"Small was the cave. Small and graceful the young mother. Small, against the cave, people, and animals, was the Baby. Yet, immensity, eternity, and all power and glory were contained in his smallness!
"Let this Christmas be for us a turning point. Let us kill 'self'. Let us become small enough to kneel at the crib, and big enough just to reach the level of the Baby's eyes. Let us then look into them- and catch sight of Love Incarnate! Then we shall be made whole again, and our hunger will be filled."
-Catherine Doherty
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
daybook for today, the day before Thanksgiving....
Outside my window... wet and grey, but no snow. Is it really November?
I am thinking... since I'm feeling pretty good right now I really should be up and busy, but here I sit and type.
I am thankful for... the usual list- my faith, my family, my health, my precious hubby who wakes me up in the morning by setting a steaming cup of coffee on my bedside table.
From the learning rooms... not much this week; we're taking our "Morning Sickness Break".
From the kitchen... breakfast was boiled eggs and hot cocoa; lunch will be boiled potatoes; dinner will be... something easy. I've got to start Thanksgiving dinner prep!
I am wearing... A hoodie over a t-shirt, but oh, the shame! I'm still in jammie pants!
I am creating... really, nothing. I need to get something going in that department.
I am going... to try making a cole slaw or similar salad for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Don't know why bother, all we really want is stuff that goes under gravy anyway.
I am reading... excerpts from Saintly Solutions; Advent ideas from A Year With God; and the mail.
I am hoping... nobody gets sick at least until after the first of the year. Is that too much to hope for?
I am hearing... Mary singing to herself while she stirs her cocoa with a spoon, Daniel whistling, Robert going outside with his bow and arrows; Joseph coming inside, also singing. Never noticed we have such a musical family!
Around the house... Oh, my what a wreck! Nothing else to say about that...
One of my favorite things... Popple- their music is just great!
A few plans for the rest of the week: I think this year instead of a too-huge dinner on Thanksgiving Day, I might try spacing out the celebration throughout the four-day weekend. I mean, why have four desserts on Thursday when we can have a pie on Thursday, a pie on Friday, a pie on Saturday, and cake on Sunday? Why should I make both a sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole on the same day when one would be enough? I've been wanting to make a German Chocolate Cake for a while, so even though that's not usually on our traditional list of desserts, it will be this year. I never realized that there were only four pilgrim women and two teenagers to cook that first Thanksgiving meal for about 95 people. No wonder it took them three days to celebrate!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Daybook template courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Long-Overdue Update
My goodness, how do I recap the last busy few months? I'll do my best!
My job at the grocery store is going very well. I don't mind the work, I like the people I work for, and the hours are working out so much better for all of us. Typically I work three days a week (sometimes two when it is my turn for a Sunday off), but many times I've been able to pick up extra shifts. There are three very important aspects of my job... making sure the till is as close to "right" as possible, counting the cigarettes, and stocking the beer cooler. Not necessarily in that order, especially now that we're into hunting season. ;-) Besides my job at the store, I've also been "hired" to play music at our parish for Mass. I've never played organ until two months ago; it is a whole different animal from piano! Some weeks it comes together quite well, other weeks I feel completely silly up there, masquerading as a musician. Chuck assures me that when everybody is singing loud enough, nobody can hear my mistakes.
The kids are all doing well. The first round of flu went through town, but nobody in our house has been sick. Thank God for that! Between chores, lessons, and their own interests they manage to keep busy most of the day. Mary Mae celebrated her second birthday nearly two months ago. She is so much fun! Sometimes when I look at the older kids it seems like they have grown overnight and I hardly recognize them. I love having little kids, because it is so much fun to watch them learn and develop and grow. I am realizing that the older kids are still changing just as much and almost as fast. Suddenly they seem like young men and women.
Or maybe I'm just feeling old. ;-)
We are expecting company any minute now, so I guess that's all the update you will get from me. I'm not going to close this post with hasty promises to blog and post lots of pictures from now on. I do promise, however, that all my family and loved ones are close to my heart always!
One final note... check out Chuck's blog for a very special announcement. :-)
Love you all, God bless!
My job at the grocery store is going very well. I don't mind the work, I like the people I work for, and the hours are working out so much better for all of us. Typically I work three days a week (sometimes two when it is my turn for a Sunday off), but many times I've been able to pick up extra shifts. There are three very important aspects of my job... making sure the till is as close to "right" as possible, counting the cigarettes, and stocking the beer cooler. Not necessarily in that order, especially now that we're into hunting season. ;-) Besides my job at the store, I've also been "hired" to play music at our parish for Mass. I've never played organ until two months ago; it is a whole different animal from piano! Some weeks it comes together quite well, other weeks I feel completely silly up there, masquerading as a musician. Chuck assures me that when everybody is singing loud enough, nobody can hear my mistakes.
The kids are all doing well. The first round of flu went through town, but nobody in our house has been sick. Thank God for that! Between chores, lessons, and their own interests they manage to keep busy most of the day. Mary Mae celebrated her second birthday nearly two months ago. She is so much fun! Sometimes when I look at the older kids it seems like they have grown overnight and I hardly recognize them. I love having little kids, because it is so much fun to watch them learn and develop and grow. I am realizing that the older kids are still changing just as much and almost as fast. Suddenly they seem like young men and women.
Or maybe I'm just feeling old. ;-)
We are expecting company any minute now, so I guess that's all the update you will get from me. I'm not going to close this post with hasty promises to blog and post lots of pictures from now on. I do promise, however, that all my family and loved ones are close to my heart always!
One final note... check out Chuck's blog for a very special announcement. :-)
Love you all, God bless!
Friday, August 28, 2009
One more week
I have one more week working at the restaurant, and then I'm free! Well, not so completely free because I'll be starting at the grocery store the day after my last day at the restaurant. Training in on Labor Day, how appropriate is that?
Today is cool and rainy. The kids and I spent most of the day catching up on all the housework that didn't get done during the week. My kitchen is now so clean that I'm reluctant to use it. Supper tonight will be grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup. Hoping we can't make too big a mess out of that.
I've decided that we will go back to school on the 14th of September. That's a little later than is traditional, but I think it will work better for us this year. We can always make time up later if needed, like in May when we are still waiting for the snow to melt. ;-) That gives me a little more than two weeks to decide what we're going to use for the basics this year. I've never been one to plan too far ahead, ya know. I'm sure it will be a good year anyway!
We don't really have plans for this weekend. Chuck and I are going to try getting out together for a couple of hours on Saturday mornings. Tomorrow will be the first such morning, and I'm not sure what we will do. We have Mass tomorrow evening, and I work Sunday morning. There is about a ton of laundry to do (only a slight exaggeration- the boys cleaned upstairs today), but we have to wait on the weather to clear up.
I hope all of you enjoy this last weekend of August. God bless!
Today is cool and rainy. The kids and I spent most of the day catching up on all the housework that didn't get done during the week. My kitchen is now so clean that I'm reluctant to use it. Supper tonight will be grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade tomato soup. Hoping we can't make too big a mess out of that.
I've decided that we will go back to school on the 14th of September. That's a little later than is traditional, but I think it will work better for us this year. We can always make time up later if needed, like in May when we are still waiting for the snow to melt. ;-) That gives me a little more than two weeks to decide what we're going to use for the basics this year. I've never been one to plan too far ahead, ya know. I'm sure it will be a good year anyway!
We don't really have plans for this weekend. Chuck and I are going to try getting out together for a couple of hours on Saturday mornings. Tomorrow will be the first such morning, and I'm not sure what we will do. We have Mass tomorrow evening, and I work Sunday morning. There is about a ton of laundry to do (only a slight exaggeration- the boys cleaned upstairs today), but we have to wait on the weather to clear up.
I hope all of you enjoy this last weekend of August. God bless!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Well, that was fun...
We enjoyed our two weeks of summer; too bad it's over now. ;-) Today's high temp was 69, and we had light rain most of the day.
No news, everyone is doing well. I'm hoping to get my camera working so I can get some pictures up. All the kids seem to have grown a lot!
God bless!
No news, everyone is doing well. I'm hoping to get my camera working so I can get some pictures up. All the kids seem to have grown a lot!
God bless!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Summer! (Finally....)
Well, we've waited for months and finally got a bit of summer weather here in da U.P.
For most of the country, mid-August highs in the upper 80's would hardly be impressive. BUT we gotta take what we can get. We have been to the lake three evenings in a row, and the kids are loving it. I've got probably forty pounds of sand built up somewhere in the guts of my washing machine, and twice that in the floor of the suburban.
Right now, while I sit at the computer typing up this post and sipping coffee, Chuck is making omelets. Mary Mae, Thomas, and Joseph are already eating. Robert is helping cook, Daniel is building star ships out of legos upstairs, and Raechel is working on her book. After breakfast is cleaned up we have some housework to get done, and I plan to try to get all the laundry done. I need to practice music for Mass this evening, and I'm hoping we will have time to get a workout done. This evening we will probably head out to the lake. Tomorrow is Sunday, but I work in the morning. If we get enough done today we will have next to nothing to do tomorrow afternoon, so if it stays hot we might make it another lake day.
God is good! I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
For most of the country, mid-August highs in the upper 80's would hardly be impressive. BUT we gotta take what we can get. We have been to the lake three evenings in a row, and the kids are loving it. I've got probably forty pounds of sand built up somewhere in the guts of my washing machine, and twice that in the floor of the suburban.
Right now, while I sit at the computer typing up this post and sipping coffee, Chuck is making omelets. Mary Mae, Thomas, and Joseph are already eating. Robert is helping cook, Daniel is building star ships out of legos upstairs, and Raechel is working on her book. After breakfast is cleaned up we have some housework to get done, and I plan to try to get all the laundry done. I need to practice music for Mass this evening, and I'm hoping we will have time to get a workout done. This evening we will probably head out to the lake. Tomorrow is Sunday, but I work in the morning. If we get enough done today we will have next to nothing to do tomorrow afternoon, so if it stays hot we might make it another lake day.
God is good! I hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Monday, August 10, 2009
daybook for today...
Outside my window... blue skies, white clouds, green grass
I am thinking... I should have done more laundry today.
I am thankful for... having a really good morning at work; I waitressed and we were pretty busy for a Monday morning.
From the kitchen... Dinner tonight is spaghetti, steamed broccoli, and a salad made of lettuce, tomato, sprouted lentils, cucumber, and whatever greens I can pull from the back yard.
I am wearing... old Levi's and a pink t-shirt.
I am reading... Gone With the Wind I've read it before, but I found this copy at St. Vinny's and needed a dose of Southern culture.
I am hoping... to go swimming sometime this week if it warms up.
I am hearing... the wonderful, chaotic, familiar, comforting noise of my family.
Around the house... Flies! My goodness there have been so many houseflies and fruit flies the last few days! The kids are buzzing around (ha, ha) with fly swatters, regular serial killers.
One of my favorite things... Almost the end of another good day; soon the kids will be in bed and Chuck and I will have a few hours of quiet time.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Not much is going on this week. I'll work just a few days, we celebrate Robert's Baptism Day on Wednesday, and sooner or later I'm going to have to catch up on laundry!
God bless!
Outside my window... blue skies, white clouds, green grass
I am thinking... I should have done more laundry today.
I am thankful for... having a really good morning at work; I waitressed and we were pretty busy for a Monday morning.
From the kitchen... Dinner tonight is spaghetti, steamed broccoli, and a salad made of lettuce, tomato, sprouted lentils, cucumber, and whatever greens I can pull from the back yard.
I am wearing... old Levi's and a pink t-shirt.
I am reading... Gone With the Wind I've read it before, but I found this copy at St. Vinny's and needed a dose of Southern culture.
I am hoping... to go swimming sometime this week if it warms up.
I am hearing... the wonderful, chaotic, familiar, comforting noise of my family.
Around the house... Flies! My goodness there have been so many houseflies and fruit flies the last few days! The kids are buzzing around (ha, ha) with fly swatters, regular serial killers.
One of my favorite things... Almost the end of another good day; soon the kids will be in bed and Chuck and I will have a few hours of quiet time.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Not much is going on this week. I'll work just a few days, we celebrate Robert's Baptism Day on Wednesday, and sooner or later I'm going to have to catch up on laundry!
God bless!
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