un-cracked eggs for later and I washed them off. I told her that we could still cook her egg. She asked for a spoon to stir her egg. Thankfully, she could not reach the knobs for the burners. I turned on her burner and supervised her cooking of her egg. And then she ate it. It was a fun to watch her cook and show her independence. I think she is a natural in the kitchen. Although, I think barely three years old is a little young to begin her culinary career--not sure if this expression of independence was good or bad.

7 Quick Takes

2011-11-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

1. I am so happy my friends are getting to enjoy time with their newly placed foster daughter. They have been longing for this for a long time. And they still need lots of prayers that her residence in their arms becomes more permanent. May God's will be done.

2. Alex made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on two consecutive evenings when he was presented a dinner he did not like. I was a little worried that a dangerous precedence had begun. My rule has been that if he tried dinner and felt he could not eat it, we would make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich after everyone was done eating. But, this night he wandered away from the table and exclaimed, "I am going to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." I thought, "I have to see this." I said, "Okay. If you make it, you can have one." He gathered the ingredients and made a super sloppy sandwich. It was cute and awesome. The next night he did the same thing. The two dinners were a bit on the grown-up side. He has not rejected dinner and made a sandwich since. The second night Kristiana wanted to be like Alex too and had to make her own sandwich. But, mommy commandeered the making of that sandwich part way through.

3. Annie loves Lady. Annie is such a dog girl. Every chance she gets, Annie has a petting session with Lady. She even talks to Lady as she pets. She smiles and says, "Yaydee! Yaydee!" It brings us so much joy watching this exchange. And Lady is very patient.

4. This week, Annie is sleeping on her own. Our solution to our cuddly bed-buddy was to put her in a full-size bed and cuddle her before she goes to sleep. Then she sleeps through the rest of the night. I am hoping this becomes a permanent solution. (Grandmom and Granddad, set up the bunk beds for Christmas. Annie needs her own bed.)

5. Have you noticed that we have not written any Icons lately? Ever since the last time when baby was painted instead of the Icon I have not allowed any painting. I am afraid my fragile state could not handle it. I have been going to the local kid store where they have free painting on Fridays, so that the kids can get out their creative painting talents in a controlled environment. I have been pleasantly surprised by the experience. The first time we went, Kristiana asked me to draw her a mermaid and she spent over an hour meticulously painting it. So each time I go I draw her a new picture. Alex has also been very creative and painted whatever comes to his imagination. He painted a rocket blasting off into outer space, monkeys playing in the jungle, a robot, a jungle and a rainbow (with the colors in proper order and no one helped him. :-)

6. We had fun dressing up this week. We have two adorable princesses and one cute skeleton. Alex thinks the human anatomy is fascinating, but he did not wear the mask because it was scary and it was not his intention to scare.

7. Well, I am running into some not so fun pregnancy symptoms. Firstly, I am now back into having pregnancy insomnia. I am utterly exhausted, yet wake up to pee in the night and then cannot shut off my brain. I should probably get up and read or write. Secondly, I had a day this week I could feel the pregnancy hormones raging. I was emotional, my belly hurt and I could not stop falling asleep. But all is well that ends well--a cute new human in our arms.

Something in the Heart

2011-10-29T09:15:00.001-05:00

As I read a little deeper in "A Mother's Rule of Life" by Holly Peirlot, I find myself more and more deeply moved. I definitely see myself and my own journey in this book. The beginning the chapter on the first "P" of life, prayer, she describes a time in her life of utter despair when she went on "The Something Search." She was seeking to fill that hole in her heart. She was not sure what had caused it or what would fill it. It was about the time her father left her family that she also left her Catholic upbringing behind, because she could not see any point in it. After years of seeking for something to fill the void in her heart she finally uttered a desperate prayer for God to reveal Himself to her. In time, He did.

I went through a similar journey during my adolescent years. This is one of the reasons I have said in the past, I feel I have suffered in ways that could send a man to the brink and back. I do not think there is anything more painful than when you become aware of the great void within. Nothing aches like the searing pain of when you feel that hole inside and you have nothing to fill it. And you search and search in all sorts of places looking to fill it and it's like throwing pebbles into the Grand Canyon--it could never be filled this way. Like Holly, I also had a Catholic upbringing to fall back upon. But, if there was a God, He was not revealing Himself to me. (She later points out that some people never have a "moment" of conversion, because they have always lived close to the Lord.)

I remember being a faith filled child, but as time went on and I met the cruel realities of the world about me and it did not seem as though anything would help me away from all the evil. I had no more answers left and no one to turn to. I was in darkness a lot longer than most would guess. Not even my family was aware of this struggle. Then I went on a trip to France with my french class. The first place we were taken by the tour guide, fresh from the airplane, was to Sacre-Coeur Basilica. It is at a very high point in the city of Paris and one can view the whole city, which is why we were taken there, not because of the Basilica. I think I was one of the few students who went into the Basilica. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before--at least not in person. I was not quite sure what I was experiencing, but something stirred within me. I went to the gift shop and bought a Sacred Heart medal. I knew I had to remember this moment. I put it on and that moment began a new era in my life. I wore that medal for nine years until my son was born and the chain broke and I lost it. When that happened, I figured another new era had begun--Motherhood.

The View from Sacre-Coeur Basilica

The Exterior of Sacre-Coeur

The Apse of Sacre-Coeur

The Medal

The moment in Sacred Heart Basilica was not "magic." I was not healed. I was not saved. But finally, I was awakened to God again. The journey back to the sacramental life and true conversion was a lot longer than that. It was three more years until I was officially back into the Church. It took Reconciliation, Eucharist, Graces of the Holy Spirit, scripture, Catechism and fellowship to bring me back from the brink of despair. I finally had God's love to fill me. It was the only thing that filled me during my whole life.

As I read this section of "A Mother's Rule of Life" all of this came flooding back to me and I remembered the pain of that void. I was thankful for the remembrance. It was good to remember what it was like without God in my life and know that I never want to feel that despair again. It was good to shed tears and know that God is present and was present that day in Sacre-Coeur Basilica. The author's point in sharing this experience is two fold. One must search one's self and one's journey, and seek his or her vocation to know the Rule appropriate for one's own life. The other point, is that it is important to put God first in life, schedule time with God first and actively seek Him first all the days of your life.

Hopelessly in Love

2011-10-21T08:47:00.001-05:00

I did not think my way into the Byzantine Church as many do having left their previous churches seeking more. There could be no other explanation than I was like a loyal dog, on a leash, led by God. At the time I was a lost little college student. I had dumped my engineering major and was seeking out a new major. I landed on philosophy a short time later. One might think being a learned individual, I was searching more in faith, a thinking man's worship—deeper theology, greater reverence, greater tradition. Let’s be honest, who isn’t looking for deeper faith. But, at the time I felt quite sound in my faith and confident in the Roman Catholic Church. Seeking theology, reverence and tradition were decidedly not what brought me to the doorstep of a Byzantine church.

I had a boyfriend whom I had actually tried not to date. I had told him I had sworn off dating and I was just praying for God to guide me to my future husband or religious vocation. But, he said that was okay, because he did not want to date either. He wanted to court with the intention to marry. Whoa! I was not ready for that. But in truth, there were a lot of signs, not lost on either of us, that God was bringing us together. With courtship in mind, we fell hopelessly in love.

I was Catholic and he was Orthodox. We were very much in favor of our own particular denominations. Where he saw trouble, I saw reconcilability and vice versa. We came to an impasse, either we find commonality in faith and worship or split ways, and neither of us was budging. Finally, he told me there was a way, but he was not keen on leaving his church, which had nurtured him into true faith. We visited a Byzantine Catholic church--a church of ancient Eastern theology, under the umbrella of Rome. I was startled by the Liturgy. I was unlike any Liturgy I had ever experienced. It was long, chanted, everything was said three times; there was lots of incense and some language I had never heard before. However, during the Liturgy I naively identified all the parts of the Roman Liturgy within the Byzantine; and later told my boyfriend that it was acceptable in my eyes.

Everyone at the church was friendly and coached us along. The cantor told us how when she entered the Byzantine church the priest had told her that soon she would be chanting the hymns and prayers throughout her day. She was sweet, but I thought it would be a while before I got the hang of the chanting. In actuality, it was about four Sundays and my boyfriend and I were chanting in the car to each other.

In time I became more knowledgeable of the deep theology behind the most ancient Christian Liturgy (I am still a novice). But, immediately I enjoyed the deeper reverence and greater tradition. And best of all, I was able to worship with my best friend and soon to be husband. Within the doors of the Byzantine Church, we determined that we did see eye to eye in matters of faith. We were crowned in the marriage crowning in the Byzantine Church. We remain Byzantine today. We raise our children in the Byzantine tradition. It will be nine years this January that we first celebrated the Lamb’s Supper in the Byzantine Church.

We used to live just 25 minutes from that Byzantine church. I grew up in a small town. To me, that was a long way to go for church. Little did I know that later I would need to drive 1h45 to get to a Byzantine church. In my opinion, the drive is worth it. We have been trying to get to the Byzantine Liturgy more often this year. Especially since our children can receive the Eucharist there. Last Sunday, after being away for about six weeks we made the trek to the Byzantine church. As we rounded the corner and the church was in view, tears welled up in my eyes. It was a total rush of relief like when you come home after being away. As I gathered my emotions, I realized I am hopelessly in love--Byzantine style.

On the day of our betrothal in the Byzantine church.
February 2005

7. Fall Family Fun

2011-10-15T16:20:00.001-05:00

7. Pumpkin Patch - We drove an hour to ride some ponies, pet some animals, paint a pumpkin and get ripped off. He, he, he, it was a fun time. But next time I think I will stay a little closer to home and go to the local Fair, and paint a pumpkin at home. Hey kids, I'll even get a baby pool full of rubber ducks and let every one come over and have duck races in our baby pool. It would be cheaper to do that than drive to the "Empty Your Pockets Farm."

I know you are thinking, why is Renee obsessed with money this week? Well let's face it. Build-a-Bear and Pumpkin Farm were not the wisest of monetary decisions this week. But, I do want my kids to have fond memories of fun things they did with their parents. I just wish fun was a little more practical and a little more economic. After today, I am seriously considering having my own little kids carnival in my back yard next year. I just have to figure out how to get a mini-petting zoo for free. I just need a couple baby goats or sheep and maybe some baby chicks. I need a pony too. I wish I live closer to family. Then I would have some free labor too. ;-)

Here are some fuzzy moments from our trip to the pumpkin patch.

6. Clean Hands

2011-10-15T15:59:00.001-05:00

6. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands…" Proverbs 31 This week I made my own hand soap…Well, not exactly. But, I did economize our hand soap. The kids use soooo much hand soap. They think it is great to fill the sink with bubbles while washing hands. I am glad their hands are getting clean, but we're out of soap. So I read that you can use castle soap and water. I use a tablespoon of Dr. Bronner's and filled the bottle with water. We now have clean hands and less bubbles, on a budget.

5. I Think I Developed a Hole In My Wallet

2011-10-15T15:58:00.001-05:00

5. Buil-A-Bear/Break the Bank - We visited Build-A-Bear this week. The kids each walked away with an adorable, cuddly friend. But boy is that place is expensive. I was fully aware of the expense before we went, but for some reason the idea of a toy with a t-shirt appealed to me. After the kids' toys were made, I have to say it was a special experience and the toys are quality. I actually would not mind one of my own. Annie's pink and yellow bear smells like strawberries and is so soft. We all love it, alas, she does not care about it (yet?). But yeah, unless someone else is paying, I do not think we will be able to visit again.

4. A Green Triumph

2011-10-15T15:53:00.001-05:00

4. Triumph! - On our way to Adoration this week, I piled the kids in the car early in the morning. Kristiana had brought a book along for herself. Alex insisted he needed a book too. A copy of "Green Eggs and Ham" was sitting on the floor of the car. I grabbed it and handed it to him. In minutes of leaving our home I heard Alex stumbling through the words of the book. I was sure that he was going to stumble through four or so pages and then give up and look at the pictures in the rest of the book. He called out, "Mom, what's this word?"

"Honey, I don't know. I am driving." Then I thought for a couple of seconds and replied, "Alex, there are a lot of 'would you, could you' in the book." Then I spelled the words for him. All of a sudden I heard him motoring through the book. Every once and a while he would ask, "Mom, what's this word?" I would ask him to spell the word and then I would tell him what it was. By the time we arrived at the Church twelve minutes later, he only had four pages left to read, which he finished in the chapel.

I had no idea he could do that. I take that back. I believed he could do it, but I am always asking him to stop squirming and just read. But a relaxed, buckled up, un-pressured, reading session in the car is all he needed. I am looking forward to years of independent reading! I am really hoping to instill a love of reading into our children. When I look back to my childhood, I recognize all the years of missed opportunities to enjoy good literature.

Kudos to Alex!

3. Spilled Milk

2011-10-15T15:49:00.001-05:00

3. Spilled Milk - Oh irony! Why is life ironic sometimes? One evening, the children were well-occupied and even though it was nearing their bed time I could not stand the sticky, dirty kitchen floor one more moment. So I was going to sweep and mop before I put them to bed. I hate to mop and tried to assign this duty to my husband. But, he never found time and I was tired of sticking to the floor. I was shocked that no insect and vermin were swarming the kitchen. Anyhow, with some trouble I got the floor mopped and then put the kids to bed. Lastly I had to put Annie to bed. I meandered through the kitchen toward the master bedroom with baby Annie to take her to bed. She was finishing her last bottle of milk and as she finished, she reached over my shoulder and dropped her bottle. It was a glass bottle and still had a few ounces left in it. It shattered ALL OVER the kitchen. There was even milk on the cabinets and glass spread in every corner. She managed to drop it just so to make maximum mess. I plopped her in her high chair and began round 2 of cleaning the kitchen floor. The next morning I spilled an entire cup of tea on the floor. I am guessing it is just not my destiny to have a clean floor. That WOULD be too much to ask for.

2. Do Not Store Up For Yourselves Treasures On Earth

2011-10-15T15:31:00.001-05:00

2. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
Wow, Matthew 6 is such a treasure trove. It's where we also are given the Lord's Prayer. Lately, the above teaching has sunken to the bottom of my heart and I feel it there weighing me down heavily. I have been trying to keep the reigns on our budget and tidy up our finances, as I do every fall. My husband and I have always paid our bills and on time, but we have had trouble saving and keeping control of debt. I mean five years of graduate school will do that to you. We are always playing catch-up. We know what we need to do. It is the execution that we struggle with. But, I have done a lot of searching for guidance in the past month and I know what I treasure--God, His blessings and Eastern Christian praise and worship of God--then why cannot I not put that first?

1. But Seek First Kingdom of God

2011-10-15T15:21:00.001-05:00

1. "But seek first kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33
At the beginning of the week, with renewed spirit, I attempted with great fervor to keep this teaching. I know that whatever you serve first is where your heart is. So I attempted to pray more often. I got up early to pray before the kids woke up. I read scripture daily. I was strict with the kids about family prayer times. I tried to keep up with a schedule, housework, and tending to the needs of the children. As the week went on, I simply grew weary. I would say that each day went well, but Friday did not fall anywhere close to the kingdom of God. To be honest, I am not sure I even glimpsed the kingdom or righteousness all week. But I want to see it; just not sure how to get there and stay there. Are there any prayers for the weary? I know there is scripture about working your toils with a smile and laughter in you heart. Perhaps I need to memorize that one. Does any one know it?

The Nightstand Library

2011-10-09T07:39:00.000-05:00

This is what is on my nightstand right now. All of these books were added to my collection in September. I am about half way through most of them. I have finished more of some and less of others. I hope to finish them all before Christmas. I have learned so much lately. I feel so with it.

I am excited about "A Mother's Rule of Life." I read the first chapter and was all teary-eyed, because I knew how the author felt. She was a mother at her wits end. She was a home schooling mother of five and never could find the balance. She prayed and prayed and never could come the answer to her problems, so she decided she was going to send her children to school and that would solve it. But, her husband asked her to wait a week. She went months and things did not change. But, one day in studying scripture it came to her. Christ feeds the multitudes: When five thousand men came to Christ to be taught and needed to be fed he did not send them away. He fed them with five loaves and three fishes. Christ did not solve the problem by sending them away. He blessed what they had and fed a multitude.

I am a little farther in the book now and I am hoping to glean valuable life management skills from this book. The book is largely about living a similar life to a religious order Rule and the five "p's" (prayer, person, partner, parent, provider). In one sense, it is one of those books in which I already knew a lot of this. However, seeing it in print and well-organized empowers me to actually get my life better organized and prioritized. I especially needed a reality-check on my attention to prayer as I have been skipping regularly scheduled prayer lately. The author actually had time to pray the rosary by herself in the middle of the day while having five children at home. And a private walk by herself after dinner. What novel ideas. Time to herself everyday and she did not have to fight for it. She simply scheduled it and scheduled something for the family to be doing at the same time.

From the new Duggar book, I have learned more about gentle, peaceful parenting, which I definitely need. My wonderful young children are awesome and such a blessing. They are also independent little individuals who do not wish to obey immediately. However, they are also not rational and most of the time my demand that they obey has a lot to do with protecting their safety. I have noticed that if I sweetly ask for cooperation rather than bark orders I am much more likely to see acquiescence.

What are you reading? I have to start compiling my list for after Christmas. As of May I will not be reading any books for at least six months after the new baby is born. I have to make up for lost time.

The Birdman Strikes Again

2011-10-08T07:01:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember the wings I made for the kids during this past summer…

The other day I was at a store with the kids. We were just there browsing as a "Daddy's Away Let's Stay Busy" outing. Of course the kids were dazzled by all the bright, shiny, new things at the store. "Mommy, can we have that?!"

"No, it's too expensive."

"How about that?!"

"No."

"That?!"

"No."

Then my son spotted an eagle mask in the Halloween section. "Mommy, I need that to go with my wings."

"No, it's too expensive."

"Oh well, you could make me an eagle mask like you made my wings!"

I was somewhat checked out in single-parenthood weariness and delirium. I heard myself saying, yes, I could make a mask. But, did I mean it. Well, I guess I could. Actually, this could be a fun and exciting keep the kids busy project. Every day Alex, asked me when I was going to make him an eagle mask. Every day, I listed off the things that had to be done before we could get to the mask, and then we would never make the mask. Finally, a week later I did make the mask. I had envisioned Alex glueing on all the feathers. When it came time, he said, no, you just do it Mommy. I was actually a little relieved. It took me no time at all and there was not gluey mess.

Here is the new and improved Birdman.

7 Quick Takes - Weary in Waco

2011-10-07T08:38:00.001-05:00

1. Last week I was a single parent for five days. It was hard. I had to do all the daytime and nighttime parenting by myself and as I mentioned last week we have had a lot of trouble with our little sleepers lately. Normally my husband goes and settles the kids in the night. He can fall asleep anywhere instantly, so it is not as great a burden on him as it is on me. If I get up in the night, I am usually up for hours. I had Kristiana trying to get in my bed every night. Then one night Alex came to my bed too. He noticed there was not much room for him with Annie and Kristiana in the bed too. I told him, "I know. There are too many people in this bed." Then about ten minutes later he noticed that it was hot too. "I know! There are too many people in this bed!" So I took the kids to Kristiana's room and told them to get in bed together. There they stayed until the next morning. The next night I told Kristiana if she were scared she should get into Alex's bed. He likes to have company in the night. She did not, but I took her there after she came to my room and there they stay until the next morning. This is my new tactic. Comfort each other, because there is no room in Mom and Dad's bed.

2. It was such a disaster being home by myself. Of course, all the stress of being the only parent had me feeling a little sicker, in the first trimester way, than normal. I was also way more tired than normal, because of my nighttime visitors. The kids were up to mischief all weekend. How and why do they figure out when you are more vulnerable and then that is when they strike. It was just damage control all weekend.

3. I tried to keep them busy and have fun. But, my kids are more creative than that. The kids painted the baby. Poor baby. I was not gone, but a few seconds. But, it was enough time to grab handfuls of paint and smear the baby. I told the kids they could redeem themselves if they painted the icon neatly. But they mixed all the paint together and made the icon black. Sadness came over my heart.

4. Then we went inside and did other stuff, home school, cleaning up…I stepped away to change the baby's diaper. Kristiana took this opportunity of alone time to poop on the floor. When I came back she was dancing on the sofa, wagging her naked bottom at her brother attempting to wipe her poop on him. Everyone was laughing, even the baby started laughing at the sight. Guess who wasn't laughing?

5. Thankfully there is a local church that has a nursery during Sunday Liturgy. So I went to that church, put the girls in the nursery and sat peacefully with my little boy enjoying the goodness of the Lord.

6. When my husband arrived home, I was hoping for a little relief. But of course, he was wiped out from traveling. We both involuntarily fell asleep at 6:00 p.m. only to be awakened by the baby screaming. She had been doused in soapy water. I still do not know where the soapy water came from. We put the kids to bed and fell asleep once more until the next morning.

7. No, things were not all bad. These were just the exciting moments, the memorable moments. My kids did a lot of coloring quietly by themselves. I noticed that after Alex finished each drawing he turned it over and wrote, "The End" on the back as though he were thinking up a little story about each picture in his head and then ended it. The kids also spent a lot of time playing quietly by themselves. It is great to see the kids play together so well. When I took them on outings, they also behaved. They had some very naughty moments at home though. This weeks things are a little more settled, but I am still trying to catch up on rest.

7 Claytonopolis Moments

2011-09-29T21:51:00.001-05:00

1. Kristiana has nick-named our friends' new baby daughter, Foofa. As in the character from the popular kid's show "Yo Gabba Gabba." It was so funny when she first called the baby, Foofa. She ran up to the baby and said, "It's okay, Foofa, don't cry." Foofa has stuck. Her Daddy now calls her, Foofa. But really, aren't all kids a little, Foofa? Aren't they all a little Yo Gabba Gabba?

2. One day I took the kids to the new park in our neighborhood (it's not totally completed--annoying) and Alex climbed to the top of a high structure. He was looking off into the horizon and he said, "Mom, (pause) look at that booty." Say what? Oh, he meant beauty. Well that's a profound thought from a four year old. He was taken, for a moment, by how God's green earth met the blue heavens above. Yeah, I got a little choked up at the thought. Life is "brutish and short," but also, life is Beautiful. And that is what we strive for--to see God in everything and turn away that which is not.

3. Alex has been having anxiety and phobias about everything lately. It drives us up the wall, because it is so frustratingly irrational. He shuts down and starts crying and clinging and will not do what we ask. He will not go into rooms by himself or darkened areas. He had a total meltdown one day this week. During the event he told me he wanted Daddy to come home, because he did not want to spend the day with me, because I was making it a bad day. I finally put him in his room and told him he could go cry there until he was ready to get dressed and come have a haircut. I called my husband and told him I thought we need to talk to a professional about this. It's getting pretty serious. Then I went back to Alex's room and he was still crying and talking about needing Daddy. I told Alex that even if Daddy came home it would not be a good day, because only Alex can choose to have a good day. Daddy can't make you choose to have a good day. Doing something you don't want to do, like have a haircut, does not make it a bad day. You just do it and then choose to have a good day from then on. A look came over his face and he stopped crying, got dressed, had a haircut and had a good day from there on.

Later when my husband came home, he took Alex around the house having him perform acts of bravery, like going into dark rooms by himself. Alex was fine. Alex was fine the rest of the day and went to bed well. I asked my husband what we were going to do about his anxiety and Andrew said, "Nothing, he doesn't need help with it. He acts this way when he doesn't want to do something." I disagreed. He was crying and shaking. Andrew said, "He doesn't want to do it that bad." Then I agreed. Andrew tends to be right about such things. So for now, my tactic is, "You choose to have a good day. You choose to not be afraid." So far, so good.

4. Why don't my kids sleep well anymore? My kids used to sleep well. Now, we have the jack-in-the-box boy at bedtime (in, out, in, out); and the midnight screamer (Kristiana). I'd like to say Annie sleeps well, but she insists on sleeping in my bed and I don't want her there anymore. Then there is nap time. No one naps. Annie usually takes an hour long nap around noon and that is it. She's too young to sleep so little. I asked her doctor about it and his answer was, "Sorry, some kids aren't sleepers. She's within normal. She probably doesn't sleep as much because of having older siblings to keep up with." Boo. I want all my kids to take two hour naps; go to bed at 8:00 p.m. and not wake up until 7:00 a.m. the next morning. Is that too much to ask for? Yeah, maybe. Why can't my kids fit MY paradigm? ;-)

5. I vented about the sleep issues on Facebook. I feel a little better--still sleep-deprived but better. I think I am just going to put the girls in their rooms at nap times and let them scream and go find a quiet place to work with Alex.

6. I feel so wiped out during the day with pregnancy fatigue. But, then after the kids go to bed and I relax for a while I feel a lot better. I don't feel near as tired and woozy. I wonder to myself, is it the stress of chasing three small children? I might need to work on this. Perhaps, I need to get a little more organized to feel less stressed. Perhaps, I need Alex to stop jumping all over the furniture and antagonizing his middle sister…I'm a fixer. If something is not just right, if I am not 100%, I must figure out how to fix it, or make it even just a little better. I could not possibly accept that I am just not going to feel 100% in the first trimester of pregnancy or any trimester. ;-) Oh what will the Good Lord do with me. Grant me patience and peace, Lord.

7. Good news. Our new baby has a strong heart beat, looks healthy and the due date is May 11, which is my brother's birthday. What a good day to be born.

How cute is this ultrasound? The midwife and I thought the baby looks like a gummy bear.

A Year of Annie

2011-09-24T22:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

May God grant you many years in peace, health and happiness.

Inquisitive, imaginative and intelligent; walking and jabbering; has six teeth, four of which came in this week; she adores her brother and runs from her sister. She has a sense of humor. Most of all she loves to play with baby dolls. She is a good eater and loves to play outside. She's our girl and we love her.

Icon Writing with Kids - The Conception of John the Forerunner and Baptist

2011-09-24T09:08:00.001-05:00

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari'ah, of the division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. AndZechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."

(Luke 1:5-25)

Everything about John's life was remarkable. What a wonder to mankind. John's job was not easy, but so blessed.

I asked Alex if he knew what was happening in this icon. He said, "I think they are making a baby."

"That is correct, Alex. High five!" I guess he is beginning to learn the language of icons. "And this man on the right is the baby boy they made, except that he is all grown up in this picture." Then I received a crooked look from my little student. Then I explained the whole story of how John the Forerunner came to be.

A Blessed Growing Family

2011-09-19T22:26:00.002-05:00

While I was still a working woman and I discovered that we were expecting a child (and then another child and another), I felt a sinking feeling, a feeling of shock, a feeling that things were out of my control. I felt this way because I was working and I knew I would not be caring for my children myself and my already minuscule salary needed to stretch even farther with another mouth to feed and a husband in graduate school. I knew that somehow we would make it work, but it did not stop me from feeling remorseful and tightly wound. I always hated not being able to give 100% to my employer as well, because I needed to be with my infants.

With the news that we were expecting a third child, we discussed and determined I would turn in my resignation. By this time my husband had secured full-time employment with benefits. My shock of pregnancy turned to pure joy and awe. Finally, I could look forward to spending endless days enjoying my children and raising them in the way of the Lord.

Now we are expecting our fourth child. This announcement is perhaps a little premature as most wait until the second trimester to announce. However, that has never been our mode of operation. We are ecstatic. We cannot contain how we feel. We also seek the support of our friends and family as they join us in prayer and hope along with us. We are also proud to now be considered a large family--our legacy grows. Yet, we do feel a sense that we need to tighten our belts.

I was grocery shopping and having a small amount of difficulty with my three little ones who are all under the age of five. It is somewhat difficult shopping with three kids, but I feel most of the time I have it under control. I was thinking at the time that there was no way I was going to be able to shop with all my kids like this once there are four. How would I keep them all contained and peaceful? I will have to leave them home on a day my husband does not work, or go late after they have gone to bed. This simply will not work. Then a woman rounded the corner with five little ones in perfect order (I thought. I am sure she felt differently). Wow, thanks for putting me in my place, Lady. I almost chased her down and thanked her for showing me how it's done and ask her about all the coupons clutched in her hand. Sometimes the Lord shows you what you need to see.

I am sure I will have more updates as this pregnancy progresses. So far so good. I am battling first trimester fatigue like a warrior. I am usually a big complainer in the last trimester. But perhaps this time around I will finally learn the virtues of the Holy Mother, learn to dumb my gripes and have peace and patience. Is it not amazing that our labors and suffering is what makes us grow, shine and blossom and finally, finally reach our full potential? Oh how blessed we are and what a journey we are on.

It feels good to have that off my chest. Now, I can spill all the thoughts that are overflowing in my head. ;-)

A Pooh Ponder

2011-09-17T21:22:00.001-05:00

As I was reading the kids a bedtime story tonight, there was a little nugget of wisdom for Christopher Robin that left me pondering:

"'Pooh Bear,' he said, 'If there's ever a tomorrow when we're not together, there's something you must remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.'"

What wonderful advice for children and grownups alike. When I think about all the things we fear and how debilitating those fears are, I think the great triumph of humanity is not that we walk upright--it is that we adapt so incredibly well. We are so very good at adapting to our given situation. When pushed by happenstance we are so good at finding our potential within. If you read about past wars, you hear stories of human triumph. Prisoners of war suffer torture and starvation and yet live to tell about it. They live to experience the good once more. Sometimes I think about what I would do if I ever lost my dear husband, God forbid, and as I ponder I remind myself that I would persevere. And that is the point Christopher Robin is making. If at first you think you cannot possibly survive, you cannot possibly go on, remember Christopher Robin's words, "You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think." This will carry you through.

Yo'Baby!

2011-09-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

Tell me you can look at this face and not smile. I left the room for a moment and when I returned somehow Annie had gotten a hold of one of the other children's yogurt cup. She was covered in yogurt, she was toddling around the living room with a trail of yogurt behind her. She was just giggling and gaily scooping handfuls of yogurt into her mouth. I had to laugh. I scooped her up and put her in her high chair so that she could finish the yogurt. It was quite a mess to clean up, but she was so sweet and enthusiastic about her treat. The day just went down hill from there.

Laud the Mom, Chesterton

2011-09-09T21:29:00.001-05:00

"To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes, and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute."

--G.K. Chesterton

Wow, if I ever forgot how important what I do is, this quote certainly brings me back to my senses. In fact, it inspires to be more than what I am. Although, I think he forgot the bit about being head chef, accountant and bank manager and human incubator! But still, I think I have found a quote I can live by, at least for this time in my life.

Best Wishes Blessed Theotokos

2011-09-08T21:44:00.001-05:00

Best wishes is a common salutation to a person on his or her birthday. What does best wishes connote? It conveys that one hopes the best for the birthday celebrant. And what is the birth of Mary, but the greatest hope of the world. So let us wish Blessed Theotokos the best and hope with her every day of our lives.

"What she is, wonderful as that is, will be made more wonderful by her stainless and all-pure life; her generous 'yes' to God's will; her divine maternity; her own passion and glorification." (http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/faith-mainmenu-38/40/2554)

Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God,
heralded joy to the universe;
for from you rose the Sun of Justice, Christ our God.
He took away the curse.
He gave the blessing.
By trampling Death He gave us everlasting life.

******

As of late, I have been under the weather. However, I have been impressed that despite I have managed to keep the household running. Although, Mommy is not feeling as patient these days. I need to pray about that one and I know just who I am going to pray to asking for intercession.

Today, I read the children the story of Mary's birth. They did not listen very well. I felt deflated. Then they attempted to color an icon of the Nativity of Blessed Theotokos. No, I was not up to writing a large, elaborate icon with them. They only colored half of it. It's just not as fun without paint.

Totally fed up with the children, I wandered to the pantry and pulled out a cook book. Turned on my heel and blurted to the kids, "Let's make a birthday cake for Blessed Theotokos." They immediately cheered. It was fun.

After looking at some recipes and sizing up the ingredients we had on hand, I made the cake and frosting from scratch. This is my first from scratch baking success ever. This is my first non-box cake ever. I guess Blessed Theotokos had pity on me.

It was not a good day. No one showed their finest behavior. But, the birthday cake made the day end better. Blessed Theotokos, we magnify you.

Labor Daddy

2011-09-07T20:51:00.002-05:00

I kept sweetly suggesting to my husband that we ought to get a climbing gym for the back yard so that our son would stop using our furniture to practice his gymnastics. He has also been a climber. He scaled the sofa at eight months old. On Wednesday night, we all headed out to Home Depot to see what they had in the way of play sets. I also wanted a swing set, because Kristiana could swing all day long. On Saturday, I casually mentioned (nagged) to my husband that he should go get our neighbor and see if he would go help bring home the play set we picked out. Then the guys spent the rest of the weekend putting it together. Later, my husband posted as his Facebook status, "So much for a three day weekend." So much for having Labor day as a day of rest. But, what fun fruits of his labor.

Overpriced, Healthy Mac and Cheese

2011-09-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

I bought a copy of Cooking Light magazine last week at the grocery store. On the front cover it had a Mac and Cheese Makeover. Well I had to see this, because my kids love mac and cheese. I love to find recipes that hide vegetables and make kid food healthy. I did not know that mac and cheese had so much calories. On purpose, I never look at the nutrition guide for such things that I know I am going to eat anyway. Just so I do not have to eat it in guilt. Sometimes, I think that just makes me eat more, because I am trying to restrict my portion. The magazine said that the average bowl of mac and cheese has 900 calories. Yikes! Whereas their portion has 390 calories. So, I decided to make this mac and cheese.

The ingredients set me back a pretty penny. However, I should be able to use some of them again. I estimate the whole dish cost about $9.00 when a box of the store brand mac and cheese of similar portion is $2.50.

The recipe called for butternut squash. That set me back $8.00, but I can use the other half of it for another batch (only $4.00 of squash went into the batch). The moment I started to peel the squash I began to curse this recipe. I detest peeling with a passion. I do not even like to peel apples for a delicious apple pie or potatoes to mash them. Butternut squash is a much more difficult subject. However, I had a little kitchen helper who made light of the peeling and chopping of the squash.

The rest of the ingredients assembled quickly and I put it in the oven to bake. The result was a phenomenally tasty "mac and cheese." I am not sure that I did not eat a 900 calorie portion because it was so incredibly tasty. I could not stop eating it. The kids ate it up and asked for second helpings. They never ask for seconds. Alex woke up the next morning and asked to eat it for breakfast. I will make it again even though it was pricey and more difficult than boxed mac and cheese.

With out further adieu, the recipe:

3 cups of cubed, peeled, butternut squash
1 1/4 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk (yeah, I used whole. I don't believe in fat-free milk)
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 T fat free greek yogurt (didn't use fat-free here either. I hate fat fillers)
1 1/4 cups shredded gruyere
1 cup grated pecorino
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
(I subbed in 1 1/4 cup ramano and 1 cup cheddar. Some of those cheeses are hard to find.)
1 lb. uncooked cavatappi

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Combine squash, broth, milk and garlic in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium heat and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.

3. Begin to cook pasta.

4. Place hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper and greek yogurt. Blend and let steam out.

5. In a bowl add cheese to hot mixture. Stir until completely combined.

6. Add cooked pasta to squash mixture and fold until the pasta is coated.

7. Spread mixture in a 13X9" baking dish.

8. Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes.

Bon appétit!

Reflections and 9 Quick Takes - Things I Learned In A Year of Home school

2011-08-31T21:29:00.004-05:00

Last summer I began working on home school preschool with Alex to test how we liked home school before Alex was school age. The more I learned about home schooling and the teachings of the church, the more I realized that it is my Christian duty to take responsibility for my children's education.

"The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute."²⁹ The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.^30"(Catechism of the Catholic Church 2221).

Some may argue that this statement does not mean the entirety of the children's education. Or simply put, the intention is that parent's are to provide for their offspring's faith formation. I beg to differ. One cannot mince the inherent duty to nurture one's young into reading, writing and arithmetic in a public venue and matters of the soul into another venue. It matters that all be presented by the parent.

In the last year I have learned a lot. I am sure that this endeavor to home school will be fraught with discovery for everyone involved. Here are some of the best nuggets of wisdom I have gleaned in the last year:

1. Lessons should be short and age appropriate. If you sit down with your child and the material seems to be above him, break it down into shorter age appropriate components, or simply set it aside.

2. If the curriculum requires more cutting and pasting from mom than it does from the student, pitch said curriculum into the garbage. Or let the student cut it up and paste it.

3. In order to get a squirmy young'un to sit still during a reading lesson, sit on the sofa and put a blanket over his lap. Suddenly, it's a cozy, snuggle with mom and voila he is still.

4. Do not worry if you did not finish everything. There is always tomorrow.

5. When in doubt glitter glue it.

6. Life is home school as well. Every moment is a teaching moment.

7. Let the child's enthusiasm be your guide.

8. Celebrating the feasts are important lessons. The traditions bring children to the transcendent; and expose children to aspects of life and death that would otherwise remain mysterious.

9. Pray, pray, pray. Pray for your kids. Pray with your kids. Pray for yourself. Pray in thanksgiving. Pray to give glory. Pray.

I Find Strength in Pain…But, I will Hold on Hope

2011-08-30T13:07:00.001-05:00

My sister made a beautiful DVD about the Adam Towler Memorial Race commemorating the death of my brother. She used "The Cave," by Mumford and Sons as the first soundtrack. It's really quite moving. I wish I could share the original movie, but some of the other songs she used have copyright issues.

Lately, I have been listening to this song over and over again. I shed a few tears and say prayers. This song really reminds me of who I am and where I came from. I know to look at me and talk to me you would not think it, but I feel I have suffered in ways that drive a man to write a song like this.

Today, I am thinking about this song and my friends Taylor and Anne who are waiting to adopt a precious baby girl. But, it's complicated and tied up in courts. So we all wait and pray. And this post is all to say, "I will hold on hope!" As I imagine we all do. If you have a moment, say a prayer for them all. Pray God's will be done. Pray comfort for all in whatever decision is made.

Tricksie Little Hobbits

2011-08-24T21:24:00.003-05:00

Annie has learned a couple new tricks. Pretty much every time Annie sits down on a hard floor, she starts spinning around on her cute little hiney. Sometimes she sings.

Annie also spends a majority of her days toddling around like this. We are excited for her. She looks ridiculous because her head is much bigger than the other kids and she can barely keep it balanced as she walks.

We had a bit of an unschool home school day. I was not about having lessons today. We just got creative. These are all ideas from "The Preschoolers Busy Book." Everyone played-Mommy, Alex, Kristiana and Annie.

This is the "Pirate Island" game. One person is the pirate and everyone runs around crazy, from island to island (the pillows and blankets), running away from the pirate in order to not get tagged. The carpet is the water. Annie was a mermaid, since I knew she would not stay on the island. We destroyed the living room for this game. Score for the kids team.

This game was followed by splashing. The kids put on swim suits and got splashy with buckets of water in the backyard. Then we did scribble pictures. You make a scribble on a paper and then color in the spaces different colors.

Then we read stories. Alex helped me make pizza dough. And later I had Alex clean pennies with vinegar. It was quite a day. Some days just need to be unconventional.

Strawberry Stewardship

2011-08-21T13:37:00.001-05:00

A lot of Catholic moms I know actively seek out how to be the best Catholic mom they can be. They ask questions of more experienced Catholic moms what they do to build faith within the family--How to pray with children? How does one teach the tenants of the faith on the level of the children without dumbing it down? We seek to know and execute the Holy day traditions in order to bring faith to life for the whole family. As we Catholic moms know, being a Catholic mom means being a leader of faith and morals within the family. ^"3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; ⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." Prov. 24:3-4

I wish to talk a little about Catholic stewardship. How does one teach stewardship to children and why? Firstly, what is stewardship? Simply put: It is the prudent management of something entrusted to one's care. God made man the steward of the earth and all the things within in it.

Let us shrink this down a bit more. For a Catholic mom and her children, stewardship may look more like everyday life. We teach the children to care for their things--put their toys away and pick up their dirty clothes; we teach them to not litter and pick up litter; we teach them to turn off lights and not waste water, because as my son reminds, "We only have one earth."

But as the Catholic leader within the family, we must show stewardship by example. We must turn off the lights, pick up litter, use reusable shopping bags and recycle and make prudent choices for our family. We teach our kids that watching too much T.V. is not good for our minds and bodies. We teach them how to nourish their bodies properly despite all their whining about the food on the table. We teach them to share and give to those without. Most importantly, we teach them to pray. We teach them that prayer is care for their soul and their relationship with God. In fact, one could argue that Catholic stewardship filters into every aspect of life.

What is strawberry stewardship? My kids love strawberry milk. Someone got into me about the dyes and so forth in manufactured strawberry syrup. I was willing to overlook this so long as they drank their milk. But, my kids drink an awful lot of strawberry milk and they could probably do with a few less additives in their lives. This Catholic mom decided in order to take better care of my children's bodies I ought to make homemade strawberry syrup out of fresh organic strawberries.

I finally got around to making strawberry syrup last night. It was delicious and beautiful. I called the kids to the kitchen and sat them down for some fresh strawberry milk. My son complained that he didn't like the seeds and pulp. Okay, fair enough. I spent the next half hour straining the syrup. I saved the pulp for ice cream topping. Then I called him back to try pulp-less strawberry milk. Nope, yuck. It was too sweet with not enough strawberry flavor and it did not turn his milk bright pink. You can't get that hyped up strawberry flavor and artificial color with homemade syrup. Though, the rest of the family liked it.

I asked myself why I had spent all this time working on this syrup when it seemed to be a failure? Why do I put a table cloth on the table when the kids just pull it off? Well, because of stewardship, of course. Because it is good for my kids' mind, body and soul to drink, eat and partake of this world in all it's beauty and rightly understood. That is the chief goal of a Catholic mom. Because if we take proper care of our families' soul, mind, body and environment this will help us all achieve salvation.

By the way, I heard no complaints from my son about his strawberry milk as he sucked it down this morning. ;-)

Theotokos Bling

2011-08-18T21:55:00.001-05:00

How's this for using "so much" glitter:

The kids wanted to use the glitter glue we bought very badly. So I came up with this little activity while they watched their morning cartoons. I drew an image of Blessed Theotokos and photocopied it on our scanner. I explained, after the Dormition, now that Blessed Theotokos is in Heaven she is Queen of Heaven and earth. So we made construction paper crowns and blinged them with glitter glue--so much glitter.

Number 1, Number 2 and Number 45

2011-08-17T08:49:00.001-05:00

Kristiana has an announcement: "I go potty!" She did it. She is a full time potty user now. When we arrived home from our summer travels, I started putting Kristiana in training underwear. She wet them constantly for days and I kept taking her to the potty and explaining she needed try to put her business in the potty (in more graphic terms than appropriate to write about).

Then we discovered that there was a treat that she would do anything for, yogurt covered pretzels. All I would have to do is say, "If you go sit on the potty and try I will give you one yogurt covered pretzel." She acted like I was handing her hundred dollar bills. After about five days she started repeating back to me, "Don't wet un-ner wear. Go in potty." She started to go to the potty and tell me it was time. Every time she made herself go on demand I was amazed at her skill. After months of taking her there and asking her to go and watching blank stares. The simple skill of peeing on demand was, for me, an amazing thing to behold.

Then she started to hate the feeling of being wet. It was from one day to the next that she mastered the number one part. Then yesterday we managed an official number 2. Now she is in big girl underwear. I still cannot believe she did it. She caught on and learned this skill we ease. Amazing. Number 45 (or more) is how many times she has had success.

Congratulations sweet Kristiana. We are so proud of you.
(If you cannot tell from the picture, big brother is pretty proud of her too).

Toddling On A Mac

2011-08-16T23:31:00.001-05:00

Oh boy, I have never been a Mac person before. But, on our anniversary date this year my husband and I found ourselves wondering into Best Buy. We played on the Macs for a little while and I asked him if he would get me an iPad 2. We have been toying with the idea ever since. Tonight he went out to buy me one, but when the salesman tried to sell him the Android instead of the iPad he took it as his sign to walk away from the tablets. He came home with the MacBook Pro. I was surprised. I really was not sure I wanted to go Mac. I was a little panicked when I discovered that I could not use Windows Live Write on it. But, I bought an app and here goes nothing--scratch that--everything. I am learning a whole new operating system and I feel like a child. I hope I can get up to speed quickly. Move my favorite files over quickly as well. Say a prayer for me. I feel lost.

Back to School and Fly Games

2011-08-15T23:03:00.001-05:00

I never really quit teaching Alex all together. We love the structure of having lessons here and there. We got behind when Annie was born any way. I think Alex is ready to tackle kindergarten material.

Have you seen the new Target commercials advertising the Back to School sales?

Very cute and funny. I love the 2nd Grade Teacher commercial because she loves glitter. I don’t love glitter, but for some reason it does bring learning to life. I bought some new school supplies for home school today. I bought a lot of glitter glue. “So much glitter.” It didn’t seem like so much at the time. I will have to start thinking up ways to use the glitter glue…

Catching Flies

We have been struggling with out bursts from Alex lately. We cannot seem to get him to understand how his attitude is disturbing and does not get him very far. Then it came to me as I drifted off to sleep last night—a game based on the premise, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Otherwise known as, “Do unto others as you wish done to you.”

I took yellow construction paper and divided it into 24 squares. I wrote on 12 squares vinegar actions and 12 honey actions and cut those squares. Then I folded orange and blue construction paper fan style and traced a couple of circles, cut them into 10 circles in each color. I drew flies on the circles. Then we turned all the squares face down. I explained the meaning of the adage, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Then we took turns turning over the squares. I asked Alex with if it was honey or vinegar. If it was honey, then we could put our fly circle on top. When all the squares were turned over, the player with more tokens on honey actions wins. I wrote on the action cards actions things like, “please,” “thank you,” smiling, hugging, sharing vs. hitting, kicking, yelling, taking toys, grumpy.

For the rest of the day, when he showed a bad attitude I said, “Alex, that’s a vinegar attitude. Show me your honey.” The funny thing is the rest of the day, I caught myself with vinegar attitudes too. So I had to correct myself and show my honey. I guess I know where his attitude originated. It is amazing how children end up teaching their parents.

Icon Writing with Kids–Dormition of Blessed Theotokos

2011-08-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

Rightly, Easter is my favorite feast of the Church. But my next favorite is the Feast of the Dormition of Blessed Theotokos. One may ask why the Dormition feast over Christmas? Like Easter, resurrection of the body and going to Heaven is the great hope of the faithful. There is so much Beauty in this feast. The mother of our Church, who sacrificed much, showed us virtue in the Lord, unwavering faith, who continues to nurture us through her prayer, passed from the this earthly life to the promised life—it is the beautiful fruition of what God put in motion with her conception—Christmas is only the middle of the story.

The account of Blessed Theotokos falling asleep and being assumed body and soul into heaven is given to us by tradition. Archangel Gabriel came to her and told her that her repose would be in three days later. All the Apostles were mystically transported to her funeral, except for St. Thomas who was delayed. St. Thomas arrived three days later after her repose and asked to see her entombed body. But, when they rolled the stone away she was not there and there was a beautiful aroma.

In the icon we see all the apostles surrounding Mary “asleep” on her burial bed. A candle is burning in the center to represent that her life still burns on in Heaven. Christ from Heaven holds the soul of Mary, represented by an infant swaddled in white. There is a seraph at the top. St. Peter is incensing her body. I omitted some other saints like Heirotheus and Dionysius, who are responsible for handing down the Dormition tradition. Also, I omitted the communion of saints. I wanted to keep it simple for the kids.

Alex and Kristiana helped write this icon. Alex was not too happy about Kristiana’s painting skills. To be honest, neither was I. But, I told Alex that he needed to let her try so that she could learn and become better. Alex became more patient with her as time went on. We did our best.

These are our herbs from our garden that we had blessed at church.
We blessed on Sunday, because the priest would be away at a mission on the feast.

Last year I began the tradition in our house to stuff our blessed herbs into crepes.
I made garlic herb cream cheese this time.

Annie liked the crepes too. At least she liked to grab fistfuls of crepe and fed it to the dog.

Have a blessed feast of the Dormition of Blessed Theotokos. Remember our hope in resurrection of body and soul and the life to come. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings of the Church, salvation and Blessed Theotokos Mother of our Church.

Autos and Airplanes

2011-08-12T08:04:00.001-05:00

What a ham? I went to take a picture of Annie playing with the cars and she threw her hands up and smiled like this without my prompting. I wanted to take this picture because Annie plays with the toy cars a lot. I find this to be a very mature activity. She even drives them around the house, which is such a relief to me, because she keeps herself entertained while get things done.

And now, a little flying!

Summer ‘Shroom Addiction

2011-08-11T12:11:00.001-05:00

I went to the gym one day this summer and went to the first elliptical that had the TV turned on. It was just easier to get started without messing with any buttons. The TV was on the Food Network. I thought, what a novel idea/bad idea. Who watches the Food Network while working out? I mean making yourself hungry while you workout seems to be the antithesis of what you would want. But, I was short on time and did not want to waste time channel surfing.

The show of the hour was Giada at Home. She said that she was going to make her favorite salad that she fell in love with while she lived in Paris. She went to a local café and ate it every day. The Parisians are notorious for their simple salads. The salad looked as though it would be a great cool summer salad and my in-laws were on a mushroom kick, so I wanted to try it. I made a few modifications and now I am addicted. I can see how Giada could eat it every day of the week. Here is the salad recipe:

Summer ‘Shroom Salad

8 oz or more of white button mushrooms, sliced
3 Tb lemon juice
2 Tb White wine vinegar
2 Tb Extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
a big handful of fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Wash and slice mushrooms (do not use pre-sliced mushrooms-too thick and tough). Put the mushrooms in a medium bowl. Add vinegar, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Then mince parsely and add it to the bowl. Finally add parmesan and toss the salad until every mushroom is coated in dressing. Serve immediately. The mushrooms will marinate and brown if you keep it over night, but they are still tasty.

Now go get addicted to ‘shrooms.

Mommy On-call

2011-08-09T22:43:00.001-05:00

Last night was one of those nights, in which one thing happens after another and I felt stretched a little thin. It was not a bad night per se. But the mommy job did not end. After a long day, I usually relish the two to three hours after the kids go to bed and I get to relax and do something I want to do—read, watch TV, check email, paint, knit, play a game with my husband.

Yesterday, I woke up and hit the ground running; started the laundry made breakfast for the kids; kept the laundry going; went to the grocery store; did home school lessons with Alex; more laundry; made dinner and so forth.

Annie was really keyed up all day. She has been a bit of a velcro baby lately. All the traveling has left her insecure. She did not nap all day. I was beginning to wonder how she was still awake. But, while I made dinner at 5:30 p.m., I set her in her high chair with a snack. She began to fuss and in mid exclamation she fell asleep. I scooped her up and wiped her off and lay her in bed. We decided to picnic our dinner in the playroom, because Annie was sleeping in the room right next to the dining area and we did not want to wake her.

Alex had a really bad attitude all day. He was really waering on us. He was talking back and growling and hurting his sisters. In short, he was plain ornery. We got so tired of his short temper that every time he lost it we took ten minutes off his bedtime. He ended up going to be an hour earlier. It’s funny though. He managed to stretch out the bedtime routine to his regular bedtime. (He was perfect today, because we played tough love the day before. Daddy told him that we had given him too many second chances and that was going to change.)

The house was a disaster and the dinner dishes were not cleaned up. We decided we did not want to wake the baby with the clanging of dishes and pans. The dishes can always be done in the morning. As soon as we had all the kids in bed and we sat down to watch The Closer. But, Annie woke up. She has not been able to sleep well by herself for the past month while we have been traveling. She cries and cries for hours, and rocks herself back and forth if I do not sleep with her. I am sure she will get over this as soon as she settles in. I decided to lay on the sofa, cradle my baby and watch my TV show. Then I went to bed.

An hour after I went to bed, Andrew came running into the bedroom. “Renee, Renee, wake up. It’s an emergency! Where is Alex’s inhaler? He can’t breathe.” It was an asthma attack. I told him where it was, but I knew that was not going to work. So I came rushing to the cupboard to pull out the nebulizer and medicine. He really could not breath. I picked him up, sat him on my lap and put my hand on his chest and told him to calm down and breath in the medicine. He was very panicked. I could really feel with my hand on his chest that his lungs were straining and he was not getting much air. But after only a few breaths of medicine I could feel him relax a bit and by the end of the treatment, he was breathing normally again and went back to bed. It was a scary moment. Then I went back to Annie, who was crying.

Yesterday, was a long day of Mommy on-call. From the moment, I wake up in the morning until the kids go to bed are night, I am on-call. I usually get a few hours off in the evening and then the baby wakes up and I am hers for the rest of the night with all the nursing, tossing and turning that goes with it. Last night, I was simply on-duty non-stop, which I guess did not end until now when I sat down to work on this blog.

Parenthood is a very beautiful thing. It is full of hope and wonder. Parenthood is my legacy in this world. I would not do it if it were not rewarding, if there were not love to bind us, if it did not give me the finest sense of purpose and the feeling that my work brings good to the world. The last few notions is a very romantic vision of parenthood. But these are the thoughts I hold in my heart as I scrub the feces from the bathtub toys after this evening’s bathtime pooping incident. I guess for tonight and always, I am Mommy On-call.

Icon Writing with Kids - Transfiguration

2011-08-07T17:22:00.001-05:00

Matthew 17:1-7

Well, as our priest said, it’s not just the day that Jesus went up the mountain and His clothes got all sparkly. It’s the day that the disciples learn from God the Father that Jesus is Christ. This is meant to fill the disciples with hope in salvation and not despair in Christ’s sacrifice.

The Long Way Home

2011-07-28T23:54:00.001-05:00

Well, I have been on the road for the last couple of weeks—without internet access. Oh the inhumanity! I was beyond grumpy a week ago, when I realized I was not going to be given the opportunity to check my email for another week. When you grow up in Nowhere, Wyoming, internet is not an option.

Now, I am just days away from being home. What can one say about traveling—Well, it does make the heart grow fonder. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and making messes in my own house and not feeling guilty about it. I am looking forward to the kids being crazy and loud in their own house and no one giving me a crooked look. I am looking forward to seeing my Catholic mom friends and participating in all the fun activities they have planned.

Here are a few snapshots from these past two weeks. I cannot say it has been all fun. But it has been good for the soul to remember from where I came.

The Adam Race commemorating the life of my awesome brother. Some of our Australian relatives came to participate this year. Here is my Dad with his brother and sister, Mike and Carmel.

Alex participated in the race this year for the firs time as a runner. He ran with my Auntie Carmel. But, I found out later he pooped out 500M in and they commandeered a stroller to push him most of the way.

The kids got to test out Uncle Adam’s robots

The kids went swimming in the park. And here they are acting like friends

Sushi my mom made—Pretty awesome

Visiting Garden of the Gods with Auntie Sarah in Colorado Springs

A big swing—I need one of these!

God Bless Summer Vacation :-)

Tot Talk–L’il Stinkers

2011-07-14T01:31:00.000-05:00

It seems like lately everything that my children say is either cute or funny…

Recently, we have been out at numerous gatherings in the “We’re Leaving Washington Tour.” I have been bringing along the kids pajamas and when we are ready to leave, I change them into there pajamas. The kids fall asleep on the car ride home and we put them straight to bed when we get home.

One night at a gathering I took Alex to the powder room to change him into his pajamas. After he was changed I asked him to put his shoes back on. He said, “No, I want to go in feet.”

I replied, “Oh you want to go in bare feet.”

“No Mommy, human feet not bear feet.”

I was still grinning from Alex’s cute mistake when I took Kristiana into the powder room to change into her pajamas. She was full of sugar and jib-jabbering away. She was fully stripped down and I held out a clean diaper and asked her to come to me to get dressed. She was talking about this and that. I am not sure of all the things she was saying. The next thing I knew she turned around, bent down, grabbed her butt cheeks and started talking at me with her butt. Yes, I got the Jim Carey/Ace Ventura treatment from a two year old. And now I know, either Jim Carey stole his act from a two year old or he has the mind of a two year old. This is how my whole summer has been. Kristiana is really funny and she knows it.

Icon Writing–The Creation of the Sun

2011-07-13T01:02:00.001-05:00

Here is the Icon I have been working on for the past six weeks for our Byzantine church in Washington. I feel relieved it is done. I will not know what to do with my time now that I will not be using every spare moment to work on it. I suppose I will read more and blog.

I hardly had enough time to complete this work. I could have used another 20 hours to work on it. All I can see are the mistakes. However, I think I achieved what the Icon intends to convey. Further, I prayed my prayers and then dipped the paintbrush into the paint. I know this is the work of God.

It is 24 X 39 inches, which is quite a large icon. While I copied an existing Icon, I constructed the image myself instead of tracing…And now onto the rest of Creation.

P.S. My sweet Icon protégé, Alex, kept asking if he could help. He really wanted to help badly. However, I explained to him that this is a grown-up Icon. He kept asking until it was almost finished and then he said, “Oh, I do not want to work on this one. I know it’s a grown up Icon now.”

PrettyHappyFunnyReal

2011-06-30T08:49:00.000-05:00

So some of my blog friends are really into this Pretty/Happy/Funny/Real blog post in which you post pictures under each category. Sometimes I hate to follow the crowd…but to be honest, I think I just have not had time to think about what I would post if I were to participate. However, I have some photos to share this week that fit these categories.

Pretty

Happy

Funny

Real – I have two!

I don’t mean to embarrass Kristiana, but she can throw a fit with the best of them. But, all I need to do is affirm her feelings and then let her know her behavior is not acceptable, then she is fine.

Look at Annie stand up on her own. Toddling here we come. It’s about time. She is nine months old. The day Alex turned nine months he started walking. No, I am not really keen on her walking. Although, she crawls really fast, so it may not be much difference. She is on the go!

Tot Talk - Alex’s Team

2011-06-29T00:23:00.001-05:00

I enrolled Alex in sport’s camp this summer. This is my life-ling mom dream come true. It’s my baby’s first summer camp. The camp offered two days (mornings) of basketball, two days of flag football, two days of soccer and two days of t-ball. I am really excited that Alex got to try a bunch of different sports. For some reason I got it into my head that THIS WAS IT. Alex was going to discover the sport that he was sooo good at that we would begin his olympic training now. ;-) I mean everyone tells me how fast and athletic Alex is. However, he was not amazingly good at any particular sport and he was not bad at anything either. He just played hard and had fun. What more could a mom ask for? Well, how about a cute story? Okay, here it is…

On the third day of camp, I plopped down on the sopping wet, sideline grass and tried to entertain my baby girls as Alex went to shoot the breeze with the other campers before camp. One of the coaches stepped to the side and was talking to his eight year old daughter. I just happened to overhear him say, “I have to find Alex. You have to meet him. He is my favorite. Yesterday, I asked the kids what we should name our team and no one said anything. Then Alex said ‘Hey, I have an idea. How about Alex’s Team.’ Everyone else said okay and that’s our team. So I have to find Alex.” At this point, I was thinking that is awesome. He had told me that it was Alex’s Team the day before, but I did not believe him. I thought it was some rambling from a four year old. As camp began that day I heard the team cheer altogether, “Alex’s Team!” I had a really proud mom moment.

“Yeah, that’s my boy!”

So what does a proud mommy do? I made t-shirts. Alex designed it. He wanted a “Fireball! with a thunderbolt!” I made one for each of our family members and grandparents, and the coach of course. I did not make them for all the kids, because I think that would have been a little strange for the other parents and way expensive. The back of Alex’s t-shirt says “Team Captain,” and the coach’s says, “Coach.”

…On the first day of soccer, the coach forgot to pick up the balls. One coach thought the other coach was going to pick them up. So I came to the rescue with two soccer balls and orange cones. I feel like a cool soccer mom.

I can not wait to see what these kids do in their lives as they grow up. It’s so exciting. I hope that we are able to guide them to have honorable character and produce good fruits. Grant it, O Lord.

Liturgical Feasting Traditions–Ss. Peter and Paul

2011-06-23T23:22:00.001-05:00

I have been a wife (6 years) and mother (4 1/2 years) for just a short while now and over these short years I have been trying to learn the customs for each major feast. My family never celebrated liturgical feasts growing up, so I am starting from scratch. Each year I add more traditions to my repertoire, for my family to utilize in our celebrations.

We have upcoming a major feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. I have been searching online for traditional ways to celebrate and bring the spirit of the feast into our home. So far I have discovered that it is traditional to go to the vigil and have all night vespers and then celebrate Divine Liturgy in the morning. I do not know if I could make that work with our three small children. I do not think our parish celebrates in this way either.

Other than an all night vigil, I have not come up with anything else traditional. I found a site (obviously written by a Latin rite person) suggesting we eat fish, because they were fishers of men, and other Mediterranean dishes such as babaganouj and hummus. I thought this was a good idea, because it is a direct connection with the saints. However, I am not keen on this meal, because to me those are foods of the fast. I was more thinking of a meal of lamb.

I think we will definitely tell stories of Ss. Peter and Paul. Alex and I will work on an icon of the venerable saints. But, I was curious if there were household objects, food, or the like, that are traditionally blessed? Are there traditional foods to offer at our table in honor of these saints? How do YOU celebrate the feast? Please share your family traditions with me so that I might begin Ss. Peter and Paul traditions in our family.

Tot Talk: Yummy Eternal Food

2011-06-22T01:14:00.001-05:00

Tonight we went to the Baptism, Chrismation, First Communion of a friend’s son. I love to see the Rites of Christian Initiation. To me it is a great reminder of my own sacraments. For a moment, I find myself as close to the Holy Spirit as I once was during my own Chrismation. At the same time there is both a heaviness and a lightness within the room. The smoke from the incense lifts us up. The candle illuminate. The scented oils fill our senses. Then the grand moments occur. The soul is bathed clean, the spirit is sealed, the life is nourished.

This world is so distracting. I am so distracted. Even tonight, the children were as wiggly as worms and as noisy as pricked pigs (including all the children present, not just my own). It was very hard for me to be present with the Lord tonight. Nonetheless, the Holy Spirit was there. It was so beautiful.

Kristiana was very wild during liturgy. She ran back and forth from the Narthex to our place in the Church. But finally she settled when our friend told her that after she received Jesus there would be cake. The children and I went to receive the Eucharist. When we returned to our place. Kristiana looked at me, rubbed her belly and said, “Mmm, yummy food. I like Jesus.” I must admit even though she is only two years old, I felt a little embarrassed. I leaned over and whispered in her ear,

“It is the food of Eternal Life.”

Without skipping a beat, her eyes widened and she exclaimed loudly, “ETERNAL LIFE!?!” and then she nodded her head, yes. No one else heard her, but me. The rest of the church were chanting a Eucharistic hymn. However to me, it seemed that it was a moment of understanding between us. God love the children—they are so innocent and refreshing.

7 Quick Takes–Summer Fun

2011-06-11T23:51:00.001-05:00

1. The lots of simple fun is going on and it feels like summer is moving fast. I haven’t had much time for blogging.

2. Annie played in a sandpit for the first time. She was perfect and did not even try to eat the sand.

3. We had the annual family s’more gathering. Hopefully we will do it again.

4. Icon writing class has begun at church. I was asked to do a specific Icon for the church. It’s huge and I am intimidated. After working on the icon for an hour and a half, I realized that I was asked to do it in a mirror image. So I was about to freak out, but it was decided my icon could be hung somewhere else in the church. I prayed and prayed and prayed this morning that God would work through me—that He would penetrate my soul with this icon. And my friend pointed it out that it must be God’s vision for our church. I think she was being kind. But, I feel badly that I did not do what was asked of me. I cannot help but think I was distracted by my impatience and fear. I think my biggest problem with this icon is finding time to work on it with the kids around. The icon must be complete before I leave mid-July. I think this is perhaps I have bit off more than I can chew.

5. Andrew sold his collectible Star Wars card game for nearly $400. So he will take me out for a nice dinner and then pocket the rest for his new hobby. Pretty cool.

6. I am still trying to workout a lot. I am finding it’s really hard to do with three kids. By the time we get ready in the morning, go to the gym and come back, the entire morning is gone. Then we have lunch and a home school lesson with Alex and Kristiana. Then Kristiana goes to nap and Alex and I work more on school. When Alex is done. Annie wakes up. We clean up, start dinner and the day is 3/4 finished. Dinner, bath, story, prayer, bed for the kids, a little relaxation and the day is done. As beautiful as this all is, there is not much room for anything else. I hope one of these days I learn to accept that, for now, my life does not have a lot of maneuverability.

7. Praying for our Godson and his family. He will be born soon and we are hoping it is a safe and healthy birth for mother and son.

Icon Writing With Kids–The Ascension

2011-06-03T17:21:00.001-05:00

“Then [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’ Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” Luke 24:45-51

What I like about this Icon is that Christ sits upon a rainbow as a reminder of what we hope for—resurrection and a life with Christ in Heaven. The blue circle (mandorla/aureoles) behind Christ is a glimpse into Heaven. Whenever you see a blue circle or ellipse it means that Heaven enters this world. It’s one of my favorite things in Icon writing.

It seems to me the more Icons we write together the more detailed the festal icons are. Coincidence?

Claytonopolis Reflections of A Year at Home

2011-06-01T11:16:00.001-05:00

I have wanted to write this for a while. I have now been a stay-at-home mom for a little more than a year. And yes, it is everything I hoped it would be. Although, it is much more difficult working at home for the family than it was to pack the kids up day after day, cart them to childcare for 9 hours a day, cart them home after a long day apart, make dinner, bed the kiddos and collapse. In those days, I lamented that the people who were raising our children were strangers. I felt as though we were aimlessly floating through life. I thought in a few short years my children would be in school and that would be it. All those precious moments, I longed for would be gone forever.

At first I cherished every moment being home, although, I was not exactly sure how to spend every moment and my kids were ill-behaved. I quickly learned that there was hardly enough time in a day to get every thing done—from activities with the kids, to cooking, cleaning and laundry. The house gets a lot messier when the kids are home all day. I was surprised at the workload. I had to learn how to balance the cleaning and spending time with the children.

As I figured out how we should structure our days, I began problem solving my children’s behavior. I attributed their behavior to their age. Now as I reflect upon the past year, I think their behavior had more to do with the fact that we did not know each other very well. That’s a hard reality for me. I thought that I knew my kids well. But, we did not know how to be around each other all day. In retrospect, I do not think the children trusted me or my discipline. Perhaps it was an adjustment for all of us.

I had to learn how to be a better mom and wife all around. I am still working on that. (“Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.”) I had to learn how to feed my kids without them rejecting everything I offered. I had to teach them how to listen to me and show respect to me and others. Then we added another child and a house and a dog—all in a year. Everyone in our family made it through these exciting times. Although, the waves were rocky at times and the boat tossed much, but, we kept faith that the storm would quiet and all would be right again. We trusted in God that this storm was meant to strengthen us. I am amazed at how much we have all grown in a year.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,” Col 1:9-11

One thing I do not like about this last year is that even though I have seen my husband more I do not feel like we have had as much alone time and bonding time. The workload has simply been too great for the both of us. But, I think that has more to do with our new daughter and our new house. I am sure this will settle down after a while. Further, after having had my kids in daycare for years, I feel a little guilty leaving them with other people. But, also I see they really enjoy a little time away every once and a while. However, I sure do miss my lunch break (to go running, eat a quiet lunch, read a book, run an errand) and going to the restroom by myself.

Something that I have valued most about this year is getting to teach my kids more about our faith and help the whole family focus more on our faith. “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deut 11:19 I am praying that every year is as fruitful as the last. “May God grant us many blessed years in peace, health and happiness.”

7 Quick Takes–Zumba?

2011-05-27T08:29:00.000-05:00

1. So I finally went to zumba. Everyone raves about the newest exercise sensation/fad, zumba. I have to say I didn’t think I would like it, and I don’t. Here are a few quick takes about my zumba experience.

2. I felt like a fool doing all those ridiculous dance moves and, in my humble opinion, everyone else looked foolish as well; including those who were doing the moves well. What zumba lacks, that a good dance class provides, is proper and personal dance instruction and repetitive practice. There is no mastery of the skills. You are simply thrust into the movement whether you are capable or not.

3. Don’t accuse me of feeling like a fool just because I am a beginner. By the end I was following along just fine and sweating like the rest of them. I learn quickly, but it did not grow on me.

4. Seriously, this is your workout? I mean, I got my heart rate up and was sweating, but the yoga class I took a few days earlier was more physically challenging than zumba. And there is the whole looking like a fool problem. I know I am insulting ALL of my friends right now. It’s just not my thang. I have become a huge fan of “step/strength.” I get my heart rate up, there are lots of physically challenging moves, and there was lots of work on toning muscles.

5. There were about five guys in this class of 80 students. I call them “The High Five Crew” after every song they went around high fiving everyone and chest bumping. Ah yes, what would zumba be without “The High Five Crew.” I needed the comic relief.

6. I felt like the moves I could do the best and liked the best were the really dynamic movements. I also liked doing the bolly movements. Which brings me back to “step,” which employs lots of dynamic movement. I really did not like the more dancey movements, again because there was severe lack of instruction, and I did not really feel like I was getting exercise.

7. All this being said, I may go a couple more times, because the fitness studio classes are closed for a week while they resurface the floor. Zumba is in the gym because there are about 80 regular attendees. I really like going to the group fitness classes because it provides me accountability. When the going gets tough, I don’t stop because I am in front of everyone. Fitness in the modern age is so ironic. Our bodies labor so little we seek to labor our bodies in order to keep them in top working order.

Mademoiselle Butterfly

2011-05-23T22:16:00.001-05:00

Bird Man

2011-05-22T23:49:00.001-05:00

My friend sent me a link to this blog http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/04/how-to-make-beautiful-dress-up-wings.html#more and voila – wings for Alex. These wings provide perfect dress up fun.

I could only vaguely remember the blog when I rushed off to the hobby store for fabric. It’s been about a month since I last saw it. However, this is simply how I operate. I skim a recipe and then months later I happen to have some of the ingredients in the house and I slap something together that resembles the recipe I read. It always turns out tasty ;-)

I don’t have access to a sewing machine right now, so I bought fabric glue and some pretty (and cheap) fabric. I free-hand drew a semi-circle on the fabric. I made progressively smaller semi-circles on other colors. Then I drew the “feather” shapes on the semi-circles and cut them out. I positioned the feathers and glued them down. Then I sewed on hand and shoulder straps.

Tomorrow I will post Kristiana’s wings.

7 Quick Takes: Y Not

2011-05-21T11:17:00.001-05:00

1. Our first week in Washington was busy! We had to settle in unpack and wash laundry. The dogs got to know each other (in unmentionable ways :-/. We visited a couple of favorite restaurants (we started a top ten list). We went to the library. We got a YMCA membership!

2. I have been trying to go every day. The Y nearby is really swanky. I love it. I took the kids swimming and went to a couple classes. I was told the season 6 Biggest Loser winner is a member at this Y. Hopefully, I will get back into shape.

3. I saw a little tutu set at the store, lost my head and bought it. When Kristiana saw it, she grabbed it and would not let it go. At the check out, I told her that she fooled me into buying her the dress. She said, “No, you fooled you.”

“Ain’t it the truth, daughter.”

4. Alex didn’t like Kristiana getting all the attention as the pretty princess. So he came to me and said, “I’m the prince.” Then he sweetly hugged Kristiana and I was already taking pictures, so I was able to capture it. :-) Adorable. Kids, don’t ever forget to love each other.

5. Annie is trying to crawl. She can do it. It’s just slow moving. She is also always surrounded by people and toys and she lets everyone know she would prefer to be picked up. She also likes to pull up on whatever she can. She would much rather get up and walk away. In due time, my little one.

6. LEGOS Fun! Are you jealous that I have spent whole mornings playing with legos this week?

7. This was a very uninteresting quick takes. But we have a fun summer planned. We are going to see the Spokane sites, catch up with friends (BTW, if you are in Spokane and want to catch up, please don’t wait until the last week we are here to try to visit), barbeque with family, make s’mores. It should be fun. Next up, hopefully working on my very own Icon to be hung at our church here. This summer is going to be busy.

Happy Mother’s Day - Rewind

2011-05-18T00:54:00.001-05:00

I was a little pre-occupied organizing our cross-country car trip around Mother’s Day, so I did not get to say anything about Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is a very important day. You would not be who you are today without your mother—the person who nurtured you. And your mother sacrificed a lot for you, so that you might grow to adulthood.

It is too bad that I had to become a mother to realize how important this day is. I know it was good to be nice to your mom on Mother’s Day and you should probably make her a nice handmade card or craft. But, it’s really a shame that I didn’t make it a special day for my mom growing up. That being said, I know what it’s like to be a kid on Mother’s Day and a mom on Mother’s Day, therefore, I know that getting to spend time hugging and loving your kids on Mother’s Day is the Mother’s Day gift. I know that if I want Mother’s Day to be more special than that I just need to go ahead and make it the special day I want it to be. :-)

Every year my husband asks what I want for Mother’s Day and I say, “I want you to get up with the kids and make me a cup of coffee.” The coffee is because I know that peace for sleep will not last long and I will need the coffee about a half hour after my husband goes to care for the kids. So far, my request for a few more moments of rest and coffee have not been fulfilled. Each year there has been some reason that it has not happened. This year my husband went to help the Knights of Columbus with their Mother’s Day breakfast at the crack of dawn. However, he did make coffee before he left and that was wonderful.

I woke up had coffee, dressed the kids for church, loaded them up, took them to Liturgy, my husband joined us, and then we had breakfast made by the Knights of Columbus. It was great!

After the Sunday festivities, I called my mom to wish her a good day. She informed me that my sister beat me to the well wishes. “Sure, it’s easy for her to be first. She doesn’t have three kids to dress for church at seven in the morning.” Wink, wink. I sent my mom a cook book for the second year in a row. Cooking is my mom’s great gift. So it is now a tradition that I will send her a new cook book each Mother’s Day.

A couple days before Mother’s Day my mom’s group had a Mother’s Day morning mass with the kids, followed by lunch. It was great to go to mass and everyone's kids were being noisy and no one was staring. The priest asked the kids to come to the altar and offer a prayer for the mothers and then they sang, “Happy Mother’s Day to You.” It was precious. I will treasure this moment.

Happy Mother’s Day to you. It is a special day just because you are a mother and not because someone else made it special for you.

Pilgrimage 2011

2011-05-17T00:46:00.001-05:00

For the second year we have journeyed from our home in Texas to our homeland of Washington where Claytonopolis began. It was an interesting trip and also much better than I had expected with three young children and a puppy.

We kicked off the trip with a speeding ticket while still in Texas. It was silly ticket. We did not realize the speed limit had changed because we were looking for the exit to our interchange. Oi vey.

We drove eleven hours the first day, which was the longest leg of our trip. We ended the day in New Mexico. We had reserved a room at a hotel there, but the “new” clerk gave it away. He recommended that we go to the hotel across the way. After Andrew chatted with the clerk there he talked her down on the price and this hotel offered a FULL breakfast.

The next day we only had a 5h30 drive to Cheyenne to visit with my parents. As we crossed the border into Colorado from New Mexico we saw a big grizzly bear walking toward the road. I was the first to see it. It didn’t really register to me what I was seeing at first. Then as soon as I realized I had to tell everyone all I could say was, “Bear, bear, bear.” Alex saw the bear too and seemed unimpressed. So I stopped and explained, “That this was very special thing we just saw. It is very rare to see a grizzly bear. Mommy and Daddy are adults and we have never seen anything like this in our lives.”

“Yeah, okay. It was great to see a bear.”

…We had a nice home cooked meal and a visit with my parents in Cheyenne. Then we moved on to Bozeman. We had a swim at the hotel. Then it was another short six hour drive to Spokane. We were all very excited to arrive in Spokane. It seems as though we are home again. We went to our Spokane church and reconnected with church folks.

On our way we read from Alexander Schmemman’s For the Life of the World. It has brought to my attention things I did not know about the Liturgy. It helped me to feel the living breath within the Liturgy once again. It was very good for our souls to read this. But, it was too heavy to read at length on the road. So we read Mother Teresa’s Come Be My Light as well. We have not finished either. But, this aspect of our trip made it more like our pilgrimage. Our trip ended on the eve of the Sabbath and we were able to attend the Liturgy we read so much about. It was very moving.

Hopefully we will have some fun summer adventures to share.

Veni, Vidi, Vici–Catholic Moms Retreat

2011-05-03T21:35:00.001-05:00

It is finished. For months we planned a retreat for our Catholic Moms Group, and I am truly grateful. It went well. We had speakers, small groups, personal time, prayer, reconciliation, Mass and good food. We could not have asked for more.

I had a great group of volunteers/leaders who helped plan and execute the retreat and gave of their many talents. I was so amazed at the Lord’s work here. As I shared with the mom’s at the retreat, I had no confidence in my own abilities and talents to bring forth a retreat. I feared having to find speakers for the retreat, because approaching strangers is not my forte. I do not really know of anyone in our area who would be interested in speaking at a retreat. God had other plans. As I prayed at the beginning of the journey, “Let us be pencils in the hand of God, ” and I believe this came to fruition.

There were a few personal prayers I lifted up to the Lord prior to the retreat. One was that the retreat would go smoothly without a hitch; it did. I also prayed that the ladies would be touched by the Holy Spirit. This I will never really know how it was answered. Lastly, I prayed that things would go smoothly for my husband as he took care of the children for the day. It was his first day taking care of all three by himself. I think he was really nervous about taking care of a nursing baby. But everything went well. I came home to happy children and a tidy house. All my prayers were answered.

I would like to summarize a little bit about what I learned. The whole retreat was a Marian themed retreat. Our goal was to look at various ways we live out our faith and how Mary could be our guide.

First Theme: Charity – “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Song of Songs 6:3 Here I learned that God calls us from all eternity as he had called Mary for all eternity to be the Mother of God the Son. From the call, Mary submitted herself to God’s plan as we must submit to God’s plan for us. The way we can do this is to give our hearts daily to the Lord. Give ourselves completely in service to the Lord, in service to our families, in service to our communities. Mary’s example showed us that only in the greatest purity comes the greatest humility and the greatest charity.

Second Theme: Forgiveness and Reconciliation – “Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” Colossians 3:13. Forgiveness is a process in which you seek to root out pain and harms in your heart either by seeking forgiveness or forgiving. Our hearts are like wine skins, they can only hold so much before they tear. It is when we lay our burdens down and renew our hearts, that the channel of grace can flow easily into our hearts. Edith Stein said, “Some things that are inflicted on others are so horrendous that they are only forgiven when the victim prays for the victimizer.”

Third Theme: Sacrifice and Suffering – “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 Have courage and hope that God makes all things work for good. Mary faced the greatest sacrifice and sufferings of all humanity and submitted herself to it with faith that what God desired of her would be good. She willingly carried Christ even though a being a pregnant, unwed woman could have led to her death. But she trusted God and Joseph took care of her. Simeon, the priest, told her her heart would be pierced by her child. When Jesus was sentenced to death she stayed with him the whole way and stood at the foot of His cross. She did not turn away from her suffering but embraced it, because there are good fruits in our suffering.

On a side note this speaker shared that she always does the “one” thing her husband asked her to do first. Then no matter what else happens in her day it is done. She knows that if he asks her to do something then it is on his mind and burdening him. This way she can take this burden off of him immediately. I thought this was great advice, because I never do the one thing my husband asked me to do first. I do a bajillion other things in my day and a lot them benefit my husband, but what does it all matter if at the end of the day he has that one burden still on his mind.

Fourth Theme: Prayer – “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 Pray, but pray for God’s will. Be open to what God has planned. It is difficult for the seeds of sadness to take root in a grateful heart. The joys and sufferings of motherhood send us into the arms of the Lord to pray. We need to “Pray when it rocks and pray when it’s rocky.” And I’ll add pray just same when life is still. Every prayer allows grace into our hearts.

This is all I remember from the talks. I was a little groggy from allergies and medicine during the retreat. Actually, I still am. My ears are stuffed up, my nose is running and my lungs are weezing. I am grateful for these times in which I am given perspective. I am having a lot of sympathy for those with asthma and allergies right now.

It seems that all the speakers suffered some tragedies, like Blessed Theotokos, in order to bring us messages of God’s saving grace. Even if no one else was touched at the retreat, I was. This retreat has bore good fruit.

I also received a love letter from my husband as a part of the retreat. I haven’t receive a letter like this from Andrew in a long time. As I told Andrew when I returned home, “It was better than receiving a pair of diamond earrings.”

(The picture above is the rosary we gave to all the participants. It was handmade by a relative of one of the ladies. We all prayed the rosary together. I am not sure this retreat can be topped. But I will be praying, for bigger and better retreats in the future.)

Princess and “Lady” Clayton

2011-04-29T14:30:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I adopted a dog from the humane society. I went to the humane society just to have a look with the kids. I met this little gal and fell in love. I called Andrew to tell him that he should come meet this dog. It was a bust day, so he said that he approved if I liked her. So I brought her home, but had buyers remorse that night. We didn’t know each other and she was expensive. I kept her under wraps until I was sure that I wasn’t going to change my mind. Her paperwork said she was a Catahoula leopard hound, which are very big dogs. I think they were confused because of her spotted merle coat. They also said she was 4 months old, which I did not agree with and I don’t know anything about dogs. But, the vet said she had all her adult teeth, so she’s probably 7 months old. Everything has worked out great. She was spayed, groomed and saw the veterinarian. She is really smart and good with the kids. We think she is a mix between heeler and Australian shepherd. Half the time her ears stick up like a heeler. I learned that she is what they call a Texas Heeler :-) (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/texasheeler.htm) Her given name was “Lady.” Alex liked the name. He didn’t want to call her anything else.

So please meet Lady Clayton

And here is a video for the grandparents of our littlest princess Annie jumping and laughing in her excer-saucer.

Speaking of princesses, Kristiana woke up early this morning and Andrew turned on the TV for her thinking he would go back to bed. Of course the royal wedding was on TV. Shortly thereafter, I got up to be with Kristiana. We had a little Mommy-daughter bonding watching some clips of the wedding all by ourselves. I told her that Kate Middleton was a real princess, to which she replied.

“Ooooh, I am a princess.”

Bright Week 2011

2011-04-25T10:50:00.001-05:00

We spent four days traveling to and from church praying, grieving, praising, opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit. And then, “Christ is risen. Indeed he is risen. Alleluia!

We had a lovely Easter celebration with friends and neighbors. We had lots of delicious, cream filled, butter filled, sugar filled food. We poured out the libations. We hunted for Easter eggs.

Celebrating the Holy days would not be what they are without the feast. Food cuts to the very core of our being. Food is a part of our vitality. I am proud to be the procurer of this feast—provided by God to celebrate His glory. We are now nourished from within and without. Here is our Easter basket.

We could not carry all of our Easter dinner in our basket, so we made selections to put in the basket: Wine, salt, butter, Pascha bread, horseradish beets, polish sausage, cheese, boiled eggs, chocolate. We also always make a basket for our priest.

Of course, we included the Pascha bread…

and lamb butter.

Check out my deviled eggs. I thought putting red crosses on them was a pretty cool idea.

My girls had the same Easter dresses, but I forgot to take a pictures of them together, because Annie was soooo sleepy. She came to the Easter vigil with us and stayed awake the whole time to 11:00 o’clock at night.

The Egg Hunters

I spent Holy week cooking and cleaning as well. I prepared all the food prior to Easter. The house looked great too. At the end of the celebration yesterday the house was destroyed, which means a fun time was had. Today, we are just going to kick back a little and rest.

Christ is Risen. Happy Easter.

Icon Writing With Kids–By Death He Conquered Death…

2011-04-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

…And to those in the graves He granted life.

I know it is early for Resurrection Icons, however, if we are preparing ourselves for Pascha, then we are preparing ourselves for the Resurrection. After all, we are the Church of the Risen Lord. Therefore, I am posting this so that requests may be made for the Resurrection Icon coloring page and you may prepare your home for the Risen Lord. (Post a comment if you would like the page. Does anyone know how to attach a PDF to a blog post?) You can color the Icons and place them in your Easter basket to be blessed on Easter.

Description: Christ’s clothing is to be white—representing His renewal of Eternal life. Behind him is an ellipse representing Heaven. Archangels Michael and Gabriel are above. Christ is standing on the broken cross representing that He conquered death. Below the cross is Hades. This area should be colored black. Christ is pulling Adam and Eve out of their graves. He is granting life to those in the graves. He pulls Adam out of the grave with such force his garments fly into the air. Eve bows seeking forgiveness. There are supposed to be a lot of others people in this icon, but I like to keep it simple for the kids.

I have been developing my small scale icon skills and have been creating coloring pages so that I can get Kristiana into helping write icons without ruining Alex’s work.

The Monster Prayer

2011-04-19T22:41:00.001-05:00

While Alex was still three, I adapted this little prayer to help with his new fear of monsters. Now Kristiana, 2 years, is afraid of monsters. I think it is a phobia acquired from her brother. She does not like to go into dimly lit areas of the house by herself. Her little eyes stretch as wide as they go and she says, “Mon-ters! Carey!”

I tell my kids, “Whenever you are afraid of a monster say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, I love you. Protect me.” It is short and to the point and any toddler can remember it. The Lord has saved many “Carey” bedtimes and turned them into sweet dreams. Next time you have monsters in your house, try The Monster Prayer.

7 Quick Takes–I fixed Your Heart

2011-04-15T12:50:00.000-05:00

1. This week I decided to jot down my thoughts about life as they occurred and thus I have some quick takes to share this week. Well done, Renee, gold star.

2. My goodness, if I had a dollar for every time some one said to me, “[chuckle] You have your hands full,” this week, I could have taken my family out for a nice meal. I do not know what it was about this week. I went on the usual weekly errands, but everywhere I went at least two people let me know my hands were full. I assume this was because my kids were exceptionally cute this week. It might be because I am constantly reminding them how to behave in public. Calling out, “Alex, Kristiana, stay with mommy, hold hands, don’t touch, keep your hands to yourself, say hello, say sorry” does tend to draw attention to one’s hoard. They have become pretty good at falling into line. Kristiana is also very gregarious too. She always talks to adults as we go about our business. “Oh hey, I’m a princess. Are you a princess? Look at my boo-boo.”

3. Saturday we had a visit with our neighbors. They have kids the same age as Alex and Kristiana. They do not allow their children to watch T.V. They decided before they had kids that they did not want to use T.V. as a parenting crutch. So they removed the temptation. They have a T.V. in their bedroom, but the kids never watch. We were amazed that their children never watch T.V. I get it. I really do. I can’t say anything bad about parents who play with and read to their kids all day long...We felt a little ashamed at letting our kids watch so much T.V. It’s not more than the recommended amount, but still. Our kids did not get to watch T.V. for another for three days afterward. This mainly had to do with the fact that I told Alex he could not watch T.V. unless he cleaned his room. It took him that long to get around to it. However, now I have guilt when they watch T.V.

4. Annie being adorable.

5. I let Kristiana have a painting session this week. She often asks and I usually say no. But I decided to let the kids have a little free painting time. I sat in the next room with my eyes on the kids as I did some shredding. Kristiana painted a while and then became quiet and stepped out of view. Then I heard her singing a made up song and she called me over to look. I dropped my work and went into the kitchen. She had finished her painting and put her hands and feet in the paint and proceeded to dance around the kitchen. This was all very amusing until an HOUR later and I was still trying to scrub blue foot prints off my kitchen floor. Washable paint my @&$%$! I can still see the foot prints. (Ssshhh, don’t tell my husband.)

6. One of the ladies in my mom’s group arranged a play date in the church nursery. We took turns watching each other’s kids as we went to confession. I thought that this was a brilliant idea. The children got to have a little play time and we did not have to figure out how and when to go to reconciliation. This is always a dilemma with little kids. The usual confession times in this town are either the bewitching hour for kids or when the husbands are at work and unavailable. Good, great, marvelous idea. I highly recommend it.

7. Over dinner Andrew and I briefly discussed a difficult moment in the past and my husband said, “That broke my heart.” After a few moments of silence Alex hugged Andrew and exclaimed,

“Daddy, I love you!” long pause, “I fixed your heart.”

Yes, it’s moments like those that melt your heart. Andrew and I smiled at each other teary eyed.

Icon Writing With Kids: Christ’s Entrance Into Jerusalem–Palm Sunday

2011-04-14T06:26:00.000-05:00

Here is a coloring page for you to share with your kids. If you get a chance to write this one with your kids, let me know how it went.

Instructions: Go slowly. Tell them the story. Talk about the image. Notice how the branches of the tree form a cross. Christ is always pictured with red inner garments, symbolizing His humanity and sacrifice, and blue outer garments, symbolizing His divinity. We always paint the background sky and halos golden yellow symbolizing this is a Heavenly image. It is a doorway from Heaven to you. Notice that Christ holds a scroll. He was going to Jerusalem to teach. Christ entered Jerusalem as a King—the Word Incarnate. (Email me if you want the pdf version: renee dot clayton82 at gmail dot com).

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosannato the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosannain the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:1-11

Beans and Rice Shouldn’t Taste This Good

2011-04-13T21:53:00.001-05:00

Here we are in the midst of Great Fast and we had beans and rice for dinner. This time I made it with steamed kale. I had never made steamed kale before and it was surprisingly good and way better than collard greens. The next day I had leftover beans and rice for lunch. The flavors had marinated and it was even better than the night before. I feel bad, because I proceeded to break the fast and eat two more bowls. :-(

So here is my beans recipe, but don’t break your fast:

1 cup dry white beans
1 cup dry red beans
3 T of olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 minced garlic cloves
1 T Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 cans of rotel tomatoes with chiles
4 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of red wine or apple cider vinegar

Cover dry beans with 2” of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn off heat and let them sit for one hour. Then bring the beans to a simmer and cook until soft. Drain and set aside. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil; add the rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar and spices and heat. Then fold the beans into the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve beans over brown rice with a side of steamed kale.

A Simple Woman’s Daybook

2011-04-09T22:44:00.001-05:00

Outside my window… It is dark, hot and humid and the wind has been blowing hard for the last week.

I am thinking… about a conversation with my sister about my previous post (http://theclaytonianchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/04/one-could-lose-his-soul.html). We discussed the despair it invoked. To which I replied, “’I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.’”

I am thankful for… my husband.

From the kitchen… the kettle is boiling for tea.

I am wearing… a fuscia pink (my fav color) “Waco Catholic Mom” t-shirt and black tennis shorts, smeared with mud from the garden and baby snot.

I am creating… a garden.

I am going… on a journey to Easter.

I am reading…. Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, Full of Grace, Come Be My Light, Everything You Need to Know About Organic Gardening, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, the Bible. Anything I can get my hands on.

I am hoping… to lose this extra pregnancy weight.

I am hearing…the muffled sound of the baby fussing in the bedroom as I type this.

Around the house… The house is looking pretty tidy aside from the carpet needing to be vacuumed.

One of my favorite things… when my kids obey, and then tell me they love me and tell me I am a good and nice mommy.

A few plans for the rest of the week… The same old: laundry, chores, karate, church, playdate, book study. Nothing special.

Here is picture I thought of sharing…

Here are our friends. They’re still in the Honeymoon phase of marriage. Ah, young love. It’s a beautiful thing.

One Could Lose His Soul…

2011-04-07T22:52:00.001-05:00

I have not made it very far into Mother Teresa’s Come Be My Light during my Adoration hour. I think I will try to purchase it (unless someone wants to loan it to me) and read it on our long summer road trip. However, my children are learning a lot about prayer, proper behavior in church and most importantly, the real presence of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

That said, as I read today, Mother Teresa reiterated over and over that the driving force behind her religious order was to quench Christ’s thirst. One of the last things Christ said before, “He let go of His spirit” was “’I thirst.’” She said that since Christ is infinite His thirst is also infinite and unquenchable. Her charge was to try to quench that thirst with love and compassion. She committed herself to Him and vowed to deny nothing to the Lord, and she had faith that nothing would be denied to her.

When I read that “Christ’s thirst is unquenchable,” I nearly lost my faith. I was sitting before the Eucharist, screaming in my heart saying, “Something is amiss here! How can this be?” I knew full well that Christ said, “I thirst.” I thought I knew what it meant. But, after reading about Mother Teresa’s drive to quench the unquenchable thirst I questioned the logic. I know that in God all things are infinite. I pondered deeply, “Then how could God the Son thirst infinitely? How could He have a depravity in Him?” I wrestled for only a few more moments and then turned to my study Bible.

“I thirst.” Sure enough there was a note. Someone has asked this question before me and the elders wanted to be sure faith is unshaken. It said, “God the Son, through the Incarnation, has fully assumed our weakness in order that we may be delivered from thirst by partaking of His salvation.” A couple of things came to mind: this explains the lack; but, does the thirst not end with the death and resurrection of Christ. Does the old covenant not end and the new covenant begin? How can Mother Teresa say that Christ continues to thirst? After all, before Christ gave up His spirit He said, “It is finished.” The thirst, rightly understood, should be in us until we partake in Christ’s salvific grace. I understand her and what she tried to accomplish by saying this. I have a hard time accepting that there is a lack in the Infinite. If this were true, the Infinite would not be infinite. One could lose his soul over such a thing.

When The Earth Quickens and Winter’s Silence Ends: Claytonopolis Yard Makeover

2011-04-04T21:50:00.001-05:00

“The earth was emptiness, but by a word spoken, it became full of God's riches, and his they are still. Though the use of them is allowed to man, they are from God, and to his service and honour they must be used. The earth, at his command, brings forth grass, herbs, and fruits. God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the produce of the earth. If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice in him when the streams of temporal mercies are dried up.” (Ge 1:14-19)

Each day our little piece of the American dream becomes more glorious and more our own. Here is what our yard looked like when we moved in at the beginning of December.

A couple weeks ago we called a nursery to get an estimate on landscaping. We already had sod. That came with the house. The nursery gave us ideas and a quote to do all the work. It came to $850.00 to put in two garden beds. Yikes! About 60% of that total was labor. So we took some of their recommendations and said we would do the work ourselves.

Andrew borrowed a power tiller from a co-worker. Our neighbor helped him pick it up. When they placed the tiller in the garden bed, the men started stirring and tinkering and grunting. Before we knew it our garden bed was tilled and prepared. Who needs to hire someone to till, when your neighbor skips his workout to get a workout with the tiller.

The next morning I was anxious to go to the nursery and pick out the nice plants before everyone else did. Andrew is not much of a morning person and we arrived at the nursery around noon. It was a joy filled moment to finally buy the plants for our garden. By the time we arrived home our dear friends, Peter and Chaleigh, had arrived for a visit. They were passing through town on a cross country trip back to Northern Idaho. I thought we would just unload the plants and commence our visit. But as it turned out, they were feeling game to do a little planting as we visited. Who needs to hire someone when you have friends who like to play in the dirt.

I think the best recommendation from the nursery was the iron trellis and star-jasmine. It was the perfect point of interest for our garden bed. From there we chose everything else in this bed. Andrew chose a variety of peppers: habaneros, jalapenos and hot banana peppers. Now when he is jones-ing for a habanero, he can just go to the front yard. Then I chose a variety of herbs: rosemary, oregano, basil, coriander, tarragon, chives, mint, orange mint, chocolate mint. Finally, I chose a few perennials to pump up the color.

I had not planned on having any roses in our yard, because I had heard they can be delicate and difficult. But, apparently this variety of rose blooms all season long and does very well in Texas. The other bushes are Hawthornes. I would like to get two more rose bushes to put in front of the girls room window. It faces the street and when the nice thorny rose bushes get big enough they will serve as security. And as a bonus, the girls will not be able to sneak out their window when they are teenagers ;-) No one can get in and no one can get out.

Another helper

The After Shot – Bellisma!

A Reminder to Pray Without Ceasing–Pretzels

2011-04-01T21:40:00.001-05:00

A favorite Lenten tradition of mine is making pretzels on fast days. We are obliged to eat only one and half meals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the Great Fast. A pretzel, pictured below, takes the place of the half meal. The shape is meant to evoke the image of arms folded across one’s chest in prayer, Byzantine-style. The fast itself reminds us to pray, but the shape of the pretzel also reminds us to pray.

One thing I like about pretzels is that warm, fresh baked, bread is so comforting. With the first bite of a fresh baked pretzel, a sigh of relief washes over the weary and fasting body and soul. It is a reminder to rest in the Lord and wait for the joy and Light to come. We come to a point each year in which we are so beleaguered with sin, that the purging of Great Fast is welcomed. We begin our journey of great hope.

Icon Writing With Kids–The Annunciation

2011-03-26T18:37:00.002-05:00

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."
34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"
35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)
I really need to start drawing the outline of the icons we will write before Alex sits down with me. He is getting bored while I draw and sometimes wanders away. Lately, he has only painted for a short while and becomes disinterested after waiting so long. I think he would paint longer if his icons were prepared before we sat down. Suffice it to say he painted very little of this icon. I was sad. The Annunciation is one of my most favorite feasts. I am always very moved by the life of Mary. I think it is because she was fully human and undefiled by sin.

This is a water-color painting of the Annuciation I did for my senior project in high school. The book was, honestly, terrible. If only I knew then what I know now. I had a lot of trouble finding someone to help me with the text. I should have stuck to scripture. How FAR I have come and how FAR I have to go. In any case, this painting was inspired by, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.”

Pure Laundry

2011-03-21T21:47:00.001-05:00

It turns out that today was a perfect day for the dryer to die, not that I wanted my dryer to die! I am 100% sure that it can be fixed. I am not in the least bit happy that I will have to pay to have it fixed. But, I only had two loads of laundry to finish, so I pulled out the trusty clothesline. I really like hanging things on the clothesline, I just was not at all prepared to do so. I had A LOT to do today and I only completed half of my list. What made this all so much harder was that the kids were really on their game today. Every once in a while the kids do not mind at all. Alex did not do anything I asked the first time. Asking five times and then coercing him into order wears on me severely. Right before nap Kristiana pooped on the floor in the playroom. Yeah, real cute, K-dawg. Then she did not nap, but she did stay in her room for an hour. Then she joined Alex and I for the reading lesson. All day long I kept repeating to myself “Come on, Renee, don’t give up. You can do it.” Yeah, I really wanted to throw in the towel today (uh, pardon the laundry pun); call a sitter; pour a drink; draw a bath; and sink in for a soak.

Speaking of throwing in the towel, I have been thinking a lot about Mother Teresa lately even though I have not been reading her book lately. I have been thinking about how she did not give up on all the hard work she did, and how she did not give up on her vows to God. It is hard to believe that a woman who was adamant about doing SMALL acts with great love, did so many great things. To me her vows seem unfathomably difficult. I fear making any vows outside those the Church beckons me to keep. I fear that if I were to invent a vow for myself, I would not keep it. Perhaps Mother Teresa did not invent these vows, but was hearkened by the Holy Spirit.

7 Quick Takes - From Youngest to Oldest

2011-03-18T22:44:00.001-05:00

1. Annie Loves Sunshine – Annie’s Godparents have a little song they made up called “Annie Loves Sushine.” They sang it to her when we visited and now I sing it to her and she smiles and laughs. It’s a sweet thing. She is pushing up a lot these days. She also sits. She babbles at us a lot. She is also smiling a bit more these days. She likes grabbing things and trying to get them to her mouth. She likes music a lot. Whenever she is crying in the car, I only have to put music on and she is quiet again. Just a couple of weeks ago I lamented my little newborn was gone and she now grows too fast. But now, she is becoming and fun little infant.

2. Kristiana Two Going on Twenty – Little Miss KK loves to talk to adults. If any adults acknowledges her, she starts jabbering on. No one knows what she is saying. She must be saying something real, because I understand a word or two as she goes on. She gestures wildly as though her gestures mean something. She is such a head strong little girl. She knows just what she wants and won’t accept any thing less. Lately she has been telling me she is a princess; everything has to do with princess. At dinner she told me she wanted a princess orange. She is such a dainty and effeminate girl too. I don’t know where she learned to act so girly. This picture is typical Kristiana.

3. Alex Learning Patience – As I have said before, Alex and I have been working on “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.” Overall it has been going well. He is now reading short sentences from the book. However, he IS a typical boy in every way. He always has been. On Monday, it took more than an hour to get through our lesson. He was wiggly and not doing what the instructions asked. I kept asking him to put his finger on the words and make the sounds and he would just flop over. I kept telling him that clearly he did not want to do the lesson today and we would work another day and I would close the book and walk away. He kept begging me to come back. I would sit back down, open the book, and he would look at the lesson and remember how hard it was and shut down and we would be back to square one. But he wanted to finish it and I don’t know why. By the end of the week the lessons only took the appropriate 15-20 minutes. Perhaps he is learning patience and reading at the same time.

4. Renee the Way – I have been meandering my way through Great Fast. It seems like two steps forward and one and half steps back. It seems the harder I fight to pray and fast, the harder evil fights back at me. It seems every day I see evil running through my life like a freight train I am powerless to stop. All I can do is hope that the Lord will push me out of the way when the train comes too near.

I am just juggling all the house hold duties and more—paying bills, cleaning, dog walking, cooking, diaper changing, laundry (Oh, woe is the never ending laundry!); and breastfeeding is a job on it’s own; reading lessons, play dates, among other morning activities—then there’s my mom’s book study and retreat planning, and learning about home schooling, and icons. Then I must have an hour of leisure each night. It’s a busy life and there hardly seems time for it all. I look forward to the day when the children can help more with the chores. Obviously, this will be essential to becoming a homeschool family.

5. Andrew of Joy and Madness – Andrew seems to have had a good week. Early in the week, he had a student mouth off in class about the impending college basketball tournament. He saw that the student was showing his youth and ignorance. He challenged him to put something on his mouthy exclamations. The student thought about it and it was decided that if Gonzaga lost to St. John’s Andrew would shave his head. We now know Andrew does not have to shave his head. Oh how I wish he would not make such wagers. But, March Madness makes Andrew both joyful and mad.

6. Friends and Family Focus – It seems so many of our friends and family are facing trials and tribulations at the moment. It is hard to know how best to be charitable towards them. It is hard to do anything at all without making their troubles greater. All I know to do is to pray for now.

7. The Living House – No one ever told me that houses have lives of their own. I knew there was going to be expenses and maintenance with owning a home, but it seems as though this house has a life of it’s own. We have to plant a garden bed now. We have a big ugly, empty garden bed right in front of our house. All the rest of the landscaping can wait, but this needs to be done. Anyway I slice it, to make it look halfway decent is going to cost $200. Andrew and I would much rather spend that $200 on other things, but this house has a life of it’s own.

Icon Writing With Kids: St. Patrick’s Day

2011-03-17T00:13:00.000-05:00

It’s been way too long since we have written an icon. It’s been six weeks. I think it would be enlightening to write the icon from last Sunday’s Gospel: The Temptation of Christ.

Anyhow, I am happy we were able to celebrate one of the great saints in history—St. Patrick of Ireland.

Alex wanted our icon of St. Patrick to look like the one drawn by Tomie De Paola in his book, Patrick of Ireland. But I modified it, because I still wanted it to be our own creation. After we wrote this icon, we read the book. I highly recommend checking it out from the library, even if you are grown up. I also recommend Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, by the same author (the story begs you to speak in an Irish accent).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day