our Winter Term & some mid-year thoughts on homeschooling

We continued our bird watching by setting up a feeding station b/f the cold weather came.

It came.  Their first real snow.



They did not even have winter coats or warm quilts for their beds b/f we lived here. 

Snow suits may be on the horizon- at least for the child who continues to give us new ways to use duct tape.  He went out w/ mittens on but they promptly fell off.  He played until his hands were red & frozen and he was crying but he refused to come in.  Hence, the tape.

It was already melting here but we managed to make a snow man.

We started "feeding" the soil in our little garden of 3 raised beds, kitchen scraps/compost that we turn in the soil every few days.



We read the original Little House series and the Rose Wilder series. We did some related hand crafts including candle making, wood working, and sewing. These are the candles above.

We ate a lot of S'mores while Dad was still here to direct. 

And foods from the Little House Cookbook, including our Christmas Eve dinner of chicken pie.

The actual wood craft had nothing to do w/ pioneers or westward expansion.

Scary.

Then came Daddy Departure Day.  We all went to the airport.

We did not do any math or language arts lessons during our extended Winter Term, mostly b/c I was busy w/ Christmas prep and then deployment prep and then I wanted us to have fun w/ Jesse while he was home for a few weeks b/f leaving the country.  Our summer break may be shorter this year but we will work our new school year around when Jesse gets home in late August (hopefully) anyway.

So, that is one thing I like about homeschooling- the flexibility.  I also love the sibling time, all the outdoor time, the creative time.  I know we are always bonding and making special family memories of books read together, faith shared together.

I don't like- having so much power over their little lives.  Does anyone else feel this?  Maybe I just do alot b/c they have gone to school and I remember the greater freedom within broader limits they had there.  This may be why some parents choose to homeschool but not me, not us.  It was a choice to bring them home for now b/c we believe we can give them more of what they really need right now.  But that does not mean I want to dictate their every daily decision, which sometimes it feels like b/c of the necessity of coordinating everyone's different needs and wants.  So, there are definitely some things I think homeschooling does not give them or my homeschooling does not give them right now...which I will post about another time...

when I am not so tired, which shines light on my real issue: the challenges of homeschooling w/ a toddler & infant, now while being a single parent for 6 months.  This I know, though, no school is perfect.

Also for Dad...

A battle of epic proportions.

For Our Daddy

Taken of all your Valentines over a week ago.  Thank goodness you've seen them on Skype! 

(And that you know I've been more than a little busy.)



Sweet tulips our precious friends brought when they dropped by to invite us to their fun St. V-Day party below. 

The only thing missing was you!

Again, I swear I rotate these pics but they don't stay that way.  Mary Constance in The Hat, which now barely fits her.

My Own 1000 Gifts: 1-100

1. Nursing infant daughter's hungry hands & gulps
2. Toddler son's budding speech
3. 6 yr old sensitivity, esp w/ toddler bro
4. 8 yr old collectivity, incl ideas
5. Husband's hands
6. Winter fire's warmth & glowing embers
7. Blazing pink sun setting on horizon
8. Creativity unfolding
9. Generations gathering & family love uniting differences, even red & blue ones
10. A bro-in-law joyful in life's work
11. A sister pregnant w/ expectation
12. A bro growing in maturity
13. A father trying
14. An always devoted mother
15. Melt-in-your-mouth lobster ravioli
16. Sand dollars!
17. Boy Wii joy
18. Dinner highs & lows
19. Walking off stress
20. Husband's strength
21. Husband's initiative
22. Brother love
23. Dinner w/ friends w/ children
24. Lunch w/ devoted Husband
25. Happy boy chatter
26. Reading glee- young & old
27. Fri nights together relaxing
28. Pink sky @ plains sunset (even when can't see sun!)
29. Toddler hugs
30. Dancing in the kitchen w/ Husband
31. Waking up Precious Babe from a long nap
32. Toddlin' Tornado's table antics
33. Rhythms of quiet
34. A Saturday together working, then relaxing
35. Husband's happiness @ burritos & beer
36. Little familiar faces in a Sunday classroom
37. Eucharist-peace on Sunday afternoon
38. Friends home from travels
39. Warm clothes in cold weather
40. A bird feeding station that actually attracts some birds
41. Thoughtful gifts from friends
42. Cooking a new recipe, even if no one liked it
43. Missions accomplished
44. Old-fashioned girl clothes
45. An unexpected blessing, help, friend
46. A delicious & healthy new recipe
47. Precious Babe's squeals of joy
48. A Daddy loving his youngest w/ patience & his oldest w/ tenderness
49. Excellent medical care
50. Pampering beauty supplies
51. SPY & youth ministers
52. EE
53. JD
54. JB
55. UD
56. MG
57. GW & usccb
58. JH
59. DL
60. TTU Law
61. H & K
62. CB
63. JDG!
64. SJN
65. C Clan
66. NFP work
67. La Familia C
68. My M-I-L
69. Neighbors who became friends so quickly
70. Good east & west windows
71. Wide, open spaces w/ big sky
72. Grasses blowing in the wind
73. Women gathered to celebrate new life
74. Man appreciative of woman's timeless work
75. Citizens supporting one another
76. A priest who really recalls another Christ
77. Fresh sheets
78. Fresh pillowcases even
79. Rest after a busy day
80. Husband who really cares
81. Children who love me & each other
82. My health
83. House w/ space & a high living room ceiling
84. Husband's help & concern @ lunch
85. Little icicles
86. Big hearted helper-brother
87. Snow hats w/ ear flaps & red cheeks peeking out underneath
89. Loose dog found
90. Precious Babe asleep again
91. Toddlin' Tornado's nap time
92. Breathing deeply under the warm sun on a cool, crisp day
93. Beautiful views from mountain heights
94. Wind rustling through dry leaves on trees & rippling prairie grasses
95. Rock climbing Toddler
96. Funky-clothed Husband
97. Big boy who wanted Mom @ the top of Little Baldy
98. Big boy blazing his own trails
99. Precious Babe happy to be toted along anywhere
100. No dinner prep!

Baptism of the Lord Daybook

 *Post Post: It did snow today!

Outside my window...a wet, cold Sun w/ the the temperature dropping. There is even a chance of snow!

I am thankful for...blessed holidays w/ my husband still home w/ us, the inspiration to do a relaxed winter term of school from mid-Dec through Jan & the Little House fun we've been having during it, an irresistible toddler, & a breastfeeding infant who is growing...slowly but surely, she's growing... along the 10th percentile curve but she's growing.

I am hoping for...time! (always!?) to finish New Year's notes & a handmade gift.

On my mind...Jesse's truly imminent (this time) deployment to Kuwait. We are so thankful that his superiors listened to the specialists & protected his back from any further injury under the tougher conditions in Afghanistan. Kuwait is a blessing & that is what I'm going to tell myself for the 6 mos he's gone. I'm not worried about sharing that he's gone here b/c I basically set up this blog to be a private one & you can only find it if I've sent you here.

Noticing that... Precious Babe is falling asleep while nursing & Toddlin' Tornado just woke up, according to the sounds (kicks) coming from his room. And it's getting colder...

A few plans for the week...finish those notes & the gift. A few plans for the month...final prep for Beloved Husband to leave, tweaking of spring school plans for the big boys, Montessori homeschooling plans for Toddlin' Tornado, a LLL meeting for Precious Babe. A few plans for the year...resolutions, even?...not a lot of resolutions, just plans to craft/create more, especially gifts & b-day cakes- just 1-2 a month. My only real resolution is to get outside everyday & walk a few times a week. I feel like God has much of my year mapped out for me. I'm resolved to do what it takes to be a single parent of 2 in diapers & another 2 I'm homeschooling for the next 6 mos.

From the bookshelves...lots of reading going on here. The entire Little House series for the big boys...now we're getting into the "sequels" and hopefully eventually, Melissa Wiley's "prequels.". I'm reading the original Rev Awdry Thomas the Tank stories to Toddlin' Tornado. I've been slowly reading Those Who Love based on correspondence b/twn John & Abigail Adams during their many separations since we moved here. We're both reading a book handed out @ our dynamic parish for Christmas, Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. Very good so far. I'm also reading a BEAUTIFUL book on my Kindle App called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. So good. Beautifully written in an almost poetic style. Full of inspired wisdom from a modern, Christian-seeker mom. I put all my 2011 must-reads in our "library"...um, master bath, so they are always w/in reach.

In the kitchen...a gift subscription to "Clean Eating" from a new friend. Tried a new recipe from this month's tonight that was officially not. a. hit. Frustrating. I liked it but we all know that means it will never be made again.

I am (co-) creating...a chubby baby, spring school plans, go-to lists for when my husband is gone, that gift that I should just work on instead of writing about, more organized house. We still have boxes to unpack six months later but they are finally distributed from the holding space where the unimportant ones had collected.

On the Church calendar & in our home Church...Ordinary Time, the green growing time, as I tell the kids. We didn't do anything for Epiphany this year- no house blessing or King Cake or virtue selection. We were still recovering from travels & a family New Year's Eve party. We celebrate John Paul's feast day on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul later this month.

Happy 2011!

Pictures In Noir New Year's Card

Holiday cards personalized with your favorite photos.

View the entire collection of cards.

New Beginnings w/ Advent...or Where to find an Advent wreath?!

Better late than never.  A Dozen for Delight #1: Begin Anew with Advent.  Hi to any SH parents who may be reading and looking for ideas to live Advent as a family.  I've been wanting to post on Advent all week.  It is here and began last Sunday, Thanksgiving weekend.  After a fun Thanksgiving w/ family and a good Saturday working around the house, the kids and I had a quiet Sunday pulling out our Nativities and making our Advent wreath.  I keep my decorating to a minimum until the 3rd Sun of Advent when we usually put up our Christmas tree and the other typical red/green decorations. 

Until then, we have several Nativities throughout the house (the kids have fun choosing which ones they want in their room each year), including the big one that goes on our family altar, again without Jesus until Christmas or the 3 Kings until Feast of the Epiphany.  (The kids also have fun moving the 3 Kings around the house each Sunday on their "journey" to the Christ Child.)

I cut evergreen branches from a bush we have in our backyard and put them throughout the house w/ a lot of our sacred art, including here on the nature side of our family altar.   I also used it to make our Advent wreath this year.

For anyone just beginning to use an Advent wreath, it's a  simple, beautiful symbol of the waiting of Advent.  We light one new candle each Sunday, also lighting the candle(s) of the previous week(s).  The pink candle is the one for the third Sunday of Advent, also called Gaudete Sunday, which marks the halfway point.  Liturgically, pink is seen as a joyful color and we use it to say "We're almost there.  He's almost here!"  Until this year, I've always used a metal wreath that uses taper-style candles but mine has gotten covered w/ wax.  Lots of different Advent wreaths can be purchased here, from Autom.

We had a lot of fun crafting the week before Thanksgiving.  The kids made the figure of Isaiah above and another of Micah below, as well as the Angel Gabriel & Mary and, at the bottom w/ Mary, Elizabeth.  We'll use these on the Sundays- first two of the prophecies of Christ's birth (Isaiah 9:1 & Micah 5:2), then the stories of the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) and Visitation (Luke 1: 39-45), in that order.  Each night during the week, we light the week's candle(s), repeat that Sunday's wreath scriptures, and sing the refrain of "O Come Emmanuel," with the lights out.  The darkness really gets Mark's attention and he is usually (same as mentioned above) very interested.  This is a modified Catechesis of the Good Shepard approach to celebrating Advent with children found in a little book called "Home Catechesis" that I found from this family business: Our Father's House,  although I could not find it just now!?  This could be a fun Sunday craft to go along w/ reading the prophecies or narratives from Scripture.  It's never too late to start, especially this year since Advent's first Sunday fell so close to Thanksgiving and many families were probably still traveling.

I finally worked on our Catechesis space in our school room, too.  The big boys have actually set up the prayer table several times using the Advent purple cloths, candles, and prophecies (same ones as mentioned above) prayer cards.  I'm sure it has more to do w/ the fact that I let them light the candle themselves than any new enthusiasm about prayer!  :) 

In the middle is our Playmobile Nativity,  which even the big boys still love. (I'm sure that can easily be found on-line by googling Playmobil- they have so many excellent building sets.)  I love that Mark has been fascinated and very gentle with it when he plays/works w/ it.  On the bottom is an image & book of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast day of Dec 12 falls on a Sunday this year.  We'll probably watch our video on her and feast on Mexican food (nothing too special in this house!) on the 9th of Dec which is the feast of her beloved Juan Diego.

*Edited to correct some typas (ha, ha) and add some additional info on how we use the wreath each day, for all those readers with questions.  (Man, I'm hilarious tonight.)

Let's Begin "A Dozen for Delight" at the end... #9 & #12.

So, I will do my best to work through the entire list during the liturgical year.  Today I want to start by posting some pics of our family altar, including our All Saint's Day altar.

9.  "Make a FAMILY ALTAR or PRAYER TABLE..."
I use the mantle over our fireplace as our family altar right now.  During Ordinary Time, our altar is often somewhat bare b/c our fireplace is of a huge, southwestern variety.  We've just started using one side as a nature display.  The boys collected leaves and pine cones for that side last week.  I've been so excited to discover this part of Texas does have a fall season, relatively speaking!  :)  Mark added those pine cones at the bottom when we were working on it b/c that is where he could reach.  And he must always do things
all. by. himself.

During Advent and Lent, I usually keep our wreath and Lenten centerpiece on the dining room table b/c then we see them even more often and they become a focal point for the season; so, the Advent wreath is not headed to our mantle altar but the Nativity Scene will go there, without Baby Jesus, who will arrive on Christmas morning, and the 3 Kings, who will arrive on the Feast of Epiphany.

This is a close up of the current right-side of our family altar, remnants of the Feast of Saints Day.  The big crucifix is from our pilgrimmage to Mexico City to see the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The statue of the Blessed Mother is Our Lady of the Atonement, patroness of the big boys' incredible Catholic school when we lived in San Antonio.  The crucifix and statue of the BVM always stay on the altar.  Also, I often keep a cloth and candle of the color of the liturgical season on our altar, too.  We're wrapping up Ordinary Time so the cloth and candle are green, w/ a fallish design on the candle holder.  (Catechesis of the Good Shepard materials call for a prayer cloth that covers your kid-accessible prayer table, but we've moved to this high family altar and I drape or somehow arrange the cloths now b/c they really are too small for the new space.  I'm working on gathering some CGS materials accessible to all the boys at our low prayer table in our school room but it will be more a CGS work space, w/ this remaining as the family prayer space/altar.)

12. "Round out your celebration of Halloween w/ the FEASTS OF ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS." 

So, for the Feast of All Saints, I borrowed an idea I read on Elizabeth Foss' blog to gather all the images of our family patrons on our family altar.  Now, we don't all have icons of our name or patron saints yet and this is one reason I wanted to start this series of posts at the end of my "Dozen for Delight" list.  I thought you may not have them either but we can work on collecting them throughout the next liturgical year.  The icon of St. Catherine of Siena, my patroness, was a gift to me from my mother-in-law and she purchased it here: http://www.monasteryicons.com/.  I think it is beautiful and I have already ordered a few more from there for Feast of St. Nick and Christmas gifts this year.  The small icon on the right above is, I believe, a true Orthodox icon and was bought for Jude on his Baptism by a special friend of mine from law school who is Greek Orthodox.  That should have gotten me started on icon collecting earlier!  John Paul chose that photo of Pope JP the Great from a calendar we have and I plan to have it mounted on foam board as his patron image.

Costumes of saints is another, more fun way for the kids to celebrate All Saint's Day.  This could be as easy as adding saint-costume-friendly dress-up supplies to your collection and encouraging the kids to use them often, especially on the Feast of All Saints.  I am not a seamstress and I have not made my children special saint costumes, on top of gathering Halloween costumes, except for those years that we've belonged to a school or parish that celebrates w/ costumes.

Finally, we end our celebration of All Saints w/ a Litany of the the Saints.  This year I wrote a Litany of Our Family Patrons.  To ask the saints to pray for us, the prayer can be as simple as the parent naming the saint and the rest of the family responding with "Pray for us!"

Pics of Mary Constance at 3 mos.

On Thursday, Mary was 3 months!  To celebrate she had a bath & got all dressed up in a precious new outfit I love, complete w/ headband &

fur-lined booties.  She looks sweet in pink but I like her best in blue in honor of her heavenly namesake (as opposed to family members she's also named after) & b/c her eyes are still blue...

A Dozen for Delight: 12 Ideas for Living Joyful Family Life Through Out the Church Year

Note: This handout I wrote is going out to our 2nd grade faith formation class and others at our parish in the next week.  Welcome to any new readers from SH parish!  I will blog on these ideas in more detail, including some links for materials to do them throughout the next liturgical year.  Feel free to use the comments here on the blog for any questions or to add your own best ideas!

1. Begin anew w/ Advent, the beginning of the Church liturgical year. Use an ADVENT WREATH to mark the 4 weeks of waiting. Even wait to put up your Christmas Tree until the 3rd Sun of Advent, marked by the pink/joyful candle. Then celebrate all 8 days of Christmas.

2. Leave Baby Jesus out of your family NATIVITY SET until Christmas morning. And the three kings as well! Have the kids move the kings around the house & gradually closer to your manger scene to symbolize their journey, finally arriving on their feast day, Epiphany (2nd Sun after).

3. Celebrate the anniversary of your child's BAPTISM DAY w/ a white dessert. Light her Baptismal Candle & look at photos. Remind her that she is a beloved child of God created w/ a unique mission of love & service for Him & others. What can she do this month to serve in a way only she can?

4. Use a LENTEN CENTERPIECE, such as a homemade desert scene, for a visual reminder of the season (like the Advent wreath & nativity set for Christmas). "Undecorate" the house for this season of more sacrificial waiting, including draping purple cloths in appropriate places- such as over the TV, if this is something given up during Lent- and stripping surfaces of clutter & excess.

5. Be sure to link EASTER BASKETS to the Resurrection of Jesus w/ spiritual treats & treasures.

6. Everyone loves (St) Valentine's Day & St Pat's Day- wearing red & green, eating treats, even giving little gifts. Do the same for other FEAST DAYS throughout the year, especially feast days of family patrons, such as those after whom members are named, or any saint your child especially likes. Make a unique dinner related to the saint or just have any favorite dessert to celebrate. Talk about that saint's life & example. Use a Catholic calendar to find the feast dates of saints.

7. May is the month of MARY. Join in the parish May Crowning. Say a decade of the Rosary on Sundays or everyday this month. Add some religious art to your home by hanging an image of Mary.

(She’s a powerful friend. What adult doesn't still need and want their mommy sometimes?)

8. Celebrate the feast day of our parish, the FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS on June 11. Write Fr. Hoa a note thanking him for all he does (or send an e-mail or voicemail). Add some more religious art to your home by hanging an image of the Sacred Heart.

9. Make a FAMILY ALTAR or PRAYER TABLE on or near your meal table or in another quieter spot where you can gather to pray regularly. Use liturgical colors to mark the seasons of the Church: purple for the Advent & Lenten seasons of waiting & preparing, white for the great feasts of Christ- Christmas & Easter, red for feasts of martyrs & the day marking the descent of the Holy Spirit called Pentecost (May 23), and green for the growth-filled Ordinary Time between these seasons & feasts. Keep a Bible there, as well as a candle.

10. Don't take a break from Sunday Mass over the summer just because faith formation classes are over! Use the extra time to MAKE EACH SUNDAY A MINI-EASTER w/ a family dinner & time for family fun. Pre-read the Sun Mass readings. Many special Sundays fall during the summer.

11. BLESS YOUR CHILD w/ words & by making the Sign of the Cross on his forehead at bedtime and on special days, such as the first day of school.

12. Round out your celebration Halloween w/ the FEASTS OF ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS.

Mary, Mark, & Afghanistan update

MARK- Maniac Mark has been busy learning to build w/ LEGOs &, of course, w/ trains.  He was a train conductor for Halloween.  He is so independent & outgoing, he asks everyone who comes to the house to read to him (Anxious mom asks herself: Am I not reading enough to him???), including some dear friends from SA who made a surprise visit for Jude's b-day.

MARY- Little Miss will be 3 months on the 18th!  Her cheeks are chubbing up very nicely.  Here she is w/ her great grandmother, the original Mary Constance.

AFGHANISTAN- We think that he's moved from a small chance of staying home to a small chance of going, due to his back/hip issue, giving him time to heal up b/f he does go.  Obviously he's on the short list...