Chez Ouiz

Anyone else...

2012-01-08T22:55:00.002-05:00

... glued to the TV this evening to watch Downton Abbey?

Oh, hallelujah!

2012-01-02T14:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you find a product that just seems to answer all those unspoken longings of the heart... and dare I say it? I think I found mine:

The Rubbermaid Reveal mop.

How does this answer all my deepest desires? Well, it doesn't... but it certainly makes my job a lot easier!

I have one of those other mops -- you know, the kind that requires pads and refill bottles and such. My husband was able to rig the top of the bottle so that I could pour my own cleaning solution in there, but it was a rather messy endeavor, and I still had those nasty pads to contend with.

This mop seems to have been developed by someone who actually USES a mop on a regular basis. For instance --

-- it comes with a bottle so that you can put your own solution in;
-- it has washable microfiber pads... and not just one, but TWO, so that you can have one at all times;
-- the pad is much bigger, so cleaning the floor takes less time; and finally
-- it doesn't require batteries!

THANK YOU! Thank you, Rubbermaid, for coming up with a mop that addresses all the complaints I had with my other mop!

There is a $4 coupon floating around out there as well, so you can pick up one of these for about $21. Some of the reviews I've seen said that it stopped working after 3-4 months, but I'm hoping that's just a fluke.

For now, however, I am so happy to have a mop that works!

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T17:44:00.000-05:00

May God bless us and keep us;
May He make His face shine upon us;
May the Lord be gracious to us and grant us His peace.

Happy New Year! May 2012 be a year of peace, joy, and blessing for all!

I am not one to make resolutions. I wish I were stronger in character so that I could make them (and stick with them!), but so far that hasn't been the case.

BUT, since my brother was here and asked me what mine WOULD be if I were to make them, here's my list:

Offer to God the first 10 minutes of every day.
Speak (and yell) less and listen more.
Continue the task of purging the clutter from my life.
Take time to be creative.

Anyone have any they'd like to share?

Quote Journal

2011-12-29T13:10:00.000-05:00

I have been keeping a quote journal since 2006, when I read that many of the great thinkers in the past several hundred years did so -- not that I think I'm a great thinker, of course, but I realized that this was a fantastic idea. Too often I find myself trying to remember some quote from "some book I read... written by someone...", which is completely useless.

With the possibility of googling just about any quote I'm trying to remember, a quote journal may seem silly.

But it's not.

I find myself going back through it, and being inspired again by thoughts and passages that I wrote down years ago.

So, in the spirit of Julie from Happy Catholic (who has kept a quote journal for many years and does a much better job of it than I do!), I offer my first installment from my journal -- a quote I came back to over and over again when my father-in-law was battling brain cancer:

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"Souls are like athletes, that need opponents worthy of them, if they are to be tried and extended and pushed to the full use of their powers, and rewarded according to their capacity. My father was in a fight with this tumor, and none of us understood the battle. We thought he was done for, but it was making him great."
--Thomas Merton, The Seven-Storey Mountain
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Pinch me! I'm dreaming!

2011-12-27T14:17:00.000-05:00

Can it be that I actually have some time to sit down and blog? Wow!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas -- we certainly did! I had the joy of seeing my parents and my sister (and got to talk to my brothers), which made it a joyous time right off the bat.

Unfortunately, the only "down side" to it all was... can I say this?... Christmas Eve Mass. We had to go to the children's Mass, which is always a disaster -- not because of the music, or anything like that.

It's me.
I can't handle distractions well.
(go ahead... laugh at the lady with 8 kids! You see why this is my path to holiness...)

While my heart cried out to focus on the birth of my Savior, the rest of me couldn't help but be distracted by all the kids who figetted, squirmed, squawked, cried, stage whispered, and danced around me. God have mercy on me, but I just can't take it.

I try to show grace and offer it up... I really do... but after awhile I'm shooting "death looks" at the parents and begging them inwardly to TAKE THEIR CHILD TO THE CRY ROOM.

I was in tears by the time the Consecration rolled around.

Next year we're skipping the children's Mass and going to Midnight Mass.

OK, now that I've gotten that awful confession out of the way, I'll move on.

To focus on the positive side, here's some of my favorite gifts:

My faith. No, I'm not just trying to sound all "holier than thou" so that someone may be impressed. I am grateful beyond all telling for the ways that the Lord has led me so far.

My family (my husband was off to the side talking to a friend, so he didn't make it in the picture. Trust me, though... I'm thankful for him, too! *grin*) We are all healthy, well-fed, well-cared for, and I'm so thankful.

And yet on top of that, I have material things to be thankful for, such as:

My new pump pot. I know that sounds a bit odd, so let me 'splain. My husband, dear man that he is, makes me a pot full of (decaf) tea every morning. It has now become a joke in our house that I know he loves me because he "made tea this morning." As long as there's tea in there, I know we're good for another day. *grin* On those rare occasions when I've run out of tea bags, he'll leave me a note that says, "I still love you, but I couldn't make you tea today."

ANYWAY, my old pump pot was good, but this one ROCKS! It only requires one pump to fill up the entire mug, the tea bags don't get stuck around the pipe that sits down in the carafe, AND... get this... the tea is still piping hot 17 HOURS later! Wow! For this northern chick who has been raised with the belief that a good hot cup of tea is the cure for all ills, this present is amazing!

Books, books, and more books. As long as I have a stack of books to read, I am a happy camper! (this isn't all the books I received... these are just the ones on my desk at the moment...)

My St. Anthony medal. Seeing as he is now our official (by popular acclaim) patron saint here at Chez Ouiz, I am thrilled to have a medal to wear!

This chair. No, we didn't buy it. A friend got two of them at a yard sale for $5 (total), and after a few months the thin fabric gave up the ghost, and it was in tatters. I wanted to chuck 'em out to the curb, but my husband wanted to keep them because they were so comfortable. Being the amazing man that he is, he managed to take them apart piece by piece and figured out how to put them back together. My job was to take the pieces he took off and figure out how to duplicate it with the new fabric. We now have two ridiculously comfortable chairs -- whoo hoo!

The final gift I want to mention is also in the picture above. See that fuzzy little munchkin off to the side? We've had her for over a month or so, and she is an answer to prayer (although a frustrating answer, to be sure!)

A dear friend of mine got a Havanese several years ago, and I just fell in love with the dog -- pretty amazing for me, because I am NOT a dog person, and especially not a "little dog" person. However, her dog was so cute and friendly I found myself reluctantly warming up to her. This same friend bought a second Havanese two years later, and sent me a picture saying, "whenever you guys are looking for a new dog, you should get one of these!" Well, there's no way we could ever afford one, but one night I found myself sitting at the computer, looking at the picture, and just tossed up a quick prayer: "Lord, You know how much we've struggled with (our current dog) and how I'm finding myself irresistably drawn to Havanese for some bizarre reason. We couldn't afford one, but if You ever want to drop one in our lap, I'll take it!"

Well, 3 weeks later, my friend calls me. She and her family decided that they were a one-dog family, and were going to send this puppy back to the breeder.... unless we wanted her.

Of all the prayers I have ever uttered, and all the answers I have ever received, this one shocked me the most.

"Wait... wait a minute, Lord... did You actually just drop a Havanese into my lap?"

Yes, He did.

Off to work on the many crafting/organizing projects I have swirling around in my head!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T23:24:00.000-05:00

Wishing all of you a very blessed and joyous Christmas!

I hope to begin blogging again now that the Fall Semester is over, presents have been bought and wrapped, cookies have been baked, and life (perhaps?) will slow down just a bit....

May the Lord bless you all!

He still keeps me laughing

2011-10-30T12:55:00.000-05:00

I got back to the car after making the standard "newspapers and doughnuts" run through the grocery store. I was tired after holding the baby at Mass/Sunday School for over two hours, and I was ready to get home.

As I was reaching out to open my door, I saw my husband taking Grace out of the car.

He looked at me with sympathy, and then said, "I'm so sorry, but Grace really has to go to the bathroom."

Ugh. Going back in there was the LAST thing I wanted to do... especially since she had taken her shoes off, and I was going to have to carry her all the way to the back of the store.

As I was walking away my husband called out across the parking lot cheerily:

"Offer it up!.... Offer it up for all those who are incontinent!"

Needless to say, I laughed all the way to the back of the store.

2011-10-24T20:51:00.000-05:00

Ah, with the weather turning cooler here in South Carolina, our thoughts here at Chez Ouiz turn to hearty stews, fuzzy sweaters, mugs of hot tea, and...

acorn people.

You know how certain things just "stick" with your children, and without realizing it you made a new tradition? Well, it's been that way with us and acorn people.

These are just two that I could grab rather quickly in the kitchen, but trust me -- these little guys are everywhere! I find them looking down from the shelf as I'm folding laundry, or sitting on the counter as I'm cooking supper, or nestled among the fall decorations.

I showed the kids how to make little dolls out of wooden balls, pipe cleaners, felt, and acorn hats about five years ago, and it was an instant hit. No sooner does all the swimming gear get put away then I am asked, "When are we going to make acorn people this year?"

I begged them to at least hold off until after all the birthdays were over... and so we had a great time pulling out all the stuff this past Friday and spending a cold, blustery afternoon making all sorts of little guys. I am amazed at the creativity they put into them, year after year... and I hope that this is the sort of thing they remember about their childhoods -- the little traditions that make up our family life.

Is This Thing On?

2011-10-23T23:32:00.000-05:00

I know. I know. Again, I've let a month go by without posting. Heck, I haven't even read much in the blogging world over the past month! I have NOT been idle, however.

Weekend Wrap-Up

1. We have survived another round of October birthdays, and may I say that I don't want to see cake ANY time in the foreseeable future. Five of my children have birthdays in October... and three of them have their birthdays in the SAME WEEK. We don't do big parties here -- can anyone blame me? I do want to honor each person with their own special day with their own special cake and their choice of dinner (and presents, of course!), but other than that I really can't picture making October even MORE stressful by adding birthday parties to the mix. Add another 10 days to the mix to factor in the time it takes to shop and plan for each child's birthday, and you can see that 15 of the 24 days that have gone by have involved birthday preparations of some sort.

2. I am still leading a Bible study every other week. This time around we are going through the book Catholicism for Dummies, which is extremely good, despite its title. We realized that a refresher course on the basics would be good for all of us, so off we go! We're also going to be watching the Catholicism series by Fr. Robert Barron. I realize that so many of you good people are getting to watch this on PBS, but for some reason the great state of South Carolina decided that we really didn't need to see it. Not to be deterred, our group decided to just buy it ourselves! Sometimes you just need something beautiful to remind you yet again why you're doing what you're doing and Who you are doing it for...

3. For more of a "pick-me-up," I've been reading conversion stories at the Defenders of the Faith blog. Wow! There are some amazing stories out there, and just seeing all the various ways Our Lord goes about bringing people in just thrills me. It's made me look back at my own life with great thankfulness as well, as I can see all the various twists and turns along the way, and how He has been guiding me the whole time.

4. Homeschooling is going very well, and so far I've managed to make it with God's grace through 13 weeks without feeling burned out or resentful. For those who may not know, I spent 7 years using Mother of Divine Grace as a sort of suggestion, while trying to create this amazing history and science program that would somehow cover ALL my children, so that we could learn together as a family.

It didn't work.

It's a beautiful idea, and one that works well when kids are close in age (like my 3 oldest are). When more kids entered the picture, and the range of ages began to spread further apart, I could no longer hold it together.

When I was (very) pregnant with Joseph, I poured it all out to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I was tired and overwhelmed at the thought of trying to teach 6 children while dealing with a toddler and a newborn. What was I supposed to do? The answer that I believe I got was this: Teach them all separately. I started laughing, and I said, "That's either the craziest idea I've ever had, or that just came from You."

Since I had no other options, I decided to give it a try. We were going to do Mother of Divine Grace by the book (since I was too burned out to try to create anything on my own) and everyone was going to have his own history/catechism/science program to do.

Amazingly, it has worked, and worked WELL. Two years into the "great experiment" and we're still going strong! Praise God!

That's just a quick wrap up of the entire month of October here at Chez Ouiz!

It pays to homeschool!

2011-09-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

So I don't miss moments like this...

Christopher was sitting at the table, working on his math lesson, when he put his pencil down, looked at me like he had been really pondering something special, and then said --

"Ya know, Mom, if I had a pet dung beetle, I'd think Sisyphus would be a good name for him."

[it took me several minutes before I could stop laughing....]

Where We Were

2011-09-11T14:21:00.000-05:00

All the week before my son Sean, then 3 yrs old, had been asking me:

"Mommy, what would happen if a plane flew into a building?"

It was an odd question that came out of the blue, and haunted him all week long. Sean has always been a kid that needed to know the why's and how's of everything, and that week, that was the question that he wouldn't drop. I did my best to explain how something like that was very rare, but would be very devastating if it DID happen. I wondered why on earth he would even be thinking of such a question -- after all, he wasn't normally fascinated by planes, and we never watched anything other than PBS kids' shows, so he wouldn't have seen horrible images from the news...

On the morning of 9-11, we were in my bedroom folding clothes and listening to the local Christian radio station. The DJ came on the air to ask all listening to pray about some "accident" that had happened at the WTC. Curious, I walked into the living room to see if there was anything about it on the news. As I turned on the TV I saw the Tower on fire. Sean came into the room and I held him close and said we needed to pray for the people in the accident.

"See, Sean? THIS is what happens when a plane hits a building. We need to be praying for all the people, baby..."

And at that moment, I saw on live TV the second plane slam into the building.

I fell to my knees, cradled Sean in one arm, Reilly (who was a toddler) in the other arm, and wrapped them both around my very pregnant tummy, and cried my eyes out for the people who were dying before my eyes... for my country, which would never be the same... and for my children, who would now be growing up in a world that was VERY different from the one I wanted for them.

May God have mercy on our nation.

The readings for today were extremely appropriate, weren't they?

Life with a Toddler

2011-08-31T08:18:00.000-05:00

Christopher was frustrated yesterday because he couldn't find the book he needed to do his Religion assignment.

"Mom! Have you seen my Baltimore Catechism?"
"It's on the shelf with the others."
"No it's not! I've been looking everywhere for it and I can't find it!"
"Did you look on any other shelves?"
"Yes! AND I looked in the living room AND I've asked all the other kids, and they can't find it either!"

So, everyone dropped what they were doing and went on a mad search to help Christopher find his catechism book. We looked everywhere, and it was no where to be found, it seemed.

A half-hour later, Christopher's exultant shouts of "I found it! I finally found it!" rang out.

It was in the bathtub.

Along with my shoes.

And the can opener.

Even with 8 children, I still forget that when the baby starts walking, stuff starts disappearing, and gets tucked away in strange, strange places.

Homeschooling Updates

2011-08-25T21:06:00.000-05:00

We are finishing up Week 4, and may I say that I am THRILLED with how everything has gone so far?

Yes, yes, I know that it's easy to say that in the beginning of the school year. The proof will be in the middle of February, when everyone is simply tired of the routine, the work, and the feeling that this will never end.

Still...

I have to say that even though I thought the idea of "teaching them all separately" was the craziest idea I had ever heard, I am now seeing the wisdom in that approach for my family. There are homeschooling moms out there who have a great gift for creating a curriculum that encompasses the various ages of their children, and turns every subject into this incredible family event -- I, sadly, am not one of those moms. I would *like* to be, but I have to recognize my limitations.

Has anyone else started their school year yet? If so, how is it going for you?

Alright, alright!

2011-08-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't blogged "in almost a month!"

It's true.

I have been bogged down with homeschooling planning and reading for quite some time now. I don't ever remember a time when I felt this unsure, this unprepared, and this inadequate for the task before me.

At the same time, I think that's a good thing.

Our homily this Sunday was on (of course) the miracle of the feeding of the 5000. Father B had a wonderful homily, in which the message came through to me loud and clear, in a way it never had before. The message was this: Andrew's "offering" of the 5 loaves and 2 fish that he had found was pretty much laughable. I don't mean that in a bad way -- it's just that when seeing the vast number of hungry people, that small amount of food wasn't going to cut it, and he knew it.

He offered it to the Lord anyway.

Jesus was able to take the little that Andrew gave him, and turn it into a meal capable of not only meeting the needs of those there, but filling 12 baskets of leftovers.

I have been trying to make my small resevoir of patience, stamina, and desire to homeschool meet the needs of my children (not consciously, but still...). It doesn't work. I don't have all that one would need to do this job. However...

...I can offer what little I have, and give all of it willingly, to Jesus, and He is more than able to multiply it miraculously so that it not only meets the needs of my children, but flows over abundantly.

For the past 8 days, that is exactly what He has done.

I have never felt quite so inadequate, and have never been quite so aware of the fact that yes, I'm giving everything I have, but that is NOT what is meeting the needs of my children. He is taking my natural abilities and inclinations, and increasing it in such a way that we have been able to homeschool in a much more relaxed manner (even when teaching six children... seven actually, since Grace wants to do it all... all while dealing with Joseph, who demands constant attention and is getting into EV-ER-Y-THING that he can get his hands on. Truly. From tearing the printer apart and throwing all my books on the floor to daily dumping the dog's water all over himself and the floor, Joseph is "Captain Destructo" from the word go...)

I am NOT a patient person, and for me to be able to deal with all this graciously and still enjoy my time with my children is proof positive that Jesus is extremely active in this household!

For any who may be curious as to what homeschooling looks like in our family of 10, I'll give you a quick peek. I tried last year to be much more regimented, and I think it backfired with my personality. I'm a "stick-to-the-rules-and-check-the-boxes" sort of person who can't handle being behind or off whatever schedule I've set up. That made last year very stressful for me in that I always felt like I was failing.

This year is much more relaxed. I realize we've only been doing this for 8 days, so the data points are few indeed, but still, it seems to be working so far...

7-8 am           breakfast, cleanup, dishwasher, beds made/get dressed/teeth and hair
8-8:30 am      whatever daily housecleaning chores are on the list, like bathrooms, scrubbing walls, etc
8:45 am          individual Bible reading for each child, followed by Morning Offering and Bible memory
9:00 am          Math for all, with me sitting down with Thomas (3rd grade) first to get him started
9:30 am          sit down with Marie (1st grade) for her entire list of subjects

Whenever any child is finished with math, or any other subject, they are to come to me so that I can check it immediately and have them make whatever corrections are necessary.

10:30 am       Marie is done, and I finish up whatever Thomas needs my help with on his other subjects

After that, it's first come, first served. I tend to go from youngest to oldest, trying to do all the "together with me" subjects first so that I can move on to the next child. We take a snack break at 10 am and try to do lunch around 12. After that it's a quick lunchtime cleanup, followed with more homeschooling for Reilly and Sean. I try to have both of them at the table so I can bounce back and forth between them. Sean and I usually finish around 3 pm with Henle Latin.

3:30 pm         Me -- fast cleanup, empty dishwasher (kids are finally outside!)
4:30 pm         Kids and I start supper (we alternate between boys' week and girls' week)
5:00 pm         Toy pick up; kitchen crew sets the table
6:00 pm         We eat
7:00 pm         Prayer and cleanup
8:30 pm         Joseph goes down to bed
9:00 pm         The rest of the crew goes to bed, although the older ones read/play games
9:30 pm         I made breakfast for the next day
10:30 pm       I wonder where the heck another day went! *grin*

It looks very regimented, but that's actually just the normal flow of the day. I'm not looking at the clock, barking out orders this time around... I have given myself permission, as it were, to spend the time with each child that he needs, which has made ALL the difference in the world. They have all said that this year is going better, and by God's grace, may it continue to be so!

STILL knee-deep!

2011-07-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

Homeschooling is going to be a MAJOR challenge for me this year. Prayers are flying Heavenward fast and furious, and I'm begging Him to show me how to manage my day and all the responsibilities will come with teaching my children this year. Yes, I'm still teaching 6 (with two "on the floor," as it were), but with Sean going into 8th grade this year, I need to make sure that he is where he needs to be so that he will be best prepared for high school -- which, at this moment, we are still planning on doing at home. There are some additional challenges with Marie (my 1st grader) which will need extra attention, and somewhere in there I need to make sure Thomas (3rd), Christopher (4th), Kathryn (6th), and Reilly (7th) also get the individual mom-time that they need.... AND somehow keep the house going, people fed, and spend time with my little ones so they remember who the heck I am! Joseph is on the brink of taking off at a dead run, so I am going to have to be extra vigilant with a very inquisitive little boy who is FAST!

All that is to say that I haven't had time for much blogging. I'm staring at a huge "to do" list that can't get done, a house that STILL isn't organized, and wondering why my brain can't just wrap itself around the stuff that needs to get done.

I praise God that this is the stuff He is choosing to use at this moment, and not something horribly tragic. I'd rather deal with frustration and feeling like I'm going under any day! Thankfully, with a full house, there's no end to the "little ways" of training me in holiness... if only I'd quit griping and start cooperating with the program!

In the meantime, I want to point out a blog that, if you haven't seen it, you need to: IHeart Organizing. Wow, this woman is talented! I love her style, her creativity, and the joy she gets out of making her home a place of peace and beauty. I need inspiration like this!

Another great source of inspiration is my yearly read, Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping. It never fails to lift my spirits and make me want to create a truly beautiful home for my family -- not with expensive things, but with calmness and a sense of order. I could have the nicest furniture in the world and still have a jumbled mess, or I can take what I already have and create the warmest, coziest home possible. When I have more time, I will have to tell you about our recent trip to my mother-in-law's cabin. She lives the life of Laura Ingalls... think Little House in the Big Woods, and you've seen her cabin. No electricity... no water... just water from the creek, a woodburning stove and a fireplace, and kerosene lamps for light.

Amazing, isn't it? She has managed to create a comfortable home out of simple things used well.

May God bless us all this week!

Knee Deep

2011-07-06T21:50:00.000-05:00

... in getting stuff ready for this year's homeschooling. It's a fun process, but it still takes up most of my free time. Right now I am reading Teaching Tips and Techniques from MODG. I have to go back, every year, and try to teach myself (again!) why I'm doing what I'm doing... why classical education is the style we've chosen... and what my end goal is. It is so easy to lose sight of this in mid-February, when complaints are high, the weather is cold outside, and there seems to be no end in sight!

In the meantime...

I gotta admit, I had never heard of Jamie Grace before today, but she is TALENTED. Wow! I wish I had a voice like hers!

What interested me in particular, however, is this song. I think there is much to be said for reverence, awe, and just plain ol' "remember Who you're talking to" when speaking of God. That said, however, I think that too often I forget about the JOY that should be in our lives as well. We've all heard over and over again that love isn't a feeling, but who among us wouldn't be hurt if we never saw that sparkle of delight in our spouse's eyes when we entered the room?

So God bless Jamie Grace for adding some of that joy and sparkle into the equation! I think it would be impossible to watch this video and not be captivated by the joy she exudes:

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-06-26T21:42:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to all of you who have been praying for me. It's been a rather emotional two weeks for me, and so I'm thankful to have people care enough to pray. Thank you.

1. I would also like to thank God (and St. Jude and St. Joseph for their intercession!) for two prayer requests that my husband and I had. Both situations are improving greatly, and it has taken a load off of our shoulders.

2. On a completely different note (and that's why these wrap-ups are so much fun. I don't have to come up with a creative segue from one topic to the next... just slap down a new number and off I go!), have you ever listened to those old time radio shows? My dad used to have us sit around the kitchen table in the dark and listen to mysteries like "Sorry, Wrong Number," or episodes of "The Shadow" so that we could get a taste of what it was like for him when he was a little boy.

Well, my brother came to visit recently, and left us several cds of some radio shows to listen to -- "The Sealed Book" and "The Whistler." Now, I must admit that I didn't know that they were going to be kind of "Twilight Zone" sort of creepy, so I felt really bad that I played it for my kids in the car; they, however, thought it was cool and have begged to listen to them every time we have to drive somewhere.

Now, creepiness (and the appropriateness of me letting my children listen to this) aside, I must say that the interesting part of listening to them is that they are all, deep down, morality plays. For example, in one episode, a woman was being blackmailed for a horrible secret in her past, and she just couldn't let it get out. As the story continued, I heard one of my children proclaim from the back seat, "You know, if she just went to confession, this whole thing would be over, and everything would be OK." EXACTLY! We have had the most wonderful conversations because of these shows, talking about the need for repentance, the glamor of evil, the importance of living our lives for God, and that our sins will ALWAYS find us out.

3. Scrapbooking. Finally getting started again. Maybe one of these years, I'll actually go back and fill in something about Kathryn's birth (over 10 years ago)... or any other children born since then. I've got good intentions, but it seems that either I don't have the pictures ready, or not enough pages in the albums (my problem right now), or I run out of ink in the printer. Still, I managed to do 5 2-page spreads last night, and my family enjoyed looking at them today.

My husband is so sweet. He tells me how much he appreciates the fact that I do this -- chronicle the story of our family -- either through scrapbooking or this blog. In fact, when I asked him to prioritize the things I should be doing during our summer break (only fair since I'm always doing this to him!) he listed "scrapbooking" as one of the things he'd like to see up there in the top 3.

4. Speaking of my husband, I've mentioned before how incredibly funny and creative he is. We had the best time at supper tonight, laughing over all the names and adventures that he created with the Little People. (yeah, he's one of those dads who loves to lay down on the floor and play with the kids. God love him!!) As we talked about it, ALL the kids decided that they'd love to create a new adventure with him so, after suppertime cleanup, I had 8 kids on the floor with their dad, laughing hysterically as he came up with a new storyline about a secret agent and his spy network. I couldn't even begin to describe it, so I won't, other than to say that if you knew my husband, you'd understand how completely off the wall the story was.

It's at times like this that I enjoy just sitting back and watching my family in action, and I praise God for allowing me this great privilege of being a part of all this.

May all of us have a blessed week!

I was honored...

2011-06-18T00:08:00.000-05:00

...to be the mommy of a little one for just a few short weeks.

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to him today.

I bought these flowers as a tribute to his short life, and in recognition of the fact that while we are grieving now, we will meet him, and our two other children, someday.

When in doubt, go with pictures!

2011-06-14T21:12:00.000-05:00

See this wall? It's completely disgusting, isn't it? Yeah, I agree.

This is the wall that was next to my stove. Unfortunately, the paint that I used way back when was NOT washable, and every time I got something splattered on it and tried to clean it off, it would take the paint off with it. Ugh.

I have HATED this, because this was the first thing I saw every time I walked into my kitchen -- this disgusting wall that just shouted, "She doesn't know how to clean!"

I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it for the longest time. All the solutions I could think of were just WAY too expensive, so I was paralyzed by indecision... until a few weeks ago, when I just went to the hardware store, grabbed some fake wainscotting and some trim, and brought it home for my sweet dh, who graciously agreed to put it up for me.

And see! Several YEARS of hating a wall, all fixed in one afternoon -- thanks to my husband, who can tackle these sorts of things so easily!

In other news, Beth asked me to post a picture of Joseph, who has been absent from this blog for many, many months.

When you last saw him, he was a scrawny little guy who just couldn't gain weight and cried all the time...

Thanks to formula (which I hated having to use, but we were totally out of options), we now have a chunky, happy baby who never stays still enough for us to get a nice, clear picture of him!

Have a blessed Tuesday, everyone!

I'm Ba-ack!

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

Subtitled: HAPPY FEAST OF PENTECOST!

I got back late yesterday evening (actually, early this morning) from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Homeschooling Conference up in Virginia. What a trip! We had two hailstorms on the way up, and rain on the way back down. Wow...

I'm glad I had a chance to go, and I'm so thankful to be back home!

I wish I could say that the conference was AMAZING, but unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. The speakers were good, but the conference didn't have as much in the way of talks geared toward homeschoolers as I would have liked. I would have liked to see talks on teaching high school... or better ways to teach math... or ways to do nature journaling, or copywork, or whatever. I really need talks like that to inspire me as I get ready to sit down and P-L-A-N for the year. I am facing a whole new set of challenges this year (who isn't?) and I need all the help and encouragement I can possibly get!

Coming back home, I figured the best thing I could do was start small and start with what I know... so we made a yummy dessert for the Feast of Pentecost, and talked about the birthday of the Church.

I'm never going to win the award for "uber-Catholic Mom," and that's perfectly fine with me. That's not what I'm going for. If I took one thing away from this conference, it was a reminder again of the solemn charge that my husband and I have been given to raise our children for the Lord. And in OUR house, that goes hand in hand with yummy desserts and fun conversations as we mix the batter together.

I hope your Feast Day was as enjoyable as ours was!

Now on to tomorrow, and the Feast of our patron saint here at Chez Ouiz... ST. ANTHONY!

And now, a word about cheese

2011-05-29T21:50:00.000-05:00

Thomas: [twinkling with excitement as always] "Mommy! Mommy! Can I have your flip camera?"

Me: "What for?"

Thomas: "I want to make a commercial about cheese!"

After watching it many times over, Christopher looked over at dh and said, "You know, commercials really DO work. Now I'm hungry for cheese!"

I'm still here!

2011-05-23T20:46:00.000-05:00

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I took time off to celebrate my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!) and enjoy time with my parents, who I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like to.... the hazards of living 10+ hours away.

I am now finishing up the project most pressing at the moment -- submitting my children's final grades to our accountability group... which I am NOT happy with at the moment (the group, that is, not my children's grades, which are just fine!)

So, I will leave you with a "Grace-ism" (that's the sweet little girl in the picture above)

Me: [in my best cheerleader voice] Alright, everyone! Let's get this house straightened up before Grandma and Papa get here! We can do this quickly, right?

Grace: {very enthusiastically] You're right, Mommy!!!!

Me: [humbled and pleased] Wow, sweetie! Thank you so much for that encouragement!

Grace: [sounding like a bored 30-yr old] Well, it seemed like you needed that.

Have a great week, everyone! Hope to come back to blogging soon!

The Boundaries

2011-05-13T12:21:00.001-05:00

Ever have one of those moments when the veil lifts, so to speak, and you catch a glimpse – however fleeting – of what God is doing?

I had one of those moments a few weeks ago.

Those who know me IRL or those who have been reading this blog for awhile know that I deal a lot with fear and panic. My brain tends to go to the worst case scenario right away, and I have to talk myself down from the ledge quite often.

Trust is something I have great difficulty with, obviously.

I was in the mood to watch something on netflix while I was couponing (gotta redeem the time, right?), so I poked around until I stumbled across a show called “Obsessed.” It was an A&E show on people who deal with OCD and panic attacks. Seeing that it was right up my alley, I decided to watch. To some people it may be a purely voyeuristic affair, but for me, who deals with this on a regular basis, it was sooooooo incredibly helpful.

After watching an episode or two, I started asking the Lord, “Why? Why am I not more like these people, who are struggling so much more than I am? I was definitely heading in that direction with all of the OCD behaviors I dealt with during my childhood and teenaged years... why am I NOT more like they are?”

I didn't get an answer in words, but I did get a fast trip down memory lane of all the times that I was definitely going over the edge – three very powerful experiences in particular where it was obvious that He was pulling me back. In each of these instances, I was losing all control, and I was powerless to keep myself from falling over the cliff. He stepped down each time and very firmly planted my feet back on solid ground.

It was then that the “insight,” if I want to call it that, came. I could see that there is a boundary around me – I can go right up to that fence, but He will not let me go any farther, and will pull me back each time. Within that boundary, however, is a big grassy area that, in my life, is my battle with fear and worry. It became crystal clear at that moment that He is allowing this in my life because He wants to use it to help me grow in holiness. The fear and anxiety that I deal with can be used for constructive purposes if I cooperate with Him and the work He is doing in my life. He knows where I am, and He's not disgusted with me or what I'm dealing with.

Now, of course, the conversation could easily go in the direction of, “If God is so loving, why would He want you to struggle in the first place? That seems cruel.” I know all the “appropriate” answers, but none of that is very helpful in the middle of suffering. It stinks, and that's all there is to that. I find greater comfort in the fact that Jesus voluntarily put Himself down in the middle of all this muck and endured the same sorts of things... including anxiety. Our pastor preached a homily two weeks ago on “The Uselessness of Fear” and in it talked about the incredible level of anxiety in a person that would cause their capillaries to burst, thereby “sweating blood.” Jesus endured more anxiety than I have ever, ever dealt with, and therefore is truly my High Priest who is able to sympathize with all my weaknesses. (Hebrews 4:15)

So, in the spirit of this post, I offer you Mandisa's song “Stronger.” Click on it, crank it up, and remember that He knows what we're going through!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T22:41:00.001-05:00

I hope all moms had an enjoyable Mother's Day today!

Since it's been awhile since I posted, I thought I'd share this story:

A few weeks ago, I started having back pains -- that persistent, nagging, lower back pain that just grates on your nerves and makes everything you do uncomfortable. I tried sleeping in different positions, soaking in a nice, hot bath, and eventually started taking medicine.

Nothing touched it. I walked around uncomfortable all day. Not screaming in agony, but definitely uncomfortable.

One night, after dropping my son and his friends off at Boy Scouts, I stopped in our chapel to say hello to Jesus. I try to do that every week, since I have that opportunity.

I went in and tried to pray, but I just could NOT get my mind focused. I was antsy, and wanted to finish so I could get out and go home... in other words, I didn't have the most pious of attitudes at that moment. I wanted to show up and spend some time with Him, but emotionally I just wasn't there.

After about 20 minutes, I was ready to call it quits. I needed to get back home and help my dh get everyone to bed, so I apologized for being so "blah" that evening, said my goodbyes and prepared to leave. Just beforehand, I said a quick "help me" sort of prayer for my back.

I genuflected, blessed myself with holy water, and got to the door.

On a whim, I went back, dipped my fingers in holy water again, and blessed my back. Then I said, "Thank You, Lord!" and walked out.

My back stopped hurting. INSTANTLY.

After two weeks of constant pain, it was gone.

I was stunned... and truthfully, I was hesitant to say "I was healed" because I was fearful that I was just fooling myself, and any second now the pain would return. So I stayed quiet about it and came home. After several hours of no pain, I finally told my husband about it, and he asked, "How long has it been fine?"

"About several hours now," I said.

"You silly! Jesus healed you and you're afraid to mention it?"

Yep. I was.

So I mention it now, simply to say that I am so thankful that He cared, and that He listens to EVERY prayer -- even those mumbled in an antsy, "I want to get out of here" sort of state. I didn't need to hear angels singing, or feel any pious thoughts, to have the God of the Universe bend down to hear the prayer of a mom in upstate South Carolina who just needed some relief from back pain. Heck, I didn't need to feel anything at all! Oftentimes when we hear of miracles we hear of "a feeling of warmth" or pious feelings or whatever... and yet here I was, little old me, asking for relief and bang! Miracle.

I also mention this because I had just finished reading The Rite -- a good book (not scary!) about real-life exorcists in Rome and what their vocation entails. In it, they stress the need for the Mass and the sacraments, of course, but they also mention the importance of the Rosary, blessed salt, and holy water. I hadn't given holy water much thought, other than to use it to bless myself as I go into Mass. This particular night, however, I was impressed with the fact that it really *is* holy -- not just water. It doesn't matter whether it looks different, feels different, or I feel different about it, or not. The fact remains that it *is* blessed and it *is* different. Period.

Praise the Lord who answers even small prayers, and who chooses to use material things to answer prayers!

(P.S. Since that day over 3 weeks ago, I haven't had a single back pain... even during that time of the month when my back usually is really uncomfortable. Praise God!)

Easter Week

2011-04-25T20:57:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter yesterday!

I know I mentioned Catholic Icing just two posts ago, but I have to give her another big THANK YOU for this simple craft -- the empty tomb. We've done the "resurrection cookies" once or twice (it's a long recipe coupled with the story of the passion, and then you place them in the oven and leave them overnight, and in the morning you have hollow meringue cookies), but with Joseph to contend with, I didn't want to commit to anything time-consuming.

I don't think you could get much simpler than her craft, and the kids LOVED it! They all voted to do this again next year, so it's a keeper!

I would also like to shout out a big THANK YOU to Publix grocery store for actually (gasp) closing on Easter. GOD BLESS THEM! I will be contacting them and thanking them as well.

My family has voted to continue the crown of thorns on the door. It has been such a good reminder for us to make sacrifices for Jesus that we're going to keep it going. ANYTHING that reminds me to get over myself and do something sacrificially has got to be good!

And finally, we are in our last week of homeschooling for the (academic) year. Praise God! I know the kids are excited, but I think I'm even more so. I'm ready to take a break...

God bless you all!

HAPPY EASTER!

2011-04-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

Holy Thursday

2011-04-21T21:05:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for the Catholic Icing blog! In case you haven't seen it yet, you need to. Seriously. The crafts she comes up with, like the Last Supper craft that we did a few days ago, are too much fun.

I wanted to take a picture of my little girls while they were working on it, but (a) one camera needs batteries, the other one needs recharging and I can't find the charger (St. Anthony, please pray!) and my cell phone was having cable issues and (b) even if I could have found a camera that was working, Joseph was sitting on my lap and making just about everything darn near impossible.

Now that the cell phone is talking to my computer again, I was only able to take a picture of Marie holding her work of art. Grace is sound asleep.

Now I have to say, any craft that enables me to spend time with my two little girls, is easy to do, and can be done while holding a screaming 8 month old is a keeper in my book!

The sweet thing is that while we were working on it together, we were talking about the Apostles -- who's who, who did what, etc etc etc. When Grace got to Bartholomew she said, "Barf-a-ma-mew... Barf-fa-ma-mew... Bar... Mommy, they should have stuck to giving their children little, short names!"

[hands in the air if you got the Tikki Tikki Tembo reference!]

Helpful (and not so helpful) lessons from the homefront

2011-04-18T13:56:00.000-05:00

As we are in our final two weeks of the homeschooling year, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some of the more off-beat lessons I've learned along the way.

1. "Winging it" is a lot harder than it sounds. If you're anything like me -- someone who'd like to create a unit study from the ground up that incorporates several different subjects, is amazingly creative, and manages to include all the children at the same time -- you will find yourself stressed out and frustrated. As I was faced with teaching 6 of my 8 children this year (one of them being a newborn), I asked the Lord during Adoration what I could possibly do to keep myself from going under completely. I believe He told me to teach them all separately, and that's what I did. Mother of Divine Grace is a wonderful way to go if you like the whole concept of classical education.

2. If you like to give your children copywork, this is a great resource for making your own. I usually just write it out myself and have them copy it, but now that I found this free source for handwriting worksheets, perhaps my job just got a bit easier!

3. You know those weird marks that they recommend you use in The Writing Road to Reading -- marking phonograms, separating out syllables, underlining silent letters, etc? Tempting though it may be, don't skip those. It took me a year to realize that they are incredibly helpful in teaching kids how to spell. Who knew?

4. Always have plenty of food on-hand after reading Bread and Jam for Frances. You're going to need it.

5. Speaking of food, a small handful of chocolate chips does wonders for a kid who just needs an extra boost. We call it "brain food" around here! I'm not too proud to bribe.

6. Nature journaling is too much fun to skip. After a long week of homeschooling it is sooooo tempting to just blow off Friday and not put forth any additional effort, but you'd miss the joy of discovering the outside with your children and improving your drawing skills.

7. LATIN. IS. WORTH. IT. It's hard and takes a lot of time to go through, but I see so many benefits from it, such as: learning to pay attention to detail, learning English grammar, increasing our vocabulary, connecting us with the past, and giving us a greater understanding during the Mass.

8. I know that when you see a sentence like:

O praeclarum custodem ovium lupum!

You just want to translate it, "O first custard of the wolf's egg!"

But don't do it, 'cause you'd be wrong. VERY wrong.

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-04-17T22:32:00.004-05:00

I wasn't expecting to be able to blog much after Wednesday. My son Christopher had a birthday this weekend... AND we're still sick after what? Four weeks?... so I gave myself permission to not write anything until Sunday.

1. First, I want to wish my son a very, very happy birthday. I am so thankful for the nine years we have had with him, and I pray for 99 more! I love you, Christopher!

2. One of the presents he got for his birthday was a game called Zeus on the Loose. A simple game, for sure, but surprisingly addictive. It requires the ability to add and subtract quickly, and has the added bonus of reminding the kids who the "key players" were in Greek mythology.

Even my brother, who came to celebrate Christopher's birthday, managed to have fun with the game!

3. Speaking of said brother, he always manages to introduce me to something fun and different. This time, it was this video by Pogo, who made this video of his mother's garden (and, presumably, his mom) as a tribute to her. Enjoy!

I figured no one had noticed

2011-04-13T22:58:00.001-05:00

I was pretty sure no one would notice if I just stopped blogging. However, I just got a call yesterday from a friend who said, "Do you know that you haven't posted since March 20th? My kids keep wondering when you're going to post something new!"

For you, Malia, I'll post something!

Lent has continued to be a big blessing here in our household, and I hope it has been in yours as well. The crown of thorns poster on our door has gone from this to this:

A lot of the flowers have fallen off (bad off-brand tape!), so it's been "refilled" a few times over.

What gets me the most about this whole thing, as I mentioned before, is that I know what I've put on this door. The rest represents a whole lot of little sacrifices done by the kids that are known only to Jesus. Now I must admit, there are a few that I do know about -- either the sacrifice done was easily noticed, or I came in when they were doing it. I can tell you quite honestly, I don't think there was ever a time in my childhood when I would have done some of the things that they have done. I'm a big "hey! Look at me and the wonderful things I've done!" sort of person, and I still lack the spiritual maturity I'm seeing in the lives of these kids that I have the privilege of raising.

I'm reading several good books, most notably A Little Daily Wisdom: Through the Year with Saint Teresa of Avila (thanks to the recommendation of Julie over at Happy Catholic) and The Weight of Glory by (who else?) C.S. Lewis. If nothing else, his talk entitled "Learning in War-Time" should be required reading for anyone like me who battles fear and anxiety on a regular basis. He covers that so well and fills me with hope every time. I cannot read C.S. Lewis and come away unchanged and unencouraged. One particular part of this talk that I loved best is this:

I spoke just now of fiddling while Rome burns. But to a Christian the true tragedy of Nero must be not that he fiddled while the city was on fire but that he fiddled on the brink of hell... [E]very Christian... must at all times face [the] question... how it is right, or even psychologically possible, for creatures who are every moment advancing either to Heaven or to hell to spend any fraction of the little time allowed them in this world on such comparative trivialities as literature or art, mathematics or biology. If human culture can stand up to that, it can stand up to anything. To admit that we can retain our interest in learning under the shadow of these eternal issues but not under the shadow of [insert fear here] would be to admit that our ears are closed to the voice of reason and very wide open to the voice of our nerves and our mass emotions.

Amen.

Another huge lesson for me was found in Psalm 73. As I was reading this one morning, I was stunned by how much this Psalm prayed out all my confusion and fears. I was especially stunned by this:

When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

It doesn't get any more clear than this. With all of my ramblings and talking about what might happen, and how unfair it all is, and how can we possibly endure, I have to face the fact that as I do that, I am "senseless and ignorant... a brute beast." Yikes.

And yet?

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

He hasn't given up on me. Even in my darkest fears, He's here. He's still holding me, just like He always has been. He is guiding me and leading me, and the end result of all this is (by His desire) my sharing eternal life with Him.

And so I'm encouraged to say...

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

May He teach me, and all those who battle fear and anxiety, to "wait in joyful hope for the coming of Our Savior Jesus Christ."

Finally, a visual representation of how the devil uses fear and the imagination to suck the hope and fight out of every believer was made very clear to me when I found this scene from Lord of the Rings (an extended version I had never seen before):

A little bit of fact, and a whole lot of smoke and mirrors with the sole intent of rendering us incapable of fighting. Wow.

Tolkien and Lewis. Two amazing giants of men.

God bless!

Weekend Wrap-up

2011-03-20T23:23:00.000-05:00

1. Went to the first homeschooling conference of the year. I'm glad I went, but since it wasn't a Catholic conference, there really wasn't much in the way of books that I was interested in buying. (I'm not being snobbish... being in a very non-Catholic part of the United States, it is next to impossible to find a place where I can actually pick up and thumb through the books that my children will be using during the year.) However, I was able to hear some great talks by speakers such as Susan Wise Bauer. I wasn't sure what to expect, since The Well-Trained Mind is... well... rather intimidating at times. I have to say, though, that I thought she did a wonderful job, and gave sound advice for those of us dealing with kids who may be a bit more on the challenging side.

2. Being in Greenville for the day, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to go to Mass at St. Mary's. I know I've mentioned this before, but there is something so profoundly different when the priest faces ad orientem. I can barely put it into words. The best way I can describe it, I suppose, is that the entire Liturgy of the Eucharist feels like a giant procession towards God, with the priest leading the way in front. I was reminded of the awesome responsibilities of the priest who entered the Holy of Holies once a year, and realized that the responsibilities of the priests today are just as awesome, if not more so. He looked so small, standing and singing the Eucharistic prayers as the rest of us were on our knees (and, in the case of the altar boys, prostrate). If I let my imagination go, it wouldn't be too difficult to picture the presence of God humming and crackling on the altar, with the entire congregation on their knees, and one lone, brave man, standing and being obedient to the responsibilities God has called him to.

I know I'm not communicating all this well. Sigh.

3. I also had a great opportunity to listen to some Lighthouse CDs on my trip to the conference and back. My favorite one by far was the one by Dr. Brad Pitre on "Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist." I know he's written a book on this subject as well... so perhaps another book to add to my wish list?

4. Our "crown of thorns" on the door in the kitchen is quickly becoming covered in flowers. I don't say this to brag, but rather to rejoice that my children are taking great joy in doing hidden things for Jesus... which means that they are beginning to move from "I-believe-this-because-my-parents-do" to a more personal belief. I am overjoyed to be able to step back and see a tiny smattering of this process taking place. I remember how intense and wonderful that time of exploration and questioning was for me, and I can only pray that it will be the same for them.

God bless you all on this upcoming week!

Ever had one of those days...

2011-03-18T20:21:00.000-05:00

when you just couldn't get a song out of your head?

It's been one of those days for me. All day long this song has been playing in my head, and I have no idea why. BUT, since the best thing to do at a time like this is just LISTEN to it, here we go --

(I can't believe this song came out 21 years ago! 1990 doesn't seem that long ago...)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

It ain't traditional... and it ain't all that pretty... but at least it's green!

Lenten activity for our family

2011-03-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

[I'm a bit hesitant to post this, since by doing this I feel like I'm negating the spirit of what we're trying to accomplish; however, since several people IRL have asked me about this project, I am tossing this out there on the off-chance that it might interest someone else.]

Our family is going to try something new this year for Lent. In order to teach all of us the joy of offering little sacrifices for Jesus, we are going to use a "sacrifice poster."

Here is the poster (Christopher did a great job with the crown of thorns!) that we are going to hang on our kitchen door. The kids have been hard at work making a basketful of paper flowers that we will keep on the counter, along with MANY rolls of tape.

The object is simple: We are going to try to do little things out of love for Jesus every single day. When we do, we are going to s..n..e..a..k.. into the kitchen and find a way to put a flower on the crown without anyone seeing us do it. It will truly be something that only God knows about.

I can't tell you how excited we are to try this!

I am horrible at suffering in silence, or doing something nice for someone without saying something about it. I need a visual reminder like this... and a whole lot of grace... to get me started. My husband, on the other hand, could easily fill this crown up all by himself. He is an amazing man who does so much for others without ever bringing attention to himself.

I don't think the older kids will need any prompting -- they are so eager to do this! For the little ones, however, I think I'll have to catch them doing nice things and encourage them to put a flower on the poster.

If you have any other great Lenten activities you'd like to share, please leave me a comment! I'd love to hear from you!

It was a cooking extravaganza!

2011-02-28T00:04:00.000-05:00

OK, maybe not, but do you ever get those days when you are just in a cooking mood?

I usually don't mind preparing meals -- it's creative, it's fast, and there's a decent payoff at the end -- but this was one of those days when I REALLY felt like cooking. I try to make the most of it when these sorts of moods hit, because I know they will leave just as quickly as they came!

It started when I realized we had no bread to give the kids toast for breakfast before Mass. Rats. That meant we'd either have to buy some when we got doughnuts after Mass, or I could just bump up my bread making day one day early and do it today. I was going to be in the kitchen anyway, so why not?

That, of course, would require me to grind some more wheat. Again, not a big deal since I would be in the kitchen anyway, so why not?

And since I had the grinder out anyway, I might as well grind a bit extra so I could try a new bread recipe I wanted to do for supper this evening...

And while I was doing all that anyway, I might as well whip up some granola since we didn't have any cereal either...

So with the windows open, and the kids happily playing outside, I settled in for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of cooking! First, I made a double batch of granola (it always turns out dark like this, but it tastes fantastic!) that the kids can add chocolate chips and raisins to and eat it plain or sprinkled on top of yogurt.

Then I made our usual bread for the week...

... and then I got to try out my new recipe: Schlotzsky's deli bread! I love their veggie sandwich on wheat, and I was wanting to try to make my own version of it for some time now. My bread didn't rise quite as nicely as the picture they showed... I'm not sure why... since you can see my other bread did just fine. hmmmm.

Oh well. I cut it open...

...brushed a little bit of olive oil on both sides, then added cheddar cheese and black olives (although next time I think I'll try a tiny bit of butter instead of the oil)...

...and layered on the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach leaves, and a little ranch dressing.

I made two of these sandwiches... cut both into eighths... and we had that as a side to the main attraction: Minestrone soup from the New England Soup Factory cookbook. This book is seriously becoming a fast favorite. I've tried about 6 different soups so far, and loved every one of them! As an added bonus, her recipes all serve "8 to 10," which means that I can make it for my family and have LEFTOVERS! whoo hoo! (I mean, look at the picture... I have to cook it in the TURKEY pan, for goodness' sake! That's a LOT of soup...)

After that I was completely "cooked out."

As we packed up all the food after dinner, I looked in the refrigerator and said, "Guys, it looks like we're having leftovers for the next couple of days...". Nobody seemed to mind. Kathryn was especially glad, since she's claimed the last wedge of veggie sandwich for her breakfast tomorrow.. *grin*

Lamentations of the Father

2011-02-26T22:26:00.000-05:00

I know this has been around for many, many years, but I had forgotten how incredibly funny it is! For all parents everywhere, here's a link to Lamentations of the Father by Ian Frazier.

Especially since I lived this just this evening:

Concerning Face and Hands

Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon. And in the breast pocket of your garment, and upon the tie of your shoe, rice and other fragments are distributed in a manner wonderful to see. Only hold yourself still; hold still, I say. Give each finger in its turn for my examination thereof, and also each thumb. Lo, how iniquitous they appear. What I do is as it must be; and you shall not go hence until I have done.

Courtesy of Zoe Romanowsky from Inside Catholic.

I'm sad she knows this.

2011-02-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

As I was tucking Marie in, she asked if she could have a glass of water. Seeing a cup right near her bed, I gave it to her.

Me: Here you go, sweetie!
Marie: Oooh, no thank you, Mommy... that's old, and when you drink it, it tastes like bath water.

Wedding Dress

2011-02-21T22:52:00.001-05:00

OK, I am soooooooooo late for this one (that's what happens when you don't get on the computer!), but Betty Beguiles asked people to post pictures of their wedding dress and say a little something about them.

My mom came down to South Carolina to help me look for a dress. I was pretty sure I wanted something plain and simple. Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. I'm not a "frou-frou"y kind of person.

We went to the first bridal shop and the woman dragged out this dress that I just wanted to laugh at. Are you serious? It was everything I was NOT looking for in a dress; however, as the time went on, and more dresses were tried on, my mom and I both thought it was so funny that the dress I finally picked out was the one I had shunned at the beginning....

We got married in 1996... well before digital cameras... so you'll have to excuse the scanned image.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-02-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

1. I've been reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn recently. While I don't agree with everything he says, the book has given me quite a bit to think about (and hope for). If you've been reading this blog for awhile (and if so, I truly thank you!) you may remember the horrible anxiety/panic attacks that I've been dealing with in recent years. Most of it is fear of the future, but a small portion of it also dealt with that "mid-life-coming-to-grips-with-your-own-mortality" sort of thing. I knew as a Christian I had every reason to look forward to the future, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept of Heaven. As I mentioned before, I had -- without realizing it -- concocted this strange notion of Heaven in my head which was anything but inspiring and hopeful. It wasn't until I read the book A Travel Guide to Heaven that I finally got what the Church has been teaching all along.

We look for the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come, Amen.

If you had asked me if I believed in the resurrection of the dead, I would have said yes wholeheartedly. I've had long talks with the kids about how death isn't final, and we will get our bodies back one day. That was never in question.

What I never really focused on was the "surrounding area." As human beings, we are made to love variety, creativity, learning, adventure, etc etc etc. Why did I constantly sell eternal life short, and think that somehow it would be a step down? The first time I really thought about the concept of a New Earth, with all its glory and wonder, I cried out of sheer joy: "You mean I won't have to say goodbye to seasons? To bundling up on a cold day? To hearing leaves crunch under my feet?"

This book takes it further, examining all sorts of "what ifs" and "maybe it'll be like this" scenarios. I found it to be very uplifting, and I'll give you just one quote from the beginning of the book:

"We do not desire to eat gravel. Why? Because God did not design us to eat gravel. Trying to develop an appetite for a disembodied existence in a non-physical Heaven is like trying to develop an appetite for gravel. No matter how sincere we are, and no matter how hard we try, it's not going to work. Nor should it.

What God made us to desire, and therefore what we do desire if we admit it, is exactly what he promises to those who follow Jesus Christ: a resurrected life in a resurrected body, with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected Earth. Our desires correspond precisely to God's plan... the reason we want it is precisely because God has planned for it."

If you get a chance, read both books!

2. On a completely different note, my daughter Grace is... well,... unlike any other child we've ever had. I think someone snuck a 12-year old brain into her 3-year old body. In just two examples:

-- I am trying to get her excited about her upcoming "potty training" which will happen as soon as she is consistently dry through the night (remember, "we teethe early and potty train late" is our family motto!). As a practice run, I took her though the various steps, including the goofy one that all my other kids did when they first started -- waving goodbye to the toilet paper. When I showed her that, she looked at me like you could imagine a teenager would look if that suggestion were made to them, and she said (with her eyebrow arched, mind you!), "Yeah... OK, I don't think I'll be doing that."

I could not stop laughing, even though I felt like a complete idiot for even suggesting it to her.

-- DH was talking to her about the toddler bed she sleeps in, called "Cozy Bed" because, well, it says "cozy bed" right on it. It's a standard white toddler bed with a relief of bears holding balloons. Grace was telling her dad that she didn't like cozy bed anymore, and wanted a different bed instead. DH was extolling the virtues of this marvelous little bed...

DH: How can you not love it? It's soft... it's just your size... and it even has bears on it!

Grace: Um, Daddy?.... Bears EAT people.

What is this child going to be like when she's a teenager?

3. I gotta admit, I love The Sticker Song. I found it after Jen from Conversion Diary pointed out one of her favorite artists, Matisyahu. I went to youtube, which shows other Jewish artists, which led to... well, The Sticker Song. I won't link to it because the video is not the greatest when small children are present, but I love the music.

4. Gotta plug one more book: The New England Soup Factory Cookbook. If you love soup, you will love this book! The Greek Lemon soup is Marie's favorite soup, and she asks for it quite frequently. This week we've also tried the Vidalia Onion soup, Vegetarian Mulligatawny soup, and Spicy Chicken Flu Chaser soup. It has all been AMAZING! If I get a chance this evening I'm going to flip through the book again and see what soup we can have this week as well.

That's my weekend in a nutshell. How was yours?

Organization, Snacks, and a Little Bit of Heaven

2011-02-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what is going on with me. I can't seem to get my act together, sit down, and actually WRITE something. During the day I am composing all sorts of interesting posts, but when I actually get a moment in the evening to sit in front of my computer, the inspiration leaves and I'm left with nothing.

Which leaves the impression, of course, that nothing much happens over here. Totally untrue, but still...

I can say that our Bible study is finishing up the book A Mother's Rule of Life, and it's given me much to think about. This isn't the first time I've gone through this book, but it *is* the first time I've made a serious effort to get some sort of written-down schedule for our home. While no "system" is perfect, it has been good for all of us to have certain times of the day scheduled for various events. I'm still tweeking the homeschool part of our schedule, since that takes up the biggest chunk of our day. Babies, however, are notoriously bad at sticking to schedules, and tend to frustrate those who expect them to! *grin*

Even though I am NOT the kind of person who likes schedules, I have to admit that our day has gone much better when I had specific times to sit down with each child. As soon as I loosened up, the chaos crept back in and I found myself bouncing from person to person, helping one with math while doing Latin with another, bouncing a fussy baby on my lap and telling Grace that she would have to pour her own milk.

Having a too-tightly scheduled day, however, also backfires because I get stressed out when we have gone over time in some area, and I feel like I have to "catch up" or make up for that time somewhere so we can get back on track. That is totally counterproductive in a homeschool setting, where the whole purpose is to take the time needed to teach my children! I mean, seriously!

Marie: Mommy, can we practice writing now? I love to do that!
Me: No way, kiddo! You're over time! Get up from that chair and move it, move it, move it!... Thomas, you're next! You've got exactly 5 minutes and 11 seconds to discuss the nature of the Trinity!

That's a great way to kill creativity and a love of learning!

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Another plus side for the whole organizational thing? Better snacks.

You may think I'm crazy, but it's true.

Since I'm actually taking the time to write out the menu for the week (breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner), I'm putting some thought into what I would like my children to be eating during our mid-morning break. Writing down "a handful of chips and a big glass of chocolate milk" just looks... bad. I'm not sure I'd want someone to pick up my planning calendar and say, "Oooh! I see you've given your kids big bowls of animal crackers drenched in chocolate syrup as a snack all this week!" (for the record, no, I haven't, but my kids would sing my praises for a week if I did!)So, I've put more effort into having well-thought out snack ideas (like this fruit and nut granola recipe from Cooking Light) which has made our mornings much more enjoyable!
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As helpful as all this organizational "stuff" has been, what has captured my heart most these past several months has been found in this book: A Travel Guide to Heaven. The title is goofy, of course, but I found it to be a wonderful book that actually made me excited about what is to come. Too often I have found myself grieving for what I would leave behind when I die -- all that is comfortable, familiar, and special to me. While I don't think I ever put it into words, I somehow fell into the trap of thinking that Heaven is so different and foreign, I could never feel about it the way I feel about my little corner of the world. It's those little moments of joy when you take a walk on a cool, overcast Autumn afternoon that make you want to throw up your hands and shout, "Thank You, Lord, for this life!"... or that comforting feeling as you drive home late at night with the radio on, feeling all cocooned in your car, looking out at the lights of the nearby city and just delighting in the moment... or that delicious-almost-melancholy feeling you get when driving through an older city, and you see all the little shops and stores...

THESE are the sorts of moments that hit me (other than the obvious joyous ones with family and friends), and I have found myself grieving over the loss of those sorts of experiences. The idea of an eternally warm, sunshiny, always spring sort of atmosphere.... well, it depressed the heck out of me, actually.

So it was with great joy that I read this book, and allowed myself to really focus on the whole concept of the New Earth. A new earth... why have I never really meditated on that before? The sheer joy over the thought of seasons, and nighttime, and rain, made me hopeful in a way that I haven't been in a long, long time.

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And finally, many thanks to Matthew Archbold for writing this article: Why I Stink at Praying. Sad to say, I think I've hit every one of those points!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-02-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

1. Last week we completed our first ever "Math Week" here at Chez Ouiz, and I must say it was a resounding success!

Last Sunday, as I was finishing up homeschooling planning for the week, I took a moment to look over some of the math assignments I had given the kids, and I was discouraged by what I saw. It was obvious that there was some serious confusion going on, and there was no way I could go on with the plan I had without addressing these issues. So, I set my plan aside for a week, and declared Monday to be the start of Math Week.

I set up our (free!) overhead projector on the dining room table and channeled my favorite math teacher from high school. For three hours every day, we did nothing but math -- fractions, pre-algebra, sales tax (the hardest concept of all, for some reason), positive/negative numbers, etc etc etc. I actually got to "play teacher," the kids sat at a table and (gasp) took notes, and we had a blast!

To be fair, I can't call it a success until I see how the next few weeks go, but for now, I will consider it a huge step in the right direction since ALL of my children said, "Mom, I think I LIKE math now!"

Praise the Lord!

2. Victory #2 -- I finished Thomas' Dr. Who scarf! He had a whole Dr. Who ensemble going earlier today, but of course I never got around to taking the picture... so I just went back to the boys' room and asked him to model it for you, and here it is!

3. We are now going to see whether cayenne pepper does, or does not, help during the cold/flu season. Those who know me IRL know that I douse almost everything with cayenne pepper -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Will this keep me from getting colds this year? I'd like to think of this as a scientific experiment in progress. I did get one cold this season but, unlike years past, it was fairly mild -- bad cough, but not that horrible "I'm-so-stuffed-up-I-can't-breathe" bit that makes colds so evil.

Grace and Marie just came down with a cold this evening, so the experiment is on!

I Keep Promising Myself

2011-01-31T23:40:00.000-05:00

... that soon, very soon, I will actually take the time to redo the look of this blog.

It is so painfully sad!

Why I Love Homeschooling

2011-01-25T21:55:00.000-05:00

There are many reasons why I love homeschooling, of course -- the fact that I'm around these wonderful kids all day, or the fact that I *KNOW* what they are learning, and have the privilege to struggle with them until they finally reach that "aha!" moment...

...but there are other reasons, equally as valid, such as what happened today:

1. Some comment made by Reilly actually resulted in the words "Pump up the Jam" to be uttered in my kitchen (how the heck did THAT happen??), which then led to my finding said song on YouTube, which led to a "who-can-jump-around-for-this-entire-song-without-stopping" contest. I'm proud to say that I made it the entire 3+ minutes, thank you very much... AND we had a great laugh over the clothing as well.

2. Today being the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, I had the wonderful opportunity to engage in a little storytelling. I have to first say that my Dad is a GREAT storyteller, and although I didn't realize it until I started homeschooling, I like telling stories, too. When Sean was in Kindergarten, I used to spend every lunch time telling the four oldest kids "disaster" stories -- Pompeii, the Titanic, you name it (my husband suggested that "Natural Disasters" should be part of our curriculum). I would stretch out the story of Pompeii to over 40 minutes, complete with voices and sound effects. It was soooooooooo much fun!

I realized today, however, that my younger kids haven't had the same opportunity, so today I told them the story of St. Paul. Just the look on Thomas' face was worth the effort. His eyes were wide-open with delight, and he interrupted only once, to say, "Mommy, this is my favorite Bible story EVER!" Their favorite part was when St. Paul is overjoyed at his new-found faith, and is so eager to tell everyone:

St. P: Hey everyone! I've got great news! Jesus is really God!
The others: Shhhh... not so loud... they'll hear you and we'll get arrested...

St. P: But I'm so excited!
The others: We know... but you've got to keep your voice down...

St. P: Can I just tell that guy over there?
The others: OK, but do it quietly..

St. P: HEY! YOU OVER THERE! HAVE I GOT GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!
The others: SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

St. P: Can't I at least sing a little song about Him?

They were rolling as I told them about him having to escape in a basket, shushing him as he keeps singing songs of praise under the blankets.

I don't think they're going to forget that story for awhile.

3. Sean is busy at work writing his first novel. I am thrilled to see how well he is doing, and can't wait to see how it turns out! He has decorated his walls with illustrations of characters from his story, and can often be seen daydreaming about how to make the story more exciting. I'm awfully proud of him!

4. And finally (for now), homeschooling provides me the opportunity to see Christopher create books like this (on the Ten Commandments):

[Note: I know these are not in order. I've been fighting with my computer for quite some time now just to get the pictures uploaded. ]

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shall not kill.

(I can't stop laughing over this one. The guy on the left has an "alright, now I'm really peeved" look on his face, while the guy on the right looks like he's just saying "oops!".)

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife.

He did this one this morning. I told him, "Dude, I'm kinda scared to see you draw this one!" and he admitted that he wasn't sure what direction he was going to take to illustrate this one. I thought he did a hysterically beautiful job!

Thou shall not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Again, I love the look of shame he put on the main character's face. If you knew Christopher, you would know that these pictures just ooze his personality. He is so wonderfully funny!

Whew. Battling Blogger over getting these pictures up has sucked all the wind out of my sails, so I'll end it here (and get a glass of wine and the digital camera's manual to try to figure out what the heck is going wrong...)

Song for Monday: UPDATED

2011-01-24T13:56:00.001-05:00

I heard this song while I was out shopping on Saturday, and it's been going through my mind ever since.

Looking at the comments below the video, however, was less than inspiring.

Amy Grant was the singer that I listened to most during my "angst-filled" teenage years, when I was trying to figure out Who God is, what He wanted from me, and where I was going. I spent hours in my room alone, listening to her songs and feeling like no one else understood what I was going through.

I can't say anything about her life over the past 10+ years or so. I know that everyone was quick to judge and radio stations were quick to yank all of her songs off the airwaves. I am reminded, however, of a story that I read recently. I don't remember who said it -- perhaps someone will recognize it and enlighten me -- but the gist of the story was that a woman went to a priest, crying out in great distress that her husband, who had not led a good life, had ended it in suicide. She was utterly distraught that his soul was in hell. This priest said something to the effect of, "it was 30 feet from that bridge to the water, and it is those 30 feet that forbid you to judge."

UPDATED: Jen from Conversion Diary was kind to remind me that the story came from here. What a powerful story!

I am so quick to judge, and more often than not I wind up being totally wrong. I have learned more from Anne Lamott (as much as I disagree with many of her beliefs) than I ever thought possible. It was through one of her books that the little lightbulb went off in my head and I realized that Jesus is so much bigger... and more merciful... than I had ever imagined before. Over and over again in St. Faustina's diary, Jesus says that we can't possibly "overestimate" His mercy.

In light of yesterday's post...

2011-01-17T22:47:00.000-05:00

... I just HAD to include the famous "Spam" sketch from Monty Python. ("I don't like Spam!") Just ignore the one bad word in the sketch, please.

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-01-16T22:58:00.000-05:00

Seems like Sunday nights are the only time I get to be in front of the computer for any length of time! (that's when I schedule the next week's assignments for homeschooling, so there you go!)

1. Father had a wonderful homily this morning. He talked about John the Baptist, and how he said of the Lord, "He must increase, while I must decrease." In our lives he must do the same, but that can't happen if we don't know Him. He said that the number of books we as adults have read over the years is quite substantial -- how many of those, however, are about Jesus? He challenged us to make this the year that we spend our time studying Him by reading books (the Bible, of course, and other spiritual works) that will help us to fall in love with our Savior. Seeing as reading books about Jesus and Catholicism is one of my favorite things to do ANYWAY, whoo hoo! As my dh said afterwards, "Well, looks like you just got a green light to keep reading..." *grin*

2.. We finally took the Christmas tree down. As much as I love the Christmas season, I found that all the decorations were just too much for me this year. I had been doing SO well with the daily schedule... the decluttering and scheduled clean ups... that I had actually reached a place where I was AT PEACE with the house and how it looked. As soon as we took the Christmas decorations down from the attic, however, I felt that same old anxiety and frustration return. I think it's safe to say that I have discovered a major fact about myself:

I don't do visual clutter well.

Not at all.

It took a good chunk of the afternoon to get the tree down, the boxes packed, and my house back to a semi-decent working order. The evening clean up took care of a big portion of the rest, and hopefully... HOPEFULLY... we can get back on track tomorrow.

3. Remember a few weeks back when Jen (from Conversion Diary) mentioned that Matisyahu was one of her favorite singers? She linked to the song Miracles (a fun Hanukkah song if I do say so myself). Well, that just piqued my interest, so I got on YouTube and found his video for One Day. I LOVE this song!

For a stressed-out, Apocalypse-fearing chick like myself, this seems to calm me down...

4. TODAY WAS THE DAY.

Yes, after 40+ years of life, TODAY was the day my husband tried that frightening "food stuff" known as SPAM. I have told him horror stories of having to eat "crunchy-Spam-with-mustard-on-white-bread" sandwiches. Blech. Such a thing should not even exist. Soooooooo, when he saw that a grocery store in our area had it on sale, he jokingly suggested I get some. I did, so that he could experience the horror as well.

DH and Sean marveling at how easy it is to cut.

Frying it up 'til it's nice and crispy...

Taking that first bite...

Then he started laughing and said, "you know, this would be good in a sandwich with some mustard on it..." And he ATE it! Arrg! He actually LIKED it! It's bad enough that my beloved dh liked it, but then...

I was betrayed by my own flesh and blood! Sean liked it!

Final score, dh and 6 kids thought it was "good" to "OK."

Ah, at least I can count on Thomas to be on my side...

One final note to this story: I called my mom and dad to tell them about the whole sordid affair, and they started laughing -- "Actually, we were going to have Spam sandwiches for supper tonight."

What is WRONG with these people????

WE GOT SNOW!

2011-01-11T22:52:00.000-05:00

Over 5 inches here at our house!

My kids have never seen this much snow down here... nor are they used to having it stay more than a few hours! This has been a huge blessing for them, and I am so grateful!

Thomas, Grace, Joseph, and my husband were there on the hill yesterday, but I didn't get pictures of them. Bad Mommy.

On a completely different note, I'm also thrilled to say that I'm starting to get my creative juices flowing again. I have let myself stagnate for far too long, so it's about time to start working on "making stuff!" Inspired by these people, and this book, the kids and I started working on nature journaling again. I was pretty happy with how this one turned out.

And after my first visit to a REAL yarn store, I had to start playing with all the great skeins I bought. This picture doesn't begin to do this yarn justice. It is BEAUTIFUL! I'm treating myself to a quick crocheted scarf because... well... I don't have one!

Hope you're having a great week!

Week end Wrap-Up

2011-01-10T01:13:00.000-05:00

It's been a week of successes and failures here at Chez Ouiz:

1. SUCCESS: I finished my hat!
2. FAIL: Unfortunately, I ended it too soon and it's waaaaaay too short for me to wear. I'm OK with that, though (even though I secretly did want to be able to wear it, despite its hideous golden color). I learned how to knit a hat in the round, learned how to decrease, and was pull it off without too many mistakes (well, except for the glaring one that I can't wear it, but still...) I'd show you a picture of it, but I'd have to go into my bedroom to get it, and that would wake the baby, so you'll just have to imagine it.

3. SUCCESS: I made an applesauce cake for Epiphany. It was beautiful -- I ground the wheat just before baking, I made the applesauce from scratch (not a huge challenge, but still, it sounds so good, doesn't it?), and everything turned out great.
4. FAIL: Grace, in her enthusiasm to be a helper, got too close to the cake and, you guessed it, managed to knock it off the counter.

This is what we wound up having for dessert...

Sigh.

5. SUCCESS: Poor Grace. She had been soooo excited about helping me with the cake. When she accidentally knocked it off the counter, she had a look of absolute horror on her face... and then she just crumpled and started crying, saying, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to knock it off the counter!" How could I get mad at someone like that? We had a good hug, and I told her it was OK, and we'd eat it anyway.

When dh came home, I told him the story of the mangled cake -- truth be told, I was feeling mighty good about the fact that I hadn't yelled, and I thought I deserved a few murmurs of sympathy for all my hard work dashed on the floor like that. Nope. My husband's reaction when I told him wasn't, "Oh honey, I'm so sorry!" but rather, "Oh, poor Grace! She must have been so devastated!" When my oldest son Sean asked him why he wasn't concerned about the work I did, he said, "Son, your mom's a great cook and I'm sure the cake will still taste fantastic... but it's just a cake and your sister is much more important than that." It shocked me a bit, but he was totally right. (I'm so glad I married him!)

6. SUCCESS: We managed to have our traditional Epiphany "show" -- the kids dress up like the Holy Family, shepherds, Wise Men, etc (yeah, it's easy when you've got 8 kids!) and we reenact the Nativity story.
7. FAIL: Blogger is having problems at the moment, so I can't show a picture of the whole thing. Sigh.

8. SUCCESS: My son Thomas is a huge fan of Dr. Who (the 4th Doctor, thank you very much!), and has taken to wearing a striped sweater over his shoulders to try to mimic the Doctor's scarf. I picked up a skein of multicolored yarn over the weekend and started knitting a simple scarf for him. I'm branching out into (ooh! Here it comes!) knitting AND purling. Yes indeed, I'm advancing in the world of knitting! *grin*
9. FAIL: I somehow managed to goof up on the first color change. No, no one but I will know it's there, but still... I hate making mistakes! Grrr. (was able to "unknit" part of the mistake, but getting down to where it all started was going to be too difficult, so I opted to make it a "feature" instead.)

10. SUCCESS: Thanks to my brother reminding me of it this evening, I got to show my husband the first episode of On the Air by David Lynch. Did anyone besides me watch this when it aired in 1992? I loved it, but there were just a few episodes before they got rid of it.
11. FAIL: I can't find any other episodes on-line! I know I had taped it, but I can't find the video in the house either. I'm afraid I may have "house beautiful-ed" it during a previous purge, and it's gone, gone, gone.

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On a completely different note, my husband and I are sitting here listening to bad 80's music at the moment. Did you ever notice how much funnier Prince is if you substitute the word "clown" in the song "When Doves Cry"?

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The big news around here this evening is the snow. Will we get hit with several inches of the white stuff, as they are predicting, or will we wake up and find that once again, the storm passed us by? My kids are banking on a day of sledding and minimal schoolwork, with the added bonus of having daddy home all day tomorrow. As predicted, the grocery stores were HOPPING on Saturday. All we have to have is just the slightest chance of snow, and everyone runs out for bread, milk, and eggs like we're going to be snowed under for several weeks.

When we had snow two weeks ago -- and it was really no more than an inch or so -- our parish CANCELLED Mass. We didn't know about it beforehand, so we showed up at our normal time, as did a handful of other parishoners. Our priest, who is FROM NIGERIA (not known for its blizzards) managed to make it there just fine and celebrated Mass for us anyway.

Our biggest prayer is that we don't lose power. THAT would be bad, since we don't have any other way to heat our house.

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Speaking of Mass, I got my "comeuppance" this morning. We have a priest that is nice, but can be a bit... well, I'm not sure how to describe him. He can be brash at times, slightly irreverent, and tends to ramble during his homilies. Today was no exception, and I found myself actually cringing as he went off on some tangent. I bowed my head to pray for him, although to be honest, I was proud and judgmental. After all, I had a better idea of what his homily should be.....

WRONG. The next thing I know, he turns his "tangent" into a main part of his homily, and he delivered a strong reminder to us all about the commitment that was made at our baptism, and what it means to us now. He urged us all to learn what it means to be Catholic, and to not be ashamed to live it. Our life in Christ is one of commitment and our attempts to stay faithful (with His grace). I cannot do his homily justice, of course, but I sat there humbled and grateful for this man who is shepherding those under his care faithfully.

He also tends to "ad lib" here and there, and after the Consecration, he usually says something like:

"This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is He who has faithfully fed the saints and martyrs throughout the centuries. How happy are we to be called to this supper..."

It's a small addition, but it hits me every time. St. Tarcisius comes to mind, as well as St. (Padre) Pio and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. What a privilege we have!

Marathon

2011-01-03T00:09:00.000-05:00

After writing the last post, I got on-line to watch the Biggest Loser. I haven't seen it in a long time (we don't have TV), so I was surprised to see that they now have contestants run a marathon at the end of the competition.

That wasn't the part that struck me, though.

As I was watching these people run the race, I saw how often they were tempted to quit. The first hill was a rather humbling experience that pushed them to the limit, and that was only in mile 2. In order to stay focused, the two guys ran together and encouraged each other every step of the way. As the race went on, and the miles dragged on, there were "surprise" visitors at various mile markers who ran with them for a while, giving them the support and encouragement they needed, just when they needed it most. At the end, when Ada just wanted to sit down and quit, her family joined her and kept her spirits up.

"Don't look to the finish line; just focus on the next few steps in front of you."

"You've worked so hard... you can do this! Don't stop!"

"Come on, girl, don't quit!"

And as she crossed the finish line, they stepped back just a few steps so she could cross alone, and then she fell into the arms of those who love her.

I found myself in tears -- not because it was inspirational (even though it was), but because I realized that the Bible talks about the saints being the "great cloud of witnesses," cheering us on as we run the race down here. I think I've read that so many times the words lost meaning for me, but SEEING it made all the difference in the world.

Too often I don't even remember that I'm IN the race. I'm wandering off to the side, getting distracted here and there, or just sitting down in defeat. Hopefully I'll remember what I just watched... that no one is looking at me with disgust. Instead, I'm surrounded by people who really do want me to finish this well... who are cheering me on, running with me, and whispering words of encouragement.

Any New Year's Resolutions?

2011-01-02T21:18:00.001-05:00

I've never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions... I don't know, I guess something about it seemed so arbitrary and fake to me. I can't remember ever making any when I was younger.

This year, however, I want to set some (what I feel to be) realistic goals for myself.

1. Be more consistent with my prayer life. I have it scheduled for when I first wake up in the morning, and an examination of conscience before going to bed. I don't think that is unreasonable for me, and in all honesty I'm sure I could be doing more, but for right now, I want to make meeting with the Lord EVERY morning a priority. I mentioned before that I was a Navigator in college, and "quiet times" were as essential as breathing. I want to get back into that wonderful habit I had in college, of reading, journaling, etc on a DAILY basis. Of course, I was single, in a dorm room, and it was very easy to maintain that sort of schedule. Later on, when I was on my own in an apartment, I only had myself to worry about, and getting up to read was not that big of a deal.

Now, it is.

Prayer time will look different at this stage. I'm dealing with a nursing infant who doesn't understand that he's cutting into my scheduled prayer time. By God's grace, if I can just manage to show up, and accept the interruptions as they come, I'll feel like I'm getting somewhere.

2. Lose 10 pounds and keep it off. I know, I know, EVERYONE wants to lose weight at the start of the new year, right? Well, I'm dealing with post-pregnancy weight, and I'm tired of it. It's hard enough to be 43 and see myself changing daily in the mirror, but I don't have to accept the fact that I'm heavier than I want to be, and just coast along. By this time next year, I want to be 10 pounds lighter, and in better shape. That's less than a pound a month. Again, I don't think that's unrealistic.

3. Maintain our homeschooling/housekeeping schedule. I saw how quickly I could go into a tailspin with the Christmas season. It was too much, and I couldn't handle all the additional clutter. As I've mentioned before, our house is small when you take into account the number of people living here. It would be like the typical "family of four" living in less than 400 square feet of living space. It's doable, but cramped. Since I don't see the Lord dropping a second storey on our house any time in the near future (although He owns it all, and could do it in a heartbeat if He so chose to do so), we have to continue to streamline, pare down, and "travel light." We've got way too much stuff, and we need to be comfortable with less. Part of my vocation as a mom is to create a peaceful home for my family, which can't be done with this much stuff everywhere. I think we were doing well when we had the schedule going, and I'm looking forward to returning to it. I will continue with the FlyLady housekeeping zones for the year, and see how we do!

Keeping with the homekeeping theme, it's time once again to pull Mrs. Dunwoody's Guide to Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping off the shelf and read it again! This is a yearly must for me, and I hope it will become one for you, too! I am inspired every time I read this!

4. Reread all my C.S. Lewis books. This is going to be a year-long project, for sure, but man, am I overdue for some inspiration from my favorite author! If they had a medal of him, I would wear it everyday. I'm not kidding. There are certain holy men and women who will bring me to tears every time I see their faces. St. (Padre) Pio is one of them. St. Therese of Lisieux is another. So is St. Maximillian Kolbe. The last is C. S. Lewis. All I have to do is see a picture, or hear something that he said, and I have an emotional reaction almost every time.

Speaking of emotional reactions, I know everyone has seen this a hundred times, but every now and then, it's good to see it again!

Emotional reactions for me: seeing Jim Caviezel as Jesus at the Last Supper (the Eucharist is what brought my husband to the Catholic faith, and it was the Eucharist that made me come back home), St. Maximillian Kolbe (by this time I'm usually in tears), and St. Therese (she prayed for me in my darkest hour... along with the Blessed Mother... and I'm forever grateful)

So how about you? Any resolutions to share?

Celebrate small victories!

2010-12-31T00:49:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the crafting theme of yesterday's post, I'd like to announce...

[drumroll, please]

I have actually scrapbooked four (count 'em, four) pages in our wedding album! Whoo hoo!

Yes, only 14 years overdue, I actually sat down, went through packages of pictures, got them in order, and managed to get four pages done!

Could this possibly mean that I might even get around to (gasp) scrapbooking the last several years of our family's life? I might even have something about Joseph's birth... or Grace's... or heck, even Marie's...

It was sweet, though, that my husband thanked me for doing all this. He has always been appreciative of the work I put into them, and the fact that I try to capture funny stories, how the kids used to say things, and just try to make a yearly story for my kids to enjoy. "If you didn't do this, all those pictures would remain in boxes, and we'd never see them."

I'm praying I can keep going, stay motivated, and get some albums done!

Christmas Vacation continues

2010-12-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the Christmas season!

I think I mentioned before that I just started knitting, thanks to the videos on youtube. It all started as a fluke, actually. I had bought some fun chunky yarn during the summer that I wanted to crochet into a hat or scarf. I soon found out that it was pretty much impossible to do with the needles I had. I was going to return the yarn, but a neighbor suggested that I try knitting with it instead. I had tried knitting once several years before, found it to be an extremely frustrating experience, and never tried again. However, she lent me some rather large knitting needles, and after watching a video or two on youtube, I was on my way. My first project was a prayer shawl. It was a "practice-only" one, and I found out how VERY easy it is to accidentally add stitches. Thanks to some helpful advice from my brother, however, I soon conquered that problem and was able to make a second prayer shawl, which was actually good enough to give as a gift. I made two more after that, and then a few scarves that I was able to give as Christmas presents.

As a stocking stuffer for myself this year, I bought a pair of circular needles, hoping to start with something simple, like a hat. So far, it looks OK...

(although if either Beth or Julie is looking at this, I can see that the ONE stitch I botched is visible in this picture. Shhhhh!)... but the color is HORRIBLE! I bought this skein of yarn for Christopher's scarecrow costume this year, and it was the only full one that I had in the house. Since it's just for practice anyway, I suppose I can deal with it... although I told my husband that if this really turns out to fit me, I'm going to knit one of those big flowers and put it on the side. Heck, if I have to wear a gold hat, I might as well go all the way, right?

I must say that even though I'm a complete newbie knitter, I'm having a lot of fun. I can knit, purl, and combine the two to do a basketweave pattern.

"Is that all you got, playa?"

Yeah, that's all I got.

As I've been poking around looking at various knitting videos and such, I've found fun things like Threadbangers (remember, I don't have any TV, so I don't have access to channels that people have been watching for years...), an amazing blog called Grosgrain, and more fun inspiring clothing-related blogs like Casey's Elegant Musings and New Dress a Day. Thanks to a wonderful present from my sister-in-law, I have also been introduced to the site Craft hope.

If you have any fun craft sites that you've come across recently, leave a comment and let me know!

HOW are we supposed to do that?

2010-12-26T07:16:00.000-05:00

Today's second reading says, in part:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

My husband has been taking this to heart, admonishing us all in his best show tune voice. I haven't been able to stop laughing all morning.

(And about that snow -- it looks like it fizzled out, so there's really not much more snow than there was last night. My kids are still hopeful, though, that we'll get another round. Why can't I be a bit more like them, and choose to be hopeful rather than pessimistic about life?)

Unbelievable! A white Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, as shocking as it may be, for the first time in 50 years (so the news reports say), my little corner of the world has experienced SNOW on Christmas. As soon as the first snowflakes started falling, my kids ran outside, desperately scrounging up what they could off the car to make a snowball.

How much snow has fallen so far? Let me look out the window...

I can't get a good picture of it to show you, but I'd say we've got about a half inch or so. It's still coming down in nice, big, fat flakes, but I can't see it accumulating several inches overnight.

This has NOT stopped my children, however, from dreaming of a full day tomorrow of sledding, igloos, and snowball fights. While I share the excitement of a day of snow, I have to admit I dread the thought of dragging every piece of "winter equipment" out and taking them to THE sledding hill that everyone goes to in town. My dh really doesn't enjoy the whole snow experience, so it's up to me to take them sledding every time it snows.

Unlike my childhood, which was filled with months of snow, we South Carolinians get MAYBE one day a year... or two if we're lucky... where we actually see snow. Sometimes, it sticks around long enough (that means a few hours) where we can actually go sledding.

As much as I dread the "inconvenience" of it all, I do hope that my children get a chance to experience the magic of snow during the Christmas season!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

May you and your families have a wonderful, joyous, blessed Christmas!

(poor Grace... she was so tired, and nothing could tempt her to smile. Oh well...)

Success!

2010-12-23T22:55:00.000-05:00

1. Got the Christmas cards mailed out. (yes!)

2. Baked and packaged food to give to neighbors.

3. Created a "we're-not-homeschooling-so-what-do-we-do-all-day" schedule that will hopefully carry us through next week!

Weekend Wrap up

2010-12-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

(otherwise known as a Quick Takes wannabe)

1. I think I can take a deep breath now. Christmas preparations... at least a big chunk of them... are done. Of course, I still have a hefty amount to do, like send out Christmas cards and wrap the rest of the presents, but hey! I'm feeling pretty good about the progress made so far! Surprisingly, I did more in-store shopping than I have in years. I had forgotten how much fun it is to shop by actually picking up the items and looking them over. I'm not sure I'll do the bulk of my shopping that way next year, but I'll definitely visit the local shops again.

2. Part of the Christmas preparation, of course, involved baking cookies. As we were in the midst of it, I was struck yet again by the differences between boys and girls. My girls spent a morning baking 6 dozen cookies for a formal tea party they had been invited to. They took their job very seriously -- putting on aprons, reading directions carefully, getting out all the ingredients beforehand, shaping the cookies properly, placing each batch on the cooling racks with great pride, and cleaning up afterwards. The boys had their turn the next day. They were just as excited about making cookies, but their approach to it all was rather, um, unorthodox. They first started staking their claims over which kitchen utensil they would get to use, and then just jumped into the whole process without getting all the ingredients out. Their need for bouncing around and making it a rather active experience was entertaining as I watched them dash to the pantry for the oil, hoist themselves on the counter for the flour, or run to the refrigerator for the eggs. As they were shaping the cookies to put on the cookie sheet they were sitting on the table, laughing and getting their hands completely covered in dough, and joking about how it looked like something the dog would leave in the yard (ahem).

In the end, both sets of kids made delicious gingersnaps and molasses cookies, but the process couldn't have been any more different!

3. Baking always reminds me of the Jean-Paul Sartre cookbook, which has been around forever and has been read by everyone who ever had the (mis)fortune of studying French theater in college. If you've read Sartre, Malraux, and Camus, this one's for you!

4. Joseph is now up to 12 1/2 pounds! God be praised!

5. We don't watch TV, so I had never seen this before...

When you drive a 15-passenger van, however, the "cool factor" diminishes drastically.... *sigh*

6. All kidding aside, I want to shout out CONGRATULATIONS to two sweet mommies who gave birth to sons just recently: Beth (from Beautiful Day) and Suzanne (from Gladdest Hours). I am so excited for both of them! Make sure to stop by and say hello to Leo Michael and Julius Peter Michael!

Update on Joseph... and how's that schedule going?

2010-12-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

Praise be to God, he's not in the hospital!

He managed to gain 5.5 oz in 2 days, which gave our pediatrician enough encouragement that he was willing to go another week. We'll go back in next Friday and see how much he has gained.

I know I should be nothing but joyful, but I'm still sad that breastfeeding alone, at least for now, isn't going to be enough for him. I'm also devastated that the whole time he's been fussy, he was crying for more food. I had no way of knowing that -- he was nursing great, gaining weight (rather slowly), etc. I called my parents, sobbing on the phone about how guilty I felt. My dad said, "Babe, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You were doing everything you could. The only time you'd be right to feel guilty is if you knew what he needed, and willfully withheld it from him."

I love my dad. He always has a way of encouraging me when I need it most.

I'm still praying for that miracle, though!

_________________________________________________________

You know those "talking bug I.D." magnifying glasses?
The ones that start off with asking, "Do you want to I.D. a bug?"

We can't convince Grace that it's not saying, "Do you want to eat a bug?"

Games are so much different in her world...

_________________________________________________________

So, how's that schedule going?
I'm sure that's what everyone wants to know!

I am thrilled to report that even with Thanksgiving... house guests... and many unexpected doctor visits, we are still basically on schedule. The house is getting deep cleaned on a weekly basis, but without the hours-long effort that it used to take. We simply schedule a half-hour of "zone cleaning" (thanks to the FlyLady!) which seems to take care of just about everything!

The BIGGEST bonus, however, has nothing to do with a clean house.

I, like most women who stay home, I suppose, had a mental list of all the things that were out of place or needed attention. I kept a running tab of everything that needed to be done, and that list kept growing and growing, no matter how much work I did during the day. What I didn't realize, however, was how much I resented the fact that my husband didn't "see" what needed to be done and jump in and help as soon as he got home. I kept a running dialogue in my head:

"How can he just sit there and relax when there is a bathroom that needs cleaning/a load of laundry that needs folding/a rug crying out to be vacuumed/whatever?"

I knew that evenings should be time of relaxation. Jen at Conversion Diary had several posts on working with the rhythm of the day, and not trying to pack more in than can be done during the daylight hours. I knew I was driving myself crazy working until 11 pm at night, and contributing to that feeling of uneasiness in our home.

A friend of mine made a great point at Bible study last week. She said something to the effect of, "If I were to go to my husband's office, I wouldn't just jump right in and start working. I would hear the phone ringing, and see all the stuff in his in-box, but I wouldn't have a clue what needed to be done. I would just sit there and wait until he told me how I could help."

Bingo! I realized that my poor husband was coming in cold, totally oblivious to all the stresses of the day and what had happened in the house while he was at work. To expect him to just jump right in, unasked, and somehow read my mind and work on my mental list, was ridiculous.

Now that we are tackling that "mental list of mine" during the day, I am free in the evening to RELAX, and allow my husband that same freedom, without expecting him to jump right in and start working as soon as he gets home. The result has been a much slower-paced evening and a much happier, peaceful home.

Praise the Lord!

First, an update

2010-12-02T13:05:00.000-05:00

Joseph is eating more, which thrills me to no end. What he is not doing, however, is breastfeeding, and that crushes me.

I know that many babies are fed formula -- I was, my oldest was, all my siblings were, etc. I know that babies can thrive and be happy on it. Joseph, however, is used to breastfeeding, can't STAND formula, and doesn't understand why he has to do it this way right now. Mealtimes have now become a horrible experience for him.

Please continue to pray that he gains weight, so he won't have to be hospitalized tomorrow. Please, please also pray that we can get back to breastfeeding. This is breaking my heart.

Next, on a completely different note: Does anyone have a link to the most recent Oprah episode with the Dominican sisters? I saw the one in February, but this latest one... well, I guess I had my dates wrong, because when I turned it on it was DEFINITELY not the Dominicans, and I turned it off.

Anybody? Anybody?

Please pray!

2010-11-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

Long story short -- Joseph just isn't growing.

I'm not sure if the problem is me or him, but at 4 months he is tiny, falling off the growth curve, and not showing any signs of improvement. I have to go again tomorrow for another weigh-in, and then we need to discuss what our options are.

Please pray!

Hey, guess what?

2010-11-29T22:32:00.000-05:00

Joseph is asleep... IN BED! I hope this lasts more than just a few minutes...

Oh, I've had so much to post about, and absolutely no free time to do so. In these precious few minutes before he starts screaming again, let me recap what's been going on.

First, I've missed you guys!

I mentioned before how chaotic life has been since Joseph's birth. I'll admit it -- I was thinking that having baby #8 would be a piece of cake. After all, I've done this 7 times before, so I should be an old pro at this, right? Well, either he's the fussiest baby we've ever had, hands down, or I somehow forgot everything about mothering a newborn since Grace (a tough kid as well).

On top of that, I am now homeschooling 6 kids, 7th grade down to kindergarten, with a three-year old and a newborn on the side. I knew THAT would be a challenge, so I sat before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and told Him I was going to go down in flames if He didn't guide me through this next year. As I was writing out all this in my journal, the quiet thought came to me: Teach them all separately. As I've mentioned before, I thought it was either the voice of God, or the dumbest idea that's ever flitted through my head. But, with nothing else to go on, I decided to jump in and use the Mother of Divine Grace curriculum for each kid. Seventeen weeks into the school year, I can say that homeschooling has been MUCH easier this year, since I'm not driving myself crazy trying to find some magical way to mesh all their classes together.

So I knew that the Lord was interested in how I homeschool this wonderful troop of kids He's given us, but was He just as concerned with my sanity and the state of my home?

That was my question as I saw everything I had ever worked out... every bit of organization I thought I had... crumble into dust. I'm not what you would call an overly organized person to begin with. Sure, everyone ASSUMES that because I have 8 children, I must have this magical organizational gene that makes mothering so many a breeze.

Nope. Not a chance. (and by the way, I'm not a patient person either. Guess that's two strikes against me, or God's way of showing the world that you don't have to be organized or patient to be chosen to do this).

Many times since July I have hidden myself in the bathroom, crying over the complete chaos that has taken over my home. No, I wasn't a candidate for How Clean is Your House, but my home wasn't that haven of peacefulness that I wanted it to be, either. I begged Jesus to please show me how to do this, because I was filled with anxiety and rage over the "lack of control" I was dealing with.

I shared my tears and frustrations with a good friend of mine, who has transformed her home from a place where she felt anxious and out of control to one where there is real peace. She already had an amazing gift of hospitality, but now her home just radiated it.

Our Bible study group voted to read A Mother's Rule of Life for our next study, and I had some hope that THIS time, things would be different. On top of that, I borrowed a friend's copy of Managers of Their Homes. Those two books, plus the advice and good example of my friend, pushed me into doing something I thought I would never do: SCHEDULE MY DAY.

Like I said, I'm not an organized person, so this sort of thing did not come naturally to me. I sat down with a spreadsheet, bowed my head and asked God to guide my efforts, and then started plugging in the various activities that must be done in the course of a day. The difference between this, and something like a schedule from the FlyLady, is that EVERY person in the family is scheduled in. Instead of simply stating that 12:00 pm is lunchtime, for example, I had to decide what each person should be doing. If I was teaching the younger girls, who was going to be taking care of Joseph? What time did I need to get up to make sure that I had my time with the Lord in the morning?

Doing this schedule was a lot like working out a budget. When you just wing it, you have a general sense of what should be in each category, but there's nothing definite. As I was scheduling our day, I became VERY aware of the fact that there just weren't enough hours in the day to do everything. I was forced to be honest with myself and determine how much time I needed to allot to each task. After a few days of thought, however, I came up with a basic schedule that I thought might work.

The result? Immediate peace. I was floored.

I've been able to keep that schedule for over a week now, including Thanksgiving, visits with relatives, and my husband being home during the day -- all things that normally would throw our house into confusion and mess. We've been able to end our homeschooling several hours earlier, AND I've been able to incorporate the FlyLady's zones into the whole thing, so our house is getting (and staying!) clean.

This is a miracle, people -- a real miracle! Nighttime cleanup (which used to take an hour and a half) is now cut down to less than 20 minutes. The toys are now being put away on a regular basis during the day. I'm no longer freaking out over the never-ending list of things that need to be done, because I know that these tasks will be addressed at certain times.

My bathrooms are cleaned twice a week.
My entire house is getting swept and mopped on a regular basis.
Baseboards, walls, and kitchen cabinets are getting washed weekly.
Chairs are getting wiped down daily.

The peace that I felt was so dramatic I knew that I was headed in the right direction.

So when we went out and got the Christmas tree on Saturday (it's tradition), and the kids started taking all the decorations out of the boxes, I started to feel that uneasiness and anxiety creep back in. Very quickly I realized that I don't handle visual clutter well, and I can now give myself permission to get rid of the things that no longer bring me joy. I'm under no obligation to put it all out, because -- to be honest -- our house is very small, we've got a lot of people, and I don't need to contribute to that claustrophobic feeling by putting out a gazillion different Nativity sets.

Does Jesus care about little things like the state of mind and home of some 40-something-year old in upstate South Carolina? Yes, He does. What I think He's been telling me, as an answer to my desperate prayers, is simple:

1. Teach them all separately (which gives them that individual time with Mom that is so important)
2. Schedule your day
3. You don't need to keep everything. Get rid of the excess.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, but so far that's what we're doing over here.

Anybody still here?

2010-11-28T21:57:00.000-05:00

Anyone still reading this blog?

If so, I thank you most profusely. I've just about given up on myself, here! I keep telling myself to take a deep breath and to remember, "this stage is short... This stage is short..."

Joseph is still fussy. That's just a given right now. Pray for him, please!!

I'm loving this one

2010-11-22T23:52:00.003-05:00

Same story... holding a fussy baby, so limited computer time.

HOWEVER, I can at least pass this on, thanks to Mark Shea.

OK, question number 1

2010-11-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

As I said, I'm going through A Mother's Rule of Life (again) to try to get our day organized. What worked in years past no longer works now, so I'm having to rethink everything all over again. I have to take into account a new baby, my night-owl tendencies, and the increased workload for homeschooling (the older kids are having to do much more, AND I'm adding more children that I have to teach each year).

With that in mind, I am asking myself the first question:

What do I think is necessary to live a faith-filled life?

What sorts of daily practices should be included?

I would have to put Scripture reading right up there at the top. Being a good former Navigator, I "function better," for lack of a better term, when I'm reading a book through from beginning to end, taking notes as I go along, and writing my thoughts down in a journal. That was the pattern I learned in college, and it has suited me well all these years since.

But then I think, "What about the daily Mass readings?" There's something to be said for reading along with the rest of the Church, but the "jumping around" bothers me and messes with my chi. (that's a joke, by the way). Trying to do both is a bit much for me right now, so I'm not sure where to go.

However, I'm a big reader, so spiritual reading in general is high on the list. I usually have books in every room of the house that I'm reading, including The Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales on my iPhone (gotta love iPieta!).

Daily examination of conscience is another good one, but truthfully, by the time I get Joseph down (and I'm usually holding him... like I said, he's a high-maintenance baby), I'm not in a very prayerful mood. Chalk it up to immaturity or a lack of "dying to self," but at that moment the last thing I want is another responsibility staring me in the face. So I tend to save it for when I climb into bed, but you know how that works, don't you? Yeah, I usually get a general sense of "wow, I really blew it today," and then fall asleep before any real progress is made.

There's also weekly Rosary with our homeschooling group, weekly Mass (I truly wish I could go more often. My heart is calling, but right now I don't see how that would be possible), and quarterly confession.

I wish I could say that we say the Angelus at noon, or pray the Divine Mercy chaplet at 3:00 pm, or do a family Rosary/devotion time, but we don't. We pray at night as a family, but it's a pretty quick affair.

Not only to I have to think about what *I* need to be doing, but I'm also supposed to think about the spiritual lives of my kids, and help them develop good habits that they will carry all through life. I want them to be reading the Bible daily, for example, but where am I supposed to schedule that? Jesus is going to have to show me the answer to that one... and all these other questions...

But it would be helpful for me if any of you would be willing to share what practices YOU have found to be most beneficial. What do you do on a daily (or almost daily) basis?

If you're willing to share, leave a comment!

The struggle continues

2010-11-09T23:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why the addition of this latest child into our family has been so difficult, but it has been a real struggle. I feel like a complete newbie as I attempt to take care of Joseph and the rest of my kids. I know I've done this before and I know it will get better as time goes on, but wow...

I keep reminding myself to take it easy and not expect perfection at this stage in the game. I can't "compete" with other moms whose children are older -- not that life is a competition, of course, but I often compare myself to others and come up woefully short (those who know me should refrain from short jokes at this moment! *grin*). I can't homeschool all my kids, AND whip up perfect meals, AND keep an immaculate house, AND lose all this pregnancy weight, AND take care of a newborn, AND stay sane. I just can't.

People are going to see me fail, and I have to learn to deal with that little lesson in humility and move on.

In the meantime, I need to take baby steps to try to get back on track. The most obvious one, of course, is trying to find a way to have time alone with God in the morning. This is not easy when the baby sleeps with me and tends to wake up easily. I guess the most important thing for me to do is simply to "show up," as it were, with whatever I can muster, and know that He understands.

Secondly, I hope to find a way to incorporate all those good ideas and wonderful suggestions and systems that I've been exposed to over the years and, with God's grace, find a way to establish routines that work for us. Life changed in a big way with baby #8, and our routines didn't... and so I've found myself floundering horribly, wondering why on earth I can't get it together.

Things will eventually return to normal. I will feel more "myself"... I will be able to think and not be so scatter-brained... the chaos will lesson somewhat... and I will have time to do what needs to be done. If this is the vocation He chose for me, and this is the path to holiness, then He will give me the grace and strength I need to function. I am hopeful, because I truly believe that He will.

Ugh.

2010-11-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

Note to self:

Never, EVER go clothes shopping 3 months post-partum.

I am so depressed.

And a little child shall lead them

2010-11-02T22:50:00.001-05:00

Not a very original title, I must admit, but it's so very, very true.

God continually shows me what true love looks like through my children. If I ever wind up being half as mature spiritually as they are, I'll be blessed indeed.

Tonight was no exception.

It started off with Thomas getting a toy this afternoon. He had wanted this particular toy for awhile, and asked Daddy to get it for him (with the understanding, of course, that he would pay for it out of his allowance). He was very excited to get it, and played with it all afternoon long.

Evening came and Grace, being the 3-year old that she is, found the toy and started playing with it. I wasn't paying much attention at the time -- I was nursing the baby -- but it vaguely registered that she was very intent on figuring out how it worked.

Flash forward to 30 minutes later -- Thomas comes running down the hallway, sobbing that Grace had broken his toy. A quick check showed that yes, the inner ball was broken. The lights still worked, but it was definitely broken. The toy that he had been talking about getting... and had finally gotten... was already on the fritz.

I blew it.

"Grace! How could you? Why would you go and break Thomas' new toy? Why?"

Her little face crumpled and she whimpered a sad, "I don't know..."

I couldn't let it go. She, being a normal 3-year old, does get into her older siblings' things and yes, often messes them up. I was frustrated and continued to question her, wanting to make darn sure that she felt really, REALLY bad about what she did. She made her way back into her room and just cried and cried. I told her that she had to use some of the money in her piggybank to replace the toy she broke.

I'll admit an even worse thing: I was totally unmoved. I allowed the frustrations of the day, coupled with the fact that she had bugged the heck out of me today, to keep me from showing any pity. If you want a perfect example of Pharisaical "righteousness," look no further than right here. I was all judgment and no mercy.

And then Thomas came into her room.

He put his hand on her back and gently shushed her.

"Grace? Grace? Listen... I'm not sure you broke it after all. I was thinking about it, and it's possible that *I* broke it... shhhhh... it's OK... I can still use it, and like I said, I think I might have broken it when I was playing with it last. And even if you did break it, I know you didn't mean it, and I don't want you to have to pay for a new one."

Can you guess who felt an inch tall after this?

The compassion and mercy that my SEVEN-YEAR OLD showed for his sister shamed me to no end. *I* am supposed to be the loving, nurturing one that everyone turns to, and instead I was angry and unyielding, demanding that she be "thrown in jail until she pays back what she owes."

How many times have I been shown mercy?

Why is it so hard for me to extend that same mercy and grace to others? Especially those in my own family?

Oh Lord, help me to be more like my children when I finally grow up.

Drumroll.....

2010-10-21T14:05:00.000-05:00

And thus

ends

our

month

birthdays

here at Chez Ouiz!

[Yet ANOTHER reason why I haven't been able to blog all month long! SIX bithdays in 17 days!]

So what on earth was wrong with you?

2010-10-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

Is that the question you've been asking? Well, hopefully I'll have a few minutes to answer that, although this is all incredibly embarrassing for me to even talk about.

I'll start with just two words:

Head Lice.

Now, if you had asked me to list "experiences which I assume I'll never deal with in my life," I would have ranked that one right up there with contracting leprosy and juggling for the Pope.

It seriously was never on my radar.

Not even close.

I'd like to say that I handled this well, but I don't think screaming "Oh dear Jesus!" and throwing my daughter into the bathtub was the best way to handle it.

And then I cried. A lot.

So, on top of dealing with the normal responsibilities of a homeschooling mom of eight, AND trying to cope with an exceptionally high-maintenance newborn, I now had the joy of dealing with something so over the top I had no idea how to possibly cope.

Each day (for 21 days) requires a thorough combing of each child, plus running each person's sheets through the dryer for 20 minutes... plus doing all the laundry, bagging everything up, and vacuuming all the furniture.

1 hour per head X 10 people = 10 hours
20 min per bed X 10 beds = 200 min = 3 hours 20 min.

You do the math.

And yet I was able to go to the chapel, kneel down, and thank God for this whole experience... and mean it.

WHAT THE HECK?

As awful as this experience has been, I can truly say that I've learned quite a bit. For starters, I was able to see this not as a "God hates me and look what He just dumped on me," but rather a "this is an experience He has allowed for a reason, and I want to see it through to find out what it is."

Patience: I already knew I was mighty low on patience, but when I was faced with 10+ hours of tedious hair combing, every single day, I realized with stunning clarity that I was completely sunk if I didn't rely on Him to get me through each hour. He did.

Thoroughness and Determination: Attention to detail never mattered more than when I was having to focus my eyes on finding each egg and nit in my children's hair. I had to block out everything else and throw myself into the job I was given, taking all the time necessary to examine (basically) each shaft of hair. As I combed through each child's hair, I was struck with how much time I was willing to devote to this... and those disgusting little creatures are SO incredibly small! And yet, if I didn't, the results would be disastrous -- one louse could easily turn into hundreds in the course of just a few weeks.

How willing am I to look at the sin in my own life? What "little" sins and habits have I developed which, unchecked, could grow exponentially into something horrific?

Time with my kids: This experience truly forced me to s...l...o...w......d...o...w...n... and spend time with my children. I spent the time combing going over their homeschooling, talking about their thoughts and dreams, etc. What a blessing it was to have an hour with each one of my kids!

Complaining: After getting over the initial crying, I learned to suck it up and deal with it like a good little soldier. We were all in this experience together, so there was no one to complain to! Instead, I've been able to put things (a little bit) into perspective. A crying baby is NOTHING compared to a day of combing out hair. I'm sorry, but it just isn't.

Judging Others: This was the big one. Before this experience, if you had asked me what I thought of people who got lice, I would have listed poor, dirty, greasy-haired, filthy, etc etc etc. I'm sorry, but that was just the mental image I had of people who got lice.

Well, I was knocked off my high horse rather quickly.

I went from feeling pretty good about myself and our standing as a family to becoming an instant pariah. We suddenly become one of "those families" that you wouldn't want to be around, because who on earth would want to expose themselves to something like that? I started sympathizing with the lepers in the NT, who had to go around shouting, "Unclean! Unclean!" I had to swallow my pride and call various friends who had been in close contact with us that I had possibly exposed them to lice. I had to duck my head and go into a pharmacy where everyone knows me, and buy a BOX full of lice shampoo (prescription). Do you think you can somehow manage to miss someone buying 31 bottles of lice shampoo? Not likely. I went from thinking I was above all that to realizing that no, I was just another one of the poor fools that has to deal with this sort of thing.

Walking with the saints: Above all, I got to see what real love in action looks like when my mother-in-law came to our house at the start of all this, and voluntarily stayed to "fight the good fight." Who on earth voluntarily goes into a house with lice? My saintly mother-in-law does.

She has stripped beds every day for close to 3 weeks now, running the sheets through the dryer and remaking the beds.

She has done more loads of laundry than is humanly possible.

She has held a screaming baby while I've combed hair... cleaned my house when it was obvious that there was no way I'd ever be able to get to it... taken my children for walks... endured hours of hair combing on herself... vacuumed every piece of furniture nightly... and never once lost her smile. If you want to see what a living saint looks like, look at my husband's mom. She is the most amazing person you will ever meet.

So, that is what has been going on over here... how's life with you?

One of the great things about having boys

2010-10-13T09:29:00.000-05:00

...is that the words, "There's a dead squirrel in the yard. Can you please scoop it up and throw it in the woods?" is met, not with revulsion, but with a resounding, "Oh cool!"

Of course, when said son (Sean) got back in the house, he was all smiles and said, "I flung it pretty far back there, and I almost hit the tree I was aiming for!"

I think I'm going to be sick.

Thank God for boys.

First of all...

2010-10-13T09:26:00.000-05:00

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. More details to follow when I am able to sit down and write. It's been an experience... truly....

Catholic Company Review: Miracles, Healing for a Broken World

2010-09-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did.

There's nothing I like better than curling up with an uplifting "look what the Lord has done for me" sort of book... you know, the sort of miracle stories that stick with you when you're feeling depressed and give you just that bit of encouragement that you needed.

Unfortunately, this isn't that book.

It's not bad, necessarily, but it's not good either. In the introduction Fr. Stefan Starzynski says that his collaborator had a very difficult job to do, because he tended to jump around and flit from subject to subject. That was definitely part of the problem here. Reading this book was like listening to an older relative rambling on as he tells war stories, but without the cohesiveness needed to make the stories gripping and riveting.

There were also several sections of the book dealing with material needs that I don't feel were explained well at all, and I found myself feeling like I was watching TBN. I could almost swear I heard Janis Joplin singing in the background:

"Oh Lord, won't You buy me

A Mercedes-Benz..."

While I am thrilled that Father Starzynski has been called to serve the Body of Christ in this way, and has blessed the lives of so many around him, this book does not do his ministry justice.

This is a review for the Catholic Company.

Feast of the Archangels

2010-09-29T21:06:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed this feast day!

Children have WONDERFUL memories when it comes to tradition, so there was NO WAY I would be able to get through this day without baking a devil's food cake and giving everyone little swords to eat it with. It's getting easier to go without chocolate, but wow... rich dark chocolate with homemade dark chocolate frosting... that one was tough. I'm comforting myself with a glass of my new favorite, Duplin Carolina Red Muscadine wine. (I love muscadines!)

Somebody got a little sword-happy.

(Yeah, this is one UGLY cake, but the taste is AMAZING... not that I would, uh, know about that this time around.... sigh...)

Weekend Wrap up (updated)

2010-09-26T22:39:00.002-05:00

1. Another week of holding a very fussy kid. Bless his heart. Someday we're all going to sit back and laugh as we remember these days, but for right now... well, in my better moments I try to offer it up. In my not-so-good moments, I opt for a walk around the neighborhood or a stiff drink. Sometimes both. At the same time. Two-fisted. (OK, not really, but still...)

2. In spite of his fussiness, I managed to whip up some peanut butter cookies. It's not chocolate, but for a woman desperate for something "dessert-ish" to eat, they were pretty darn good.

3. In preparation for homeschooling this week, I was trying to find some good maps for Fr. Marquette's journey down the Mississippi River. I didn't find exactly what I wanted, but I *did* stumble across this site: American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration. Click on "Find a Document" and you can read all sorts of incredible letters and diaries of explorers. Why read someone else's interpretation of what happened, when I can read the diaries of the explorers themselves? This is a site I'll definitely be adding to my homeschooling list.

4. Our priest gave a wonderful homily this morning on the Gospel reading of Dives and Lazarus. He started off with the joke about the rich man in a certain town who never gave any money to charity. One enthusiastic volunteer, determined to get a donation from this man, went and knocked on his door. He was shown in and met the rich man in his study. After explaining all the good that his organization did for the community, he summed it up by saying,

"Well sir, our records show that you have never given to our charity before, but now that you've had a chance to see all that we are doing here, would you consider giving us a donation?"

"Your records?" exclaimed the rich man. "Do your records make any mention of my mother, who has struggled all her life to make ends meet? Do your records mention my brother, who has lived on the street after being evicted from his home, or my sister, who has had to use foodstamps to feed her children?"

Totally chagrinned, the volunteer stuttered, "Uh, no sir, our records didn't... uh... didn't make any mention of your family members."

"Well," replied the rich man, "if I don't give any money to them, what makes you think I'll give any to you?"

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

He went on by saying that the sin of the rich man in the Gospel reading today wasn't cruelty. He never hit Lazarus, or spit on him, or had him arrested for sleeping at his front gate. His sin was neglect, pure and simple. He was well aware of the man lying at his door... in fact, he even knew his name... but he never did anything for him. Father asked us to prayerfully consider who the "Lazarus" was in our own lives. Who are we guilty of neglecting? He said that it didn't necessarily have to do with money at all; sometimes, we are only being called to recognize the dignity and worth in our neighbor.

The two thoughts that struck me most were (1) that the rich man knew Lazarus' name (I have never thought of that before) and bore no ill will towards him... in fact, he didn't think about him at all; and (2) this fits right in with the book we are still reading for Bible study: Consoling the Heart of Jesus. I know I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: we can minister to others by "the merciful look," which says to the person, "I delight that you exist." Carrying that thought with me throughout the day has really made a difference in how I have been relating to people. I have found myself slowing down and really listening to what people have to say, and remembering to ask questions the next time I see them ("Hey! How did your driving test go?" "How's that new puppy you bought last month?"). All of us need to be heard, respected, and appreciated. It takes effort to slow down, but the rewards have been worth it. On more than one occasion (unfortunately) I have been reminded that I can't really delight in the other person if I'm talking about them behind their back, or rolling my eyes at poor choices they've made, etc etc etc.

Here's an example: last night I went to the Mart of Wal for a few things. I zipped into the express lane, only to find that my lane was blocked by a woman trying to buy cheese on the WIC program (I'm not sure what the problem was, but it took forever!), and the other one was blocked by two oriental students with an overflowing grocery cart. After being gently reminded to "delight in their existence," I took another look at them. The woman was ticked at being kept in line for so long, and probably embarrassed as well. She's a mom, like me, who is trying to feed her children. I also was reminded of some rough times that my mom had to go through when she was younger, and I quickly realized that this woman did NOT need another pair of frustrated eyes staring at her for daring to hold up the line. Then I looked at the oriental students, and realized that it must be awfully hard coming to a foreign country on your own, trying to set up a place to live, learning how to shop, how to drive, how to get around, etc. These two students probably never saw the "20 items or less" sign. They probably just arrived here a few weeks ago and, judging by what they had in their cart, are just now setting up an apartment. I saw the nervous smiles on their faces and thought, "I would want people to extend grace to me if I were ever in a foreign country." The cashier was already doing a fine job of that -- she was relaxed, helpful, and never once frustrated, even though her line was growing at a rapid rate.

I'm a slow learner, but I must say I've enjoyed seeing people in a new light so far! (now, if only I could remember to extend more grace to a certain fussy little man, who needs to be told that his mommy still delights in him, even though he's driving her nuts!)

[as a side note: Reilly has been listening to Dives and Lazarus by Ralph Vaughan Williams as part of her music study this week. It made the Gospel reading even more special for her!]

5. I have to update this post to make sure I put this out (thanks to Acts of the Apostasy). What an amazing gift this man gave his wife at their reception! Enjoy!

Lord willing, I'll be able to post more frequently once Joseph decides to cooperate...

Review: What Ticks You Off

2010-09-20T00:25:00.000-05:00

I received a copy of What Ticks You Off (and How to Deal with It) months ago... listened to it right away... and then forgot to write the review during the last months of my pregnancy.

Boo. Bad reviewer.

BUT... seeing as I had the opportunity to go out shopping this past Saturday BY MYSELF, I took this CD with me and listened to it again.

In a nutshell, this is a great CD!

Jeff Cavins takes a passage from the epistle of James (4:1-10) and uses it to show why we get angry, why we let it escalate, and what we need to do about it. By allowing our needs, our desires, and our comfort to take top place in our lives, we find ourselves getting angry and bitter when those needs aren't met by those we live with every day. Ultimately, we must remember that we are trying to fill that place in our hearts that only God can fill -- and by doing so, we set ourselves up for misery and failure.

I must confess, this struck a chord with me as I have been doing more than my fair share of whining lately. It's easy to have a list of things that I'd like to accomplish during the day; what's difficult is actually accomplishing much on that list with a newborn in my arms. I let my desire for computer time, or reading, or getting time ALONE to become paramount and I get so frustrated when I am surrounded by little ones and their needs.

Time alone is fine. So is reading and spending time on the computer. The problem arises when I make that more important than the children we have been given to raise. When I don't have that sort of expectation, I find that the day goes much, much smoother.

May I always try to keep my priorities in order!

This is an official review for the Catholic Company.

Fun Video

2010-09-17T23:05:00.003-05:00

Many thanks to my brother, who told me I just had to see this...

Enjoy!

Since it's been awhile...

2010-09-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

... I thought I should at least post some pictures. (I always love looking at pictures on blogs... don't you?)

Things are finally moving house-wise around here. We have wanted to rip up the carpet in the back of the house for YEARS, but were never in a position financially to do it. This weekend, the Lord provided us with some greatly reduced flooring, so off we went! As you can see, the troops were anxious to help!

And here's why -- the carpet was sooooo disgusting. We had good intentions when we first put it in 10 years ago, but soon realized that carpet and children just don't mix. I don't care how clean you are or how strictly you keep the "no food on the carpet" rule, it's just a bad, bad idea. After lifting up the carpet and removing the pad, this is how much dirt had made its way to the subflooring...

Ugh. I can't believe I'm embarrassing myself by posting this, but it will serve as a humble reminder the next time I get a wild idea to put carpeting down.

On to food now!

I have been dealing with a typical two-year old who insists on having the same thing for lunch every day... and then never eats it. Tired of fighting this battle with minimal success, I turned to a trick my mom used to use -- using food as art. Getting my sweet little girls to help, we made...

(if you can't tell) butterflies and flowers! (the olives are beetles that are crawling up the stems).

So far it's been pretty successful. Grace has eaten MUCH more than normal, which is such a blessing!

Of course, the other kids are loving the whole "food as art" concept as well, so lunchtime has become a bit more chaotic as everyone scrambles into the kitchen to whip up his latest masterpiece/lunch.

Reilly, for example, made a cat today (sorry... turn your head sideways...)

Kathryn made a caterpillar...

and Christopher made a mosquito ("Look, Mom! The grapes can be the blood!".... blech...)

I wish I could say I've been able to get much accomplished, but this little guy takes up every moment of the day.


Don't believe what my mom says about me! I'm not that difficult!

Still, this is a short season ("remember that, Ouiz.... remember that...") and we are blessed!

What Does Love in Action Look Like?

2010-09-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday night we had the chance to go to a free fair held by one of the local churches. Since it advertised "free hot air balloon rides," I felt obligated to go.

You see, Reilly's dream has been to go up in a hot air balloon.

We got there after supper and stood in line for over an hour, chatting with friends and watching the sun slowly set below the trees. As we got closer to the end of the line (but still some distance back) the announcement was made that once the sun went down, the ride was closing.

There was no way we were going to make it.

The other kids were disappointed, of course, but Reilly was devastated.

The Wanna Be's oldest daughter "S" (and a close friend of both Reilly and Kathryn) was closer to the front, so she grabbed Reilly's hand and desperately asked each person in front of her if they would take Reilly with them in their group so she could go up.

Each group said no.

"S" cried... not that SHE didn't get on the balloon ride, but that her friend Reilly wouldn't be able to.

As the last group descended, and the rest of the line slowly made its way down the hill, I turned back around with Reilly to ask if there was ANY way they'd consider taking her up... even for just a minute. At first the man refused, but then he asked, "Is it just her?" I said yes, and he said, "I don't have any more fuel, but I might have enough residual heat to take it back up once more. It can't hold more than just her, though."

Reilly's dream came true.

My other kids, who also wanted to be in the balloon, didn't complain ONCE. Instead, they all started jumping up and down, waving and cheering for Reilly.

My heart was pretty much put through the wringer -- from Reilly, who tried to put on a brave face but couldn't hide how devastated she was, and "S" who gave up her own chance to ride in order to try to get her friend on, to the Wanna Be and the rest of her family who also gave up their own ride to try to get Reilly on, and my other children who pushed aside their own disappointment to truly cheer for their sister. I thought of my husband, who just wanted a quiet weekend at home, but graciously chose to forgo that so that we could do something special for the kids.

As I was walking back to the car, I thought, this is what love looks like... not the starry-eyed "falling in love" sort of thing that comes easy because it is so intoxicating... but the daily, slogging-in-the-trenches, giving-when-it's-inconvenient-or-hurts kind of love.

So, the next day with camera in hand, I tried to capture more moments of love in action, like when Grace offered to hold the baby so Mommy could get some hot tea (and she was rewarded with a huge smile from Joseph!)

Or when Christopher, who was running out the door to play outside to play with Sean, stopped and graciously agreed when his little sister asked him to play "Little People" with her. It wasn't just a "let's get this over with so I can get back to what I was doing" sort of playing, either. He set up all sorts of rooms for them, changed voices for the different characters, and gave Grace all the attention she was wanting.

He never even knew that I had heard all of that, or that I took this picture. He performed this act of kindness and then went on his way, never mentioning it to anyone.

Meanwhile, Thomas spent his free time teaching his little sister how to play baseball, cheering her on with every hit she got. I'm not sure he ever got a time up at bat. All I could hear from the kitchen window was his excited laughter whenever she managed to hit the ball.

Later that afternoon, the Wanna Be called and said she wanted to "hold the baby." She came over with her daughters, picked up Joseph, and took him for a walk (enabling me to get some much-needed cleaning done). Did I mention she had had a rough day at home, and STILL chose to look beyond what was going on there to reach out to a friend to offer a helping hand?

Not pictured (unfortunately) is my friend P, who routinely invites us over for lunch and today watched all of my kids so I could take Joseph to the hospital for some tests. She is busy enough with her children (especially the youngest -- a sweet boy with a melt-your-heart smile who is into everything, as all one-year olds are), and yet thinks nothing of inviting us over and urging me to "go home and get some stuff done."

I could write on and on about the love shown by friends, who fed us through the month of August... the woman at church that I don't even know who crocheted a blanket for Joseph, or another woman at church who came over and did ALL of our laundry, fed us dinner, and just gave us three bags full of school supplies.

Not a single person listed above said "I love you," but their actions screamed it just the same.

I am humbled by their example, and convicted by the fact that too often my love is just talk.

Which brings me to the latest book we're reading in our Bible study: Consoling the Heart of Jesus. In it Fr. Gaitley talks about how we console the Heart of Jesus by ministering to our neighbor in look/action, word, and prayer. We need our interaction with others, as best as possible, to say, "I delight that you exist." We are to see those around us as worthwhile because they are created by God, loved dearly by Him, and are meant to reflect something of His glory that no other person has ever done before. By seeking to make each encounter with another person reflect those words -- I delight that you exist -- we will find ourselves (by God's grace) performing little acts of service.

And then everyone can get a glimpse of what love really looks like.

Can You Help But Love This Face?

2010-09-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

I'm a good kid... really! Don't believe all that my mommy writes about me!

Good News, Bad News

2010-08-31T21:00:00.000-05:00

Where have I been?

I have been holding a screaming baby every night since I wrote last -- nursing him to sleep, and then having to hold him to KEEP him asleep.

He has not been an easy child.

Still, I have good news and bad news on this front:

THE GOOD NEWS: I have found (I think) the cause of all his screaming, and it's easily treatable.
THE BAD NEWS: It requires me to (gulp) give up chocolate.

CHOCOLATE! Why did it have to be chocolate???

With Christopher, I had to give up homemade salsa. It was a sacrifice, to be sure, but I did it for a year. (Of course, he is now my "salsa king," and comes running whenever I make it. Figures!)

With Grace, I had to give up mocha frappucinos. Again, that was rough, but I was able to substitute a vanilla one instead with no ill effects. It was my weekly treat, but I dealt with it.

But chocolate?

Around here, that's "Mommy's little helper." I grab a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips out of the pantry usually twice a day. I look forward to my afternoon break of hot tea and chocolate as my "reward" for a job well done (whatever that is.)

Sigh. And now it's gone.

He has been a completely different kid today (since I've detoxed). He actually slept all morning long, which enabled us to homeschool without the added fuss factor. It was amazing! The added plus was that he slept IN HIS CRIB, so I wasn't carrying him around the whole time. After almost 6 weeks of constant holding, THAT is a major breakthrough!

If I am correct and it was the chocolate that was causing all the problems, then there's no doubt that I'll just have to suck it up like a brave little soldier and deal with it.... and try to forget that I've got the most amazing chocolate cheesecake in the freezer that I'd be willing to tackle someone for.

I realize that this is not really "suffering" and truly, I'm thankful he's healthy... but dang... it had to be chocolate...

Weekend Wrap-up... on Monday

2010-08-23T23:23:00.000-05:00

I think I get a free pass on this... I've been holding a baby pretty much non-stop for days! (he will NOT sleep if I put him down. I'm not kidding.)

1. Joseph was baptized last week!

We are so blessed to have good friends (M&B) be the Godparents of Joseph. With them in his corner, he's got no choice but to be a faithful Catholic his entire life! Their children are the cute, cute kids on the left. The child in front of my husband is not mine, but has often tried to stowaway in our van and declare herself to be one of us! (we love her and believe me, she's got a great REAL family as well!) Thankfully, my parents (in back) were able to be there as well -- thank you, Mom and Dad!

And here's my friend Malia, who graciously agreed to be the Christian witness. I know she'll be faithfully praying me through all of Joseph's childhood!

I haven't wanted to wash his head because he STILL smells like the chrism oil...... mmmmmm.

2. His baptism was one of the few times that he was sweet and quiet. (Can I say that and still be considered a good mom?) I love him, but he's fussy. Shouldn't the eighth baby be an easy one? I asked that question of number seven, and unfortunately the answer then was "no" as well.

3. Thankfully, he still can be convinced to sleep in one of these....

...which is how we managed to homeschool today. (forgive the shot of me in my pajamas... I was lucky to have a chance to brush my teeth and hair this morning!)

4. I am trying to remember how brief all this really is. Each day (and night) seems like an eternity when holding a crying baby, but in reality it is so, so short. It wasn't so long ago that I was pregnant with Reilly (#2), trying to console a fussy Sean (#1), and crying out to God for a break. Now those kids are 11 and 12. Where did all that time go?

5. My husband, God bless him, knowing how much I need a break, has bravely watched him for HOURS while I shop on Saturdays. I've been given the precious gift of time away from home so I can sit in the chapel for awhile... get a coffee.... and do my usual grocery store runs so I can feel somewhat human and normal again.

6. Speaking of feeling normal and human again, thanks to EVERYONE taking turns and passing the baby around, I was able to sit down and sew over the weekend. My one goal since coming home from the hospital (crafting goal, that is) was to make a new baby bag. The old one was ripped and for some reason the hospital didn't give out new ones this time around! I went through my fabric stash and come across two yards of fabric that I had bought earlier this year. (I have this bad habit of buying fabric and then "saving" it because I like it so much, which means it never gets used!) Over the past several weeks (since I've basically done nothing except sit and nurse a baby!) I mulled over how I was going to sew it together. I knew I wanted a lined bag, and more of a beach bag design (I didn't want to have to deal with putting a zipper in), and less clunky than the other baby bags I've had. After sketching out a pattern on some newspaper, I got to work and a few hours later...

...I finally finished! (I know it's hard to see, but the inside fabric is the striped fabric you see in the top left of the bag). I am so happy to have had the opportunity to get this done!

7. 12:30 am... think I'll be able to get him to go to sleep? (grin)

Home Cooking

2010-08-21T16:44:00.000-05:00

We have had the blessing of many, many meals brought over after Joseph's birth, and I am so thankful for the love and care that went into each one of them. However, after four weeks my family is missing "Mom cooking," so I'm cooking a simple supper tonight -- burritos, with a side of rice and black beans. A great culinary experience it is not.

And yet...

One by one, my children have come into the kitchen, bent their heads over the pots on the stove, and exclaimed, "Oh, this smells so good!" (Sean actually proclaimed it to be "heavenly"... God bless him!)

After they left I smiled as I stirred the food, and I thought:

"By virtue of my office, I dictate what home is for ten people."

I'm not a master chef, and yet the way *I* cook is the way my children think things are supposed to taste.

The way I fold clothes is the "proper" way to do it.

The atmosphere I create here forms what my family considers to be home.

What a privilege! To think that I, just mucking around doing my job, am somehow forming their lifelong perceptions of how things should be is stunning. I shouldn't be stunned, because after all these years, I am still trying to do things the way MY mom did them. No one can make roast beef and browned potatoes the way my mom does. Her meatloaf is the standard by which I judge all others. I set up my kitchen based on how she set up hers. I fold clothes the way she does.

It makes sense to me that I should emulate her, but it's mind-boggling to me when I realize that I've got eight little ones following ME, watching and learning.

It covers much more than simple homemaking, however. Many, many times I have caught a glimpse of my children watching me as I pray, or read the Bible, or participate in Mass. What are they seeing in me? What sorts of lifelong perceptions of God have they formed in their heads because of my actions?

May the Lord repair what I've done badly, and may He bless all the good that has been done in this family!

This recipe's a winner!

2010-08-12T18:33:00.000-05:00

Cooking During Stolen Moments has a wonderful recipe for homemade Portillo's chopped salad. I was intrigued enough by the picture to whip up a batch just before supper was ready this evening -- I didn't have bacon or gorgonzola cheese, so I had to substitute ham and reggiano cheese... OK, and I had to use chopped up rotini for the pasta.

Anyway, it was sooooooooooooo good! I do have many children who are normally salad eaters, but this salad was enjoyed by (I think) all the kids. I think the chopped part had everything to do with it.

Definitely a keeper!

Today's Not Boding Well...

2010-08-12T12:14:00.000-05:00

Eek! What have I gotten myself into?

Today was the first day that my husband went back to work, although the kids and I were alone Monday and Tuesday when my husband travelled for his father's funeral.

I barely managed to roll out of bed around NINE after a night of repeated awakenings and diaper changes for a sweet little boy. I'm not sure what my children had for breakfast. I have reached a point where "make up" and "deodorant" have tragically become optional in my book. Having my teeth brushed by 10 am is the sign of a good day.

Oh dear.

Obviously, I'm going to have to pray, pray, pray before I try to tackle next week. If I think that I somehow have this miraculous store of patience, optimism, and energy to get me through each day, I am fooling myself. I will state right now that ANY good thing that happens in homeschooling next week... any victories or fun moments... will be the result of God's grace, pure and simple.

Let's see how Jesus carries this family through!

Homeschooling? Already?

2010-08-11T22:51:00.000-05:00

Yes, it appears that my "vacation" from homeschooling is drawing to a close. Whether I feel ready or not, I'm going to have to attempt to teach 6 kids while nursing a newborn and dealing with a 2-year old who wants to be part of the action.

Joseph, thankfully, is doing his part right now by SLEEPING (without my holding him! Rock on, little guy!) so that I can actually type out the weekly syllabus for each child. We are using the MODG syllabi for all grades this year, and I simply go through all the assignments for the week and type them up. Then I make two copies -- one for each child, and one for me. I put mine in my binder so that I can see what everyone is supposed to be doing, instead of having to flip through the MODG syllabus.

The real test comes on Monday, when my husband leaves for work in the morning and I am faced with tackling all the tasks for the day.

This will be when I will see if the direction we are taking this year makes it easier to keep going in spite of all the inevitable interruptions, or if this will be a bust. I think it will work out well, actually. Call me an optimist (no one who knows me would accuse me of that! *grin*), but I really feel good about it. I know it will be hard, but after seeing how eager the kids are to help out with their brother, I think I'll have some moments where I'm not holding him or nursing him.

Before he wakes up, I better get back to work...

Sorry about the design!

2010-08-11T22:37:00.000-05:00

I am sorry for the design of my blog... I have tried to figure out what on earth I did to it, but so far have been unsuccessful. I wish there were a way to erase any funky additions to the original design so I would be working with a "clean slate."

Until I figure it out, please be patient!

hmmmm

2010-08-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

Either

1. Not many people read my blog
2. Not many people share my sense of humor, or
3. Not many people realize that CANDIDA is the scientific name for a yeast infection.

Oh well! I can say that we've had an awful lot of fun singing "Candida" these past few days! I hope those of you who clicked on the link have had fun remembering the good old days of Tony Orlando and Dawn.

Although... and I hate to admit it... I *did* choke up terribly when I tried to explain the meaning of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." I'm such a emotional softie!

On a completely different note, I am THRILLED to report that God was merciful and the bead is out of Grace's ear! They say "fools rush in where angels fear to tread," but in this case courageous pediatricians jump in where "experts" call for caution. After two nurse practitioners, an ER doctor, and an ENT refused (or claimed to be unable to) remove said bead, our beloved pediatrician took one look and said, "you know, I've got a pretty good track record with this sort of thing. Let's get her on the table and give it a try." Two quick swipes and it was OUT! Oh, I was praising God and the doctor and crying my eyes out. It's been a stressful two and half weeks (to say the least!) and this whole bead incident had pushed me completely over the edge. Thank You, Jesus, for Your mercy!!!

I have said that I would make that bead into a necklace and make Grace wear it like an albatross around her neck, but I was only joking... somewhat. I would like her to be a poster child for ear-related mishaps, and have her hold it up and say, "Dis is what you should NEVER put in your ear. Ever. It will make your Mommy cry."

OK, I can't believe I just found this, but anyone remember this one:

Tennessee Bird Walk

or one that I've posted here before:

My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died?

Ah, all these childhood memories that make me the ~~messed up~~ interesting person I am today! Feel free to add all the fun songs from your childhood!

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-08-09T00:18:00.003-05:00

At 1:00 am it's officially Monday, but since I haven't gone to sleep yet, I consider this still part of the weekend. Joseph is giving me a rare moment without him, so I'm taking advantage of it and blogging!

1. I was going to write about the wonderful time I had with Grace and Marie on Friday. I felt like they had been left out somewhat during this time of transition with the new baby, and I wanted to do something extra special with them. We sat on my bed and went through my jewelry box and had a blast.

It would have been a nice thing to post about, except that Grace managed to get an earring backing stuck in her ear. My dh enjoyed 6+ hours in the ER, only to have them turn him away because they didn't have the proper equipment to remove it. I got to spend another hour in the ENT's office, only to be told that whatever liquid the ER folks squirted in there the night before made it impossible for him to see the earring, but it didn't really matter because he would have to put her under before trying to remove it. We get to go back to the hospital and have a little outpatient surgery done. I'm so thrilled.

2. Joseph's all done being alone, so the rest of this will be typed one-handed.

3. Speaking of Joseph, he has a yeast diaper rash from you-know-where. While I'm truly sympathetic to my little guy's plight, I do find it funny that every time I change his diaper, this song runs through my head:

Everyone sing!

4. Tony Orlando was the first album I ever got, followed by Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits. Just thought you'd want to know that.

5. I'm having a horrible time with blogger right now, so I think my list has come to an end.

Rest in Peace

2010-08-05T22:32:00.000-05:00

It is with great sadness that I write that my father-in-law passed away yesterday. We did not expect him to make it this long, and I am thrilled to say that he *did* get to see a picture of his newest grandson before he died.

I cannot begin to write about him in a way that would do him justice. Those who knew him knew what an incredible husband, father, and grandpa he was. His children liked to tease him over the ONE time in their childhood that he raised his voice. ONE time! Knowing him for 13+ years as I did, I can vouch for the validity of that story. He never once raised his voice, spoke ill of someone, or lost his temper. I know that sounds cliche, but it really is true. (My husband comes by his calm temperment honestly). I was honored to be his daughter-in-law, and we will all miss him terribly. We grieve, but my husband (amazing man that he is) has reminded us through this whole ordeal that all of it is temporary, and we will see him again. We truly will.

May his soul,

and the souls of all the faithful departed,

in the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

What Scares Kids, part 2

2010-08-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

In my comment to Angie (below, previous post) I talked about the things that scared ME when I was a little kid.

The first was a song I heard in my great-aunt's kitchen when I was a little girl: They're Coming To Take Me Away. I was absolutely TERRIFIED of this song, and the fear of mentally ill people has followed me to this very day. In fact, I was in COLLEGE listening to Dr. Demento one evening, and this song came on and I was so freaked out I couldn't move. My husband can't believe this song ever scared me, because he loved it when he was a little kid.

Second goofy thing that scared me: The Dick Van Dyke episode entitled "It May Look Like a Walnut." Now, how on EARTH could anyone be scared of the Dick Van Dyke show, you may ask? Simple -- My parents went out on a date, and the babysitter let us watch this show. I was freaked out by the "eyes on the back of their heads" part of it, and when my parents got home I asked my mom, "People don't REALLY have eyes on the back of their heads, do they?" My mom, having watched the show and NOT knowing how scared I was, turned around, scratched her head, and said, "Oh, don't be so sure about that!" I screamed and ran down the hall, and to this day my mom feels horrible about how scared she made me. In fact, I just called her a few minutes ago and said, "Hey Mom! Guess what I'm watching?.... The walnut episode!" She just started laughing and said, "I'm so, so sorry I scared you!!"

So there you go... my kids come by their weird fears honestly...

Weekend Wrap-Up

2010-08-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

I will attempt to do this while holding a sweet little baby in my arms. Someday... someday I really will get my act together and be able to participate in Jen's Quick Takes on FRIDAY but, until then, I fly solo with my weekend wrap-up (sigh).

1. Technology is wonderful... I am sitting here with my iPhone, wanting to post a picture I took earlier today, but I left the cable in another room. Not wanting to get up and wake up Joseph, I simply emailed it to myself, waited a few seconds, and voila! The picture is on my computer.

10 days old and he's already smiling!

2. Since I'm not supposed to be doing any work for the next few weeks (yeah, right), I've been doing a lot of knitting in-between feedings and diaper changes. Well, I can't really say I can "knit" -- I'm a one-trick pony who learned the basic stitch from a youtube tutorial. I use the super-big needles and curly yarn, and by simply doing the same stitch back and forth, I've made two prayer shawls!

Anyway, the exciting part of all of this is that both of my older girls showed an interest in learning, and in just a few minutes, they picked it up! We've had a great time sitting on the couch, knitting together, all weekend long. (I'm truly shocked by the whole thing since I tried to teach them several times how to crochet, and it just never clicked with them. I'm not sure why, since there are fewer things in life simpler than crocheting "snakes," but they could never get the hang of it. Knitting, on the other hand, which is much more difficult in my opinion, came so easily to them. Go figure!)

3. Hospital tape just does NOT come off. Period. I've been scraping the stuff off myself for over a week now.

4. One of my last goals that I set for myself before going into the hospital was to make a carrying case for my coupon binder. I was sick and tired of wrestling it in and out of bags to take it into the store (or worse, not having it in a bag and carrying the big bulky thing in my arms and feeling a bit foolish). I thought about it for quite some time, and came up with what I thought was a novel solution..... sigh. Turns out someone has already made said product, and does them quite well. Kudos to her for marketing them! I am enjoying mine and am thrilled that I came up with the design... and somewhat sad to see that someone beat me to it. Oh well. Another money maker down the tubes.

5. No matter how many children I have had, why do I always forget how much time a newborn takes up? It's amazing how someone who spends most of the day with his eyes closed can make it so difficult to get things done! *grin*

6. I know I've asked this before, but why is it that my children can handle this

and this

with no problem whatsoever (which would have given me nightmares for WEEKS when I was little!), but somehow find this

and this

to be frightening? I just don't understand. Grace tells me weekly (still!) how much she does NOT like Holy Baby. I have promised her I would never, ever make her watch it (that kid has been scarred for life by St. John Bosco and a nun. I think I failed Catholic Parenting 101). As far as Hercule Poirot goes, I let the kids watch Masterpiece Mystery this evening. They had been asking for the chance to watch a mystery, and I thought a good Agatha Christie mystery was the way to go. I was introduced to her when I was in the 5th grade through my teacher, who read And Then There Were None to us during the last 10 minutes of each class period. I was hooked -- I checked out or bought so many Agatha Christie mysteries, and I just assumed that my kids would one day like her, too.

WRONG.

I won't name names so as to protect those involved from embarrassment, but certain kids went to bed rather frightened this evening. Sigh. That wasn't at ALL what I had set out to do. I feel horrible.

7. What *doesn't* frighten Grace, however (besides orcs, which are nothing to her) is getting out of bed, walking through a dark house, and getting herself a drink of water from the kitchen. Heck, I'm not sure I could have done this as a teenager! (I was terribly afraid of the dark). My two-year old, however, thinks nothing of it. Puzzling, but amazing.

8. Baby #8 and I have pretty much NOTHING to wear that I can nurse in. I'm in big trouble. I think a trip to the fabric store is in order so I can whip up a few nursing dresses. I've got a pattern for one of these (from 13 years ago! Good grief!), but I am in serious need for more options. Any recommendations?

Good night and have a great week, everyone!

Anybody know what I did wrong?

2010-07-28T07:52:00.001-05:00

I have absolutely NO idea why that photobucket notice is up on my blog. I am at a loss. Anyone know what I did wrong?

UPDATE: I think it's got something to do with the extra background I had on my blog. It seems to be gone now, and I can't find the code for it so that I can erase it. grrrrrrrrrrrrr. Any idea?

Look who's here!

2010-07-26T21:54:00.000-05:00

Introducing our newest family member, Joseph!

The OR scale was off, so he was approximately 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 1/2" long.

The picture doesn't do him justice. His features are small and perfect, like a little china doll (he's going to hate that description later on, but that's the best I can do!)

Yes, I'm already in the babymoon phase, and loving it!

His arrival into the world, however, was not as problem-free as I would have liked for it to have been. I am thrilled to report that I never once experienced any panic attacks (thanks be to God!), but I had (and continue to have) serious issues with low blood pressure and anemia, which is making this an interesting adventure.

How does 76/37 sound for a blood pressure reading? Yeah, the doctors and nurses were loving it, too. Kept checking me over... and over... and over again to make sure they had those numbers right. Yes, they did and no, I wasn't passing out.

The anemia is the big problem, however. It is making everything difficult at the moment, and just sitting up is proving to be more of a challenge than one would expect.

Still, he's here... I'm here... and in spite of the difficulties, we're doing well. My dh, as I expected, is doing a phenomenal job running the house and homeschooling the kids. All of the children are pitching in and taking over many of the household duties, as well as lining up every few minutes or so for another chance to hold the baby! As dh told them over supper last night, "Mommy's job is to feed Joseph and get better. Our job is to do everything else." And they are doing it well!

I couldn't finish this post, however, without issuing a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has jumped in to help, from The Wanna Be who watched my kids Thursday through Saturday and somehow managed to drive them to the hospital to meet their new brother, take them to a water slide, feed them, etc (she's amazing!)... to Malia and her son who came to visit me (and bring Indian food!) in the hospital

and watched my children on Sunday so dh could bring me home... to Maureen for setting up a calendar of meals, and to all of the "church ladies" (as we call ourselves) who have signed up to feed us through August.. to Perrin and family who took my children in so I could get last minute stuff done... and the list goes on. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! I am so thankful to be able to call you friends.

And now, back to bed... I'm feeling a bit light-headed, as is to be expected.

He's here!

2010-07-22T13:51:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to report that Joseph arrived safe and sound at 11:26 am! He weighs 7 lbs 13 oz and is doing great!

I'm typing this on my iPhone, and obviously can't get up to take a lot of pictures. Just know I'll post them as soon as I can!

Thank you all for your prayers. I was VERY calm in the OR, which was a pure gift from the Lord.

The Final Nesting Moments

2010-07-20T21:23:00.000-05:00

I think the nesting urge is slowing down now. I'm sure my children are rejoicing, because I've had them hopping these past few days, decluttering just about everything they can. We've purged toys, clothes in closets, books, etc. You name it, we've probably covered it. We did a massive clothing "swap/hand-me-down" thing this weekend as well. I'm feeling better about the house I'll be bringing this little one home to, but I'm still feeling somewhat cramped.

I'm not sure if this is an invitation for us to "suffer" the inconvenience and grow in holiness, or the opportunity to say, "wake up! This house is way too small for a family your size!" Guess we'll just have to see... *grin*

In the meantime I can be thankful that we managed to get so many things "off the list" before I go in to the hospital:

--I wound up making 3 batches of strawberry, 2 batches of blueberry, and 1 batch of peach jam. I feel like such the pioneer! *grin*
--I ground wheat and made two loaves of bread this afternoon (it's been awhile since I've made any!)
--We decluttered the girls' rooms and the boys' room.
--Thanks be to God and St. Anthony (for his intercession) we now have a real twin mattress for Thomas, who was able to relinquish his crib mattress (I know... the poor guy has been sleeping on one on a trundle bed....) to the baby. At least now everyone has a place to sleep!
--Clueless one here managed to squeak in a quick hospital preregistration.
--My dh has been getting so many of those little projects around the house done, AND managed to clean up the yard (which was on my "I'd love to get this done list" but never shared with anyone)
--I'm washing my last load of baby clothes this evening.
--And we've managed to pull off a decent 1/2 week of homeschooling so far (I'm only having them to half a day's work... they'll do the other half next week when dh is home taking care of me).

Whew!

I still don't even feel close to being emotionally ready for a new baby... OR a hospital stay... but like it or not, the time is almost here. I'm not one of those women that bond instantly with their baby. I never have. (and, truth be told, I never liked babysitting either. Hated it, actually... that's what makes it so funny that God decided I needed to be a "Mom of many.") At the end of the first day, I'll hold him in my arms, look him straight in the eye, and say, "Well stranger, I'm your mommy. I guess it's time we got to know each other a little bit." By the time I've been home for a few days, however, I'll start feeling those maternal instincts kick in, and then I'll start drinking in every feature, and go through that babymoon period.

I will do my best -- when the time comes -- to post some pictures from my iPhone to my blog. If that doesn't work, I'll have dh post at least a picture or two.

As always, thank you for your prayers. I will be praying for all of you while I'm on the table, offering up that experience for any intentions you may have. Lord willing, you will hear from me soon after his birth!

The countdown is on!

2010-07-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

In a little less than one week, my children (God willing!) will meet their newest sibling.

I can't say I'm excited about going into the hospital again. (For those who know me IRL or have been reading this blog for awhile, you know that the thought of panic attacks striking again in the hospital is enough to set me on edge). Still, it is exciting that we're going to finally meet this little guy, and I'm going to have my body sort of shrink down to its normal size again. I've reached the point where I'm tired of being huge.

[picture taken on Sunday after Mass]

I'm all "funned out," in other words.

The kids are beside themselves with excitement, talking about holding the new baby, playing with him, even changing him! They are looking forward to the whole experience all over again. God love 'em! I've got a whole household full of eager helpers! Grace in particular is quite excited over the thought of being a "big sister" to someone. I'm so thankful that so far we really haven't had any problems with the youngest child feeling usurped by the new arrival. Each time the youngest is made to feel extra special as he or she "graduates" into the world of the big kids, and they see that it's someone else's turn to "be the baby" for awhile. I pray that Grace will continue to feel special and will cherish her new role.

People keep asking if we're all ready for the baby. You know, with first children, you spend a lot of time getting everything just right -- setting up the nursery, getting the furniture just so, etc. By the time baby #8 comes around, the process is cut down substantially. I figure we'll finally get around to going up into the attic and getting the crib and baby car seat down a day or two before. I have washed the clothes and put them into the bureau, but that's about it (bad, bad Mommy).

If God brings me to mind, please say a prayer that all goes well with the delivery (and the hospital stay), and that our baby is born happy, healthy, and whole.

One of the best questions I've ever been asked

2010-07-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

Marie came in to the kitchen yesterday, holding a stuffed rooster, and asked:

"Mommy, how do roosters say 'cock-a-doodle-doo' when they don't have any lips?"

(I did NOT laugh, believe it or not. I thought that was actually a very insightful question, and I told her that I think that is the best question I have EVER been asked.)

Anyone else inspired?

2010-07-13T07:38:00.000-05:00

I am thrilled to see that Money Saving Mom and her dh were able to buy their first home WITH CASH. I think that's one of the most inspirational financial success stories I've heard in quite some time! Many congratulations to MMM and her family!!!

Over at Grocery Shrinks, there is a great link to a tutorial (from Little Green Notebook) on how to convert those cheap ugly blinds into Roman shades. This is exactly what I needed! I've got fabric on roller shades right now, but I'm tired of having to replace the rollers every two years or so, and I think turning that fabric into Roman shades would work wonderfully well!

My only "inspirational" bit to contribute is that I was able to make 2 batches of blueberry jam this weekend. My family is LOVING IT. The taste is so much better than store bought I have to say that I think I've permanently spoiled my family. I can only hope that somehow we can save some of this jam I've been making for the winter! (I've got 29 jars of strawberry and blueberry jam tucked away in the pantry. The only other fruit I want to try to make into jam is peach -- living in South Carolina, it would be almost a sin not to, doncha think?)

I wish my garden would produce enough food for me to learn how to can vegetables but alas, it's just not going to happen. We have way too much shade in our yard -- a good thing for South Carolina summers and keeping our house cool, but totally wrong for trying to grow a fabulous garden. I seem to be able to grow peppers (jalapenos, that is) and some herbs small containers, but that's about it.

I Can Dream...

2010-07-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for our baby #8 who will be making his grand entrance sometime soon -- I really and truly am.

But may I just say that I'm more than a bit unsettled that this little man has NO WHERE to go? I'm not kidding. He's going to be in our bedroom until...

I can't see how we'll add on again, or how we'd pay for it if we could.

My husband and I have spent more years than I care to admit having to sleep on blow up mattresses in our own home while our small ones got our bedroom. For over a year our "bedroom" was our living room. Doable, but really not fun. We had to pack everything up every morning and stow it away, and then take it back out and sleep on couches and such every night.

If God ever sees fit to bless us with some way to add on, I would love, love, love something like this:

Bunk rooms over at August Fields.

Wow... isn't that just beautiful? Her kitchen is amazing, too. Take a few moments to poke around her blogsite and enjoy the amazing home she has created for her family.

Now before I lapse into self-pity, which is NOT what I'm trying to do here, I have to say that God has already shown Himself to have our best interests at heart. A few months ago a friend of mine replaced her water heater, and offered us her basically brand new "old" one. My husband wasn't too excited about the prospect of replacing ours at the time, so I didn't take her up on her offer. A few days ago, however, my husband asked me to PLEASE get a plumber to look at a leak he had noticed around our water heater. Turns out it was almost rusted through and was ready to burst. Said friend still had her "old" water heater to give us, and voila! We now have a 50-gallon heater rather than our old 30-gallon one, all for the price of installation.

He filled the need we had before we ever even knew we HAD a need, in other words.

If He can do that, He can certainly take care of all these other things.

I tried to remind myself of that when I went to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament this morning... to THANK HIM for all He's given us, and not to freak out and worry about what He hasn't. He knows all my hopes and dreams, all my fears, and my frustrations. I must trust that He will take care of all these other things as well.

Still... I can dream, can't I? *wink*

Chez Ouiz

Anyone else...

Oh, hallelujah!

Happy New Year!!!

Quote Journal

Pinch me! I'm dreaming!

Merry Christmas!

He still keeps me laughing

Is This Thing On?

It pays to homeschool!

Where We Were

Life with a Toddler

Homeschooling Updates

Alright, alright!

STILL knee-deep!

Knee Deep

Weekend Wrap Up

I was honored...

When in doubt, go with pictures!

I'm Ba-ack!

And now, a word about cheese

More questions that don't have answers

I'm still here!

The Boundaries

Happy Mother's Day!

Easter Week

HAPPY EASTER!

Holy Thursday

Helpful (and not so helpful) lessons from the homefront

Weekend Wrap Up

I figured no one had noticed

Weekend Wrap-up

Ever had one of those days...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lenten activity for our family

It was a cooking extravaganza!

Lamentations of the Father

I'm sad she knows this.

Wedding Dress

Weekend Wrap-Up

Organization, Snacks, and a Little Bit of Heaven

Weekend Wrap Up

I Keep Promising Myself

Why I Love Homeschooling

Song for Monday: UPDATED

In light of yesterday's post...

Weekend Wrap Up

WE GOT SNOW!

Week end Wrap-Up

Marathon

Any New Year's Resolutions?

Celebrate small victories!

Christmas Vacation continues

HOW are we supposed to do that?

Unbelievable! A white Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Success!

Weekend Wrap up

Update on Joseph... and how's that schedule going?

First, an update

Please pray!

Hey, guess what?

Anybody still here?

I'm loving this one

OK, question number 1

The struggle continues

Ugh.

And a little child shall lead them

Drumroll.....

So what on earth was wrong with you?

One of the great things about having boys

First of all...

Catholic Company Review: Miracles, Healing for a Broken World

Feast of the Archangels

Weekend Wrap up (updated)

Review: What Ticks You Off

Fun Video

Since it's been awhile...

What Does Love in Action Look Like?

Can You Help But Love This Face?