January 31, 2009 at 1:49 pm (Children, Family)
It’s been a while since I’ve had a baby in the house (four years to be exact). It wasn’t long after Peyton’s mom and dad left that I realized just how much I’d forgotten about babies.
How quickly you forget…
…that your house becomes an obstacle course full of baby contraptions (i.e. high chairs, play pens, toys, toys and more toys) ready to trip you up at a moment’s notice.
…what it’s like to carry a basket of laundry on one hip, a baby on the other while talking on the phone and maneuvering through said obstacle course (that really should be an Olympic sport).
…how hard it is make dinner, do dishes, pay bills or really do anything productive when you have a baby clinging to your ankle.
…the creativity and dexterity needed to change the diaper of a child who is constantly trying to flip over and crawl away (not an Olympic sport but definitely a challenge)
…how everything revolves around naptimes and meals
Funny how you forget these things. Probably has something to do with what you remember the most…
…how it feels to hold a little one in your arms
…the sweet smell of a baby’s head (not sure why it smells so good but it does)
…what it’s like to rock a little one to sleep
…the way babies always look happy to see you when they wake up from a nap (I’m sure it has more to do with the fact that you’re going to free them from the crib and feed them, but it sure feels good to be greeted with such enthusiasm)
…the absolute miracle and gift of life
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January 30, 2009 at 4:50 pm (Family, Friends)
We have a couple of house guests this weekend.
Remember those two little boys who invited Claire and Ella over for a playdate last week? Well, their mom and dad have set sail on a cruise and the boys are staying with us while their parents enjoy a belated celebration of my girlfriend’s 40th birthday. The cruise was booked over year ago which is when we happily offered to have Cameron, their only child at the time, stay with us. However, before they could take that cruise a better birthday surprise came up– a precious baby boy was about to be born and needed a family. My friend and her husband had been praying for God to bring another child into their lives and were thrilled when they found out this baby would be theirs. The timing of the adoption meant delaying their cruise. Fast forward a year and here I am with not just one adorable boy but two. For the next four days I get to enjoy the chaos and fun of loving and managing two extremely excited girls, one very energetic boy and a curious crawling baby.
[Note: I've already thrown up a few prayer requests to the patron saints of patience and endurance. I'm gonna' need all the help I can get! :-) ]
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January 29, 2009 at 7:36 pm (Grace, Jesus, Prayer, Surrendering)
Stop trying to map out the future in your mind. Rest in the moment. Rest in the now. Push away the burdens and create the space to be at peace. Push them away not with might and strength but with a patient waiting that will eventually bear the fruit of contentment in the here and now. Be content no matter the circumstances and somehow the circumstances will seem less suffocating, less overwhelming.
Do not grasp for easy answers, for solutions to your problems. Stop grasping. Instead fold your hands in prayer and find within your core the presence of Christ. Seat yourself in him, with him. Stay and rest with him. And when you find yourself tempted to grasp for answers bring you hands back, fold them and pray. Bring your heart and head back to that place where Christ resides within. But be careful in that place. Do not expect to find all the answers there. Jesus is not as much about giving easy answers as he is about giving his presence, giving his life, giving his grace.
His presence, his life, his grace…these are all the answers you need.
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January 27, 2009 at 1:52 pm (Holiness, Jesus, Love)
The blood of Christ reveals God’s gracious will, which neither wants nor seeks anything but that we be made holy. Whatever he gives or permits is given out of love so that we may be made holy in him. This is how the truth is fulfilled.
St. Catherine of Siena
Your will for me God is holiness–that is, for me to love like you. So, whatever comes my way, whether it be good, bad or even tragic, help me to accept it as a means to that end. Let my heart always be prepared to love no matter the circumstance, no matter the cost. Give me eyes that see this eternal purpose in each situation I encounter today and give me the grace to follow the way of love through obedient faith. Amen.
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January 21, 2009 at 8:32 pm (Family, home schooling)
Scene: After spending the morning at the airport on a field trip with our co-op we returned home to finish our school work. We’re sitting at our big kitchen/living room island – the hub of our home where we do most of our schoolwork, eat most of our meals, create works of art with crayons and socialize with our friends.
Ella is working on her handwriting. I’m at my computer doing something really important like reading a blog or checking out status updates on Facebook (which is what I do when I’m procrastinating some unpleasant chore I need to accomplish). Claire is sitting with her math book open while she stares at the ceiling and daydreams.
Me: Claire, you need to finish those two pages before you can go out and skate with your sister.
Claire: I know.
[Ten minutes pass. Ella is done with her handwriting. I'm still reading that blog and Claire is still procrastinating. I don't know where she gets it from.]
Me: Claire, you’ve done two problems in the last ten minutes. Do you think you can finish before dinner tonight?
Claire: Uh, huh.
Ella: Come on Claire, finish so we can play.
Me: Sounds like a good suggestion Ella.
[Ten more minutes pass. I'm finally done procrastinating and I'm in the kitchen prepping dinner. Claire is still procrastinating.]
Me: Claire…
Claire: I know, I know. I need to finish my math.
[Long pause that includes some very dramatic sighs from Claire. Not sure where that dramatic gene comes from. Must be from her expressive father.]
Claire: Mom?
Me: Yes Claire.
Claire (in her most serious of voices): God told me that you shouldn’t make me do math anymore.
Grrreeeaaat!
My seven year old daughter is now a prophet. I can only imagine the things God is going to tell her when she hits her teens.
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January 19, 2009 at 12:07 am (Love, sacrifice)
What I’m thinking about today…
True love always comes with the ability to renounce self.
It comes with the ability to sacrifice.
And then that sacrifice becomes concrete love.
-Mother Elvira Petrozzi
Concrete Love
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January 16, 2009 at 1:31 pm (Friendship)
The following email message was waiting for me this morning.
Claire and Ella are cordially invited to a play date and sleepover at our home next Thursday…their “limo” (aka Envoy) will arrive around 3pm in the afternoon on Thursday and will deliver them back home on Friday after lunch. We will not take NO for an answer…they are being personally summoned by 2 cute little boys who want a play date, and their mommy who wants to give her sweet friend some quiet time. This is on the calendar in ink so we pray it works for their busy schedule!! =)
Now, you men may not get just how much a gesture like this means but most of the moms I know do. And rest assured fellow moms, I know just how blessed I am to have a friend like this.
I know there are moms out there who live far from family and close friends and they wish they had someone like this in their life. Just the other day one of the mom’s at the Wellness Center was lamenting over the fact that one of her closest friends is moving up north.
Friends who know you and know when and how to reach into your life with acts of love like these are not always easy to find. Friendships like these take time and effort to cultivate which is why this gesture means so much. Yes, I’ll love having some quiet time for myself next week. But, what I value even more is my friend and the fact that she’d sacrifice her time and energy for me. Not surprisingly, in the ten years that I’ve known her, this friend has taught me a lot about true friendship.
Today I pray for all those moms out there who need a friend like this in their lives. And more importantly, I pray that you, Lord, will show them and me how to be a friend like this for someone else.
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
Note: Those 2 cute boys are 4 years and 10 months old. I’ll take advantage of the sleepovers now because when those boys get older and Claire and Ella begin to think they’re cute the sleepovers will cease 
.
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January 14, 2009 at 7:03 pm (Family, Parenting, home schooling)
When you home school and your kid finally learns to read and begins spelling there’s a certain pleasure you take in hearing them read a book and watching them write sentences on their own. The “experts” tell you how great it is when your child starts to become an independent reader. But, there’s something they don’t tell you about the joy of spelling…
Claire has hit that stage in her schooling where she is excited about her new found ability to spell. So excited, in fact, that she’s going through this phase of spelling everything. And I do mean everything. We’re not just talking about reading a word on a sign and repeating the letters. No, we’re talking about spelling out full sentences in every conversation. You may be thinking, well, what’s so bad about that? Ha, let me show you…
Claire: M………o………..m………w……….h………a……….t………a……..r…..e…………..y……..o……………u……m……….a……….k………i….n…..g……f…..o….r…..d…..i….n…..n…e…..r….t….o….n….i….g….h……t?
Me: (Standing at the stove listening carefully, trying to decipher exactly what she is asking because there are long pauses between letters in the middle of her words): I’m making shrimp corn chowder Claire.
Claire: c…..a……..n……..I ………h…a…v…e……..s….o……m…….e……b………….r………e………a…..d…….w….i…..
t……….h……i……..t?
Me: Yes (I think? She asked for bread, right?).
Claire: c…………a……………….n………..I……………h……………..a………..v……..e………….s………..o…………….m…………
.e…………s……..a………l……..a…………..d…….t……o……o?
Get the picture?
You think it’s painful to read a few sentences like that? Imagine having a conversation with a 7 year old and listening to the painfully slow process of her spelling out each and every word. Yes, the first few times it was cute and she garnered much praise for her new found spelling skills. But now. Well, now I’m just hoping this phase willl end soon.
I…….a…………m……..n……..o…………t……….s………u………..r……..e………I……c…….a……….n………t……..a…….k…….e……..m…….u…….c……h……m….o….r…e…..o……f…..i….t! 
.
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January 13, 2009 at 11:52 pm (Carrying your cross, new year resolutions)
Here’s a different approach to making new year resolutions…
Ask our Lord to show you the cross he wants you to carry this year. Carry it lovingly, faithfully, and generously.
-Saint Bernadette
“…anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:38-39
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January 10, 2009 at 8:23 pm (Family, Friends)
This weekend we’ve got Anna. She’s staying with us for the whole weekend. The girls are beyond excited! When I told them she was coming they ran around the house screaming we’ve got Anna, we’ve got Anna!
So just who is this Anna?
Anna is a part of the JMJ Catholic Home School Co-op. (JMJ is a group of families striving to live and love like the Holy Family, hence the name JMJ which stands for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.) Anna’s mom and I met in the co-op. I instantly had a connection with her; she’s a convert to the Catholic faith too. She has a great story to tell about being a evangelical protestant working at Franciscan (Catholic) University but it has nothing to do with this post so I’ll move on.
At the time that I met Anna, Sarah had just moved away to attend college and I was looking for a good babysitter so I checked her out at once. Funny thing is, she was checking out my girls as well. Turns out she saw them at daily mass one day and told her mom she’d like to babysit them (must have been one of the rare times Ella was behaving in mass ). Next thing you know Anna is one of our favorite babysitters.
Anna is the closet thing to a “Sarah” that we could find. Actually, she reminds me a lot of Sarah. They were both the same age when they started watching the girls. Both are athletic. And they both come from great families. Now let me say that no one could ever replace Sarah. Sarah will forever be our Sarah. But Anna is by no means second best. We really adore her. It’s kind of like when you have one child and then God gives you a second. The love just keeps growing. In my opinion our family is blessed by God with both of these young women. [Note: The whole second child thing is just an analogy. I'm not really old enough to be their mom ]
One of things we love about these ladies is how they love Claire and Ella. They just don’t “babysit.” When they come it’s not just a way to pass time or make a few bucks. They really love on our girls. And I don’t care what you tell me, that’s something money can’t buy nor the convenience of on-call childcare can make up for. There’s a peace of mind that comes when you know you’re leaving your kids with someone who genuinely loves them. So, if I’m honest we first fell in love with both of them because they fell in love with our kids. Kind of reminds me of that Bible verse that says we love God because He first loved us. The way God’s love flows so freely through them says a lot about who they are.
While Sarah and Anna are different in some ways (Sarah is more of an introvert and Anna is more of extrovert) there are similarities between the two that I really appreciate. Both are independent thinkers; they’re not the kind of girls who just follow the crowd. They’re ”down to earth” and real. And both love God with all their hearts. They’re the kind of young women I want my girls to admire. Not surprisingly I really like both of their moms. Who Sarah and Anna are speaks volumes about their parents.
You may be wondering how it came to be that Anna is staying with us this weekend. Her mom and dad are celebrating their 20th anniversary on the beach and Anna opted for a weekend with us instead of hanging with her brothers. We’re flattered that she wanted to stay with us. The girls were so excited she was coming that they made her a cake and put cards next to her bed to welcome her.
We’re really enjoying Anna’s presence this weekend. We have to return her to her family tomorrow. We’re gonna’ hate to see her go but I have a feeling we can twist her arm and she’ll come back again.
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