Katie and Karoline have become obsessed with the indoor climbing wall at the gym. They're trying to scramble up every chance they get. Katie took a class before Karoline event attempted the wall and discovered she's quite good at it. When it was Karoline's turn, Katie was all about offering pointers and encouragement. Katie even quickly scrambled up an adjacent wall the first time Karoline looked like she was going to make it to the top. She wanted to be right beside her when she reached the summit. I've been thinking about Karoline's approach. We like to go when no one else is there. The wait is non-existent, but also, if it's quiet I can hear Karoline encouraging herself all the way up the wall. "You can do this. You are strong and you are getting stronger. You've got this. Don't give up. Don't look down. God will help you. Keep reaching higher." She's never taken a class. I have no idea where she learned this. The things this child teaches me...

::pondering prayerfully

On the days of Lent, from morning until the end of the third hour let them apply themselves to their reading, and from then until the end of the tenth hour let them do the work assigned them. And in these days of Lent they shall each receive a book from the library, which they shall read straight through from the beginning. These books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent. ~from The Rule of St. Benedict

I plan to use Consoling the Heart of Jesus again this year. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It's life-changing. I read it last year, on an unexpected and unusual "retreat," and I shared these thoughts:

I spent Holy Week reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus. There are a small handful of books in my life where I remember exactly where and when I read them because those times and places are turning points. This book is one of those. It is easily at the top of that list. This incredibly readable volume makes some of the most beautiful truths and devotions of the Catholic faith understandable (at last) and accessible (even to busy mothers of large families). Fr. Gaitley brings together fine threads of several spiritual traditions and weaves them into a beautiful and exceedingly useful tapestry of a do-it-yourself retreat. It is Ignatian spirituality made accessible. It is the Little Way of St. Therese for all of us. It is consecration to Mary and devotion to Divine Mercy explained in plain language and made clear to little souls. Mostly, it is a rich volume of Merciful Words that brings Merciful Love to its readers. You don't have to have a weekend to make the retreat. You can just read a little each day until you are finished. If it's your heart's desire to get to know and understand Jesus better, tell Him.

I'm so looking forward to re-reading this book this year.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

We're definitely in our winter groove. But the emails are arriving, announcing that soccer practices are no longer optional and the pace is about to quicken palpably. I have major conflicts in transportation. I'm trying not to lose sleep over it. So far, I'm failing miserably.

::creating by hand

Someone please give me permission to put away the flannel nightgowns and begin sewing Easter dresses. I have three to sew during Lent. I hate the pattern instructions for the nightgowns. I'm stuck. I wanted to sew those before anything else, and so, I'm not sewing anything.

::learning lessons in

teenagers. I am not a quick study, but I do think I'm making progress.

::encouraging learning

Last week we began our study of Matthew.The verdict from the kids is that it's awesome. They really, really enjoyed it. Highly recommended.

And I'm all in with Primary Arts of Language. Almost everything I ever loved about teaching reading and writing in early childhood, all well put together in some tidy packages. All good. Dovetails very nicely with the Alphabet Path.

::begging prayers

for all the intentions of our prayer community.

::keeping house

Up this week: Reorganizing the linen closet (It's been a long time since it looked like this, but I have photographic evidence that it once did, so I'm motivated). Also, the storage room in the basement is in need again. Last time I did, it was a big emotional epiphany. I don't have time for epiphanies this week. I just want to clean it up.

Fact check: I did neither of the above last week. But I made it to the gym six times. In my defense, laundry is all caught up and things are acceptably clean--just no deepdown projects.

::crafting in the kitchen

Now that I have a reliable standby that I know won't challenge my digestive system in place and I know I won't starve or eat something I shouldn't, I'm really looking forward to beginning Heather's workshop. It's time to learn some new things and to sweep away some bad habits. I love that it will coincide with Lent. I intend to fully immerse Mary Beth in the workshop and to fill in here with some very intentional, hands-on grocery shopping lessons. I hope she'll have her driver's license by the end of those two months, as well. And she'll be all set to become the family's primary grocery shopper.

::loving the moments

When I have a chance to spend some time with a child one-on-one. My friend Jan called unexpectedly last weekend to let me know she was in town with her 16-year-old daughter for a dance competition. Mary Beth and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a quick dinner and to meet Jan for the competition. We had lots of time to talk in the car and I even squeezed in a little shopping at Athleta.

::giving thanks

for a husband who knows best. I did not want to join a gym. I was not interested in adding more things to our day. I was just a wee bit resentful about being pushed. Unequivocably, we are all loving it. We're there together. There's something for everyone. I can avoid all the hardcore, competitive pounding, pulling, and pushing of the male component in this family and still challenge myself. And take care of myself. I honestly believe we are all getting healthier. And for some of us, that's long overdue.

living the liturgy

This week is all about preparing for Lent. More thoughts here.

::planning for the week ahead

Just an ordinary week. The last one for awhile, I think. They're so rare. I'm going to relish it.

January 28, 2013

Gathering my Thoughts

January 28, 2013/ Elizabeth Foss

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

We are in the midst of one of the infamous wintry mix storms so familiar to this region. Right now, ice is coating everything. My fervent hope is that I can get some pictures before the whole things turn to cold rain.

::listening to

Ice falling hard and fast against the house.

::clothing myself in

A sweatshirt and sweatpants. Schools have been closed for the day. That might just mean I have no where to go unless I choose to go to the gym later this afternoon. And that might just mean I'll wear sweats all day long.

::talking with my children about these books

Snow books. Poor Sarah was absolutley traumatized by My Brother Loved Snowflakes . Bentley dies of pneumonia. Mary Beth has had pneumonia this winter. Just a little too much for my sensitive four-year-old to process.

::thinking and thinking

about renewal. It's been a long time since I've intentionally taken care of my body. I tend to push myself to the absolute outer limits of endurance, but not in a good way. This January, at Mike's insistence, I've really been paying attention to exercise and relaxation and sleep. Still don't have the nutrition thing nailed down, but the rest is coming together. Now, I see just how merciless I've been to myself.

::pondering prayerfully

"Remember the precept that St. John the Evangelist used to give to his disciples: “Love one another.” Since it is not a mere exhortation, but a command, it would be sinful to do otherwise. Therefore, do away with insults, quarrels, envy, revenge, mockery, or bad will. Be good to one another. This will prove that you love each other like brothers."

- Don Bosco

The feast of St. John Bosco is January 31. There is a treasure trove of great information and resources here.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Schools are closed today, but not here. I remind my children that all those January long weekends for teacher workdays and the random snow days easily add up to a week in the woods in April when the bluebells bloom and everyone else is stuck inside. Now, if we were to get significant snow, I could persuaded to call a snow day .

::creating by hand

I really must tackle those nightgowns anew this week. And hustle along with knitting plans for Easter sweaters, because they're not moving nearly as quickly as the shrugs did two years ago. All my projects seem to be for Katie and they all seem stuck at the yoke. Hmmm...

::learning lessons in

teenagers. I am not a quick study, but I do think I'm making progress.

::encouraging learning

This week we'll begin our study of Matthew. I'm really looking forward to doing this study with my kids and I think they're pretty enthusiastic, too.

We've also been meandering down the Alphabet Path. Last week, H was for "heart" and we did some tweaking to the Valentine plan.

::begging prayers

for all the intentions of our prayer community. Also, Elizabeth DeHority is facing a formidable struggle this week as she battles an opportunistic infection. Her bone marrow is utterly depleted and her body has very little with which to fight.

::keeping house

::crafting in the kitchen

Christian took over my kitchen several times last week. He made New England clam chowder that was met with deep sighs of approval, an amazing dinner of grilled chicken, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, and then a raspberry chocolate cheesecake. He's got some impressive skills. He's got absolutely no desire to cook according to anyone's dietary limitations;-).

For my part, a friend challenged me to eat a salad every day. Nicholas took it a bit further and asked if I could somehow turn their dinner meals into salads for myself. I played with my food a bit last week and it was fun. I'll share it here on Wednesday, I think.

::loving the moments

When I have a chance to catch up with a friend. My friend Barbara joined me to watch Stephen and Nicky play basketball on Saturday and we had a whole hour to just sit and chat. And Colleen called from Costa Rica on Sunday and we had absolutely the best phone connection we've ever had.

Patrick was there for the basketball game, too, and he brought a friend home from school with him. It was nice to have them in the stands and I know the "little brothers" loved it.

::giving thanks

for safe travels. Patrick came home last weeked. Christian drove down to Charlottesville and back in the snow without incident. And Mike was gone last week, but traveled home from Miami safely last night and is tucked up in bed while the sky rains ice.

living the liturgy

We are preparing for Candlemas. Candles. I do love what they do for our home.

Ginny and I sat down a couple of weeks ago and sketched out some plans for celebrating the rhythm of the Church year with our families. We're really looking forward to bringing those plans to life and our kids are, too!

::planning for the week ahead

Pretty mellow week, I think. I have a hunch that a popcorn ball nibble did some bad things to a tooth, so there is likely to be some dental visits in my future. Other than that, it's just some lovely "normal" and a visit from friends on Wednesday to do some candle crafting.

Oh, and Stephen turns fourteen on Friday. I'm not a huge fan of fourteen, but I think Stephen is just the guy to change my perception;-) He's on board to take on the challenge of re-branding fourteen.

January 21, 2013

Gathering my Thoughts

January 21, 2013/ Elizabeth Foss

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

I definitely have shoots of tulips coming up. It's going to be super cold tomorrow. I hope all will be well.

::listening to

Nothing. Very nice.

::clothing myself in

Layers. Many, many layers. Even indoors. It's cold, my friends. And tomorrow will be colder.

::talking with my children about these books

Misty of Chincoteague. Katie has requested "horse read alouds." We can do that.

::thinking and thinking

About staying warm and keeping children warm. We have no heat and probably won't until the end of the week, depending on how long it takes to receive the part. I'm being very intentional about what we do, where we do it, what we wear, how we cook, and what we eat. It's all about warm.

::pondering prayerfully

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Aimee pointed out the the NAS version is Cease striving and know that I am God. Seems the perfect verse for someone who just spent six months making list after list and getting to nearly everything on them and trying mightily not to let anyone down. Perhaps it is time to cease striving?

To that, I've added Isaiah 43:1

But now, thus says the LORD,

who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name: you are mine.

Much more on this thought at the end of the week.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

We're getting there! Tweaks here and there to last week's schedule are going to render this week's nearly perfect, I think. Until the sports schedule shifts again;-). I've been working on our daytime learning schedule because it definitely needed some thought. Think I have that one nailed down now. My greatest challenge has been to figure out where to put our gym time. It's about two hours round trip to get there, work out, shower, and get home. Some of those trips, I want to do with the children and some will be alone. I'm still working out the work out schedule.

::creating by hand

Flannel cozies. Katie and I sat in the warm, sunshiney window of the sewing room on Saturday afternoon and made eleven new flannel "pillows" filled with feed corn. When popped heated (the corn doesn't pop) in the microwave for three minutes, these become wonderful personal heaters. We filled a basket to overflowing on Saturay afternoon. They were fully utlized during football Sunday. Last night, I slipped a warm one beneath the covers of everyone's bed. Toasty. I'm sure those warmers will be busy all day. This project is a great one to do with children just learning to sew--nothing but straight seams, but some turning, corner practice, and a little filling challenge make for a satisfactory sewing afternoon. Then, when the cozies are so much appreciated, there is a bit of deserved afterglow. Detailed directions here.

::learning lessons in

renewal. More later this week.

::encouraging learning

I have to amend a statement I made years ago. I said I'd never use IEW for a child under ten. Still true. For us, I don't think the Structure and Style Program is a good idea that young--I've had 7 children that age now and none of them would have benefitted at that age. But now, the folks at Institute for Excellence in Writing have two (fairly) new programs written for beginning readers and writers. We're going to give them a try. I have lots of MP3s to download and listen to this week in order to learn the system. A teacher inservice to wedge into the regular schedule, if you will

::begging prayers

for Elizabeth DeHority and Kelly Davignon and Jen Fulwiler. And for all the folks who have asked for prayers this week.

::keeping house

We've vaccumed air filters and cleaned creosote from the fireplace.

::crafting in the kitchen

There is confusion in the kitchen. I registered for Heather Bruggeman's Whole Food Kitchen Online Workshop, which is supposed to start in February. I had hesitated and hesitated. Honestly, I'm a sucker for good visuals and everything Heather does is a good visual. I was feeling rather alone in my kitchen. It seems like every nutritious cooking endeavor is met with grumpiness, no matter how tasty. Somebody always has something negative to say. I figured the class would give me backup, because I have every intention of requiring it of my kids.

After I registered, a friend loaned me her notebook from last year's class. Honestly, by the time I'd read the essays from every week, I was in tears. I didn't learn anything new. It was a beautiful presentation of the kitchen lifestyle I've long embraced. Until recently.

It's the grain-based, low meat kitchen that, quite honestly, doesn't work for me. Oh, but I can subsitute! I am assured that Heather's workshop could be totally gluten- and dairy- free. It can. I can completely avoid gluten and cook the alternate grains and potatoes for my family. But I can't eat them. I experimented last week with starches other than wheat. Not good. My entire system reacted violently. As in seven pounds of visible inflammation over night. The reality is that this way of cooking appeals to me. It's beautiful to me. But it makes me miserable. And sick.

But. But. But. An all paleo diet for a family this size would be very expensive and perhaps, needlessly restrictive.

I was feeling really, really despondent, perhaps unreasonably so. Food is such a relational thing for me. (Thanks for joining the conversation there. The giveaway is still open.) I felt like the people who live in this house couldn't care less about the value of the food. I think it and think it and think it. Perhaps I overthink it, you think?

Not so with the people who live here. They want to eat whatever they want, with little or no thought given to what nourishes them. And if I can't eat it? Oh, well. They'll eat without me. Furthermore, they'd be just as happy--happier, even--eating junk. Someone, who shall remain nameless, made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies four times last week. Um, yeah. I inhaled those cookies. Literally. Just breathed them in and tried to avoid the kitchen until they were gone.

By Sunday morning, I was sick and tired of thinking about food. I was also pretty miserable due to the experimentation with grains after trying some of Heather's recipes. Kristin came over for football and made Moroccan zucchini boats--no grains, dairy, beans, sugar, or potatoes. Oh my goodness! They were delicious. I was so hungy! And so grateful!

Today is a new day. Kitchen adventures continue.

::loving the moments

When we are all home on Sunday evenings. Our friend Molly was home from college this weekend and joined us Sunday afternoon and evening. Patrick was missed; maybe he'll wander this way for the Super Bowl. Seems like he should be here to watch a classic showdown of highly intense, competitive, athletic brothers;-). Michael and Kristin have come over every Sunday since the wedding. We've gathered. I really, really love gathering. I know that, as soccer season begins, these Sundays might not be so cozy and easy to to pull off, but for now, I'm really loving it.

::giving thanks

Oh, goodness! Am I giving thanks for guardian angels. On Tuesday, I took Mary Beth to the gym. I thought the steam room would do her good. She's been sick since before Christmas--first with the flu and then with pneumonia. She'd been feeling some better and she wanted a try to do something a little more physical than the half mile walk she'd been taking every morning. She got on the treadmill, and well, treaded. I finished working out, and headed downstairs to to check out the class schedules. She followed a few minutes later, down 26 stone steps to stand with me at a granite countertop. And then she passed out, falling against me so that I could cradle her head as we both dropped to the hard floor. I'm sure the EMTs had been called before we hit the floor. I'm so grateful she didn't hit her head. I'm grateful for the care on the spot and the continuing care. And I'm so, so grateful that she was right next to me when it all "went down." (She never did get to the steam room.)

Then...on Friday, a heating technician waded his way through the mess in Christian's room to the closet that holds our heating unit in order to do a routine maintenance check. He discovered two cracks in the heat exchanger. Two cracks that leak carbon monoxide. He turned off the gas immediately and explained what would have happened when the cracks grew. Yeah. Scary. Ridiculously scary. Christian is fine and happy to have a reason for the headaches and other weird things he was feeling. We're over-the-moon grateful those cracks had not yet expanded. Crazy grateful. I'm also ridiculously grateful my husband was wise enough to provide for those routine checks.

living the liturgy

We are preparing for Candlemas. Candles. I do love what they do for our home.

::planning for the week ahead

If the heating guy isn't scheduled for Friday, I think we'll go downtown for the March for Life. Mike is due to head out of town for a few days sometime this week or next. I have lots of sewing and knitting to do. I'm contemplating watching the first season of Downton Abbey. Or maybe Call the Midwife. Yes, it's true. I've seen none of either. So, which one? Or none?

Photo credits: Various children took the camera to record Sunday afternoon warmth yesterday.

January 15, 2013

Gathering my Thoughts

January 15, 2013/ Elizabeth Foss

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

My amaryllis bloomed late. I'm so glad. I've had the time to pay attention to it and it would have been lost in the crazy if it had bloomed on time.

::listening to

Nothing. Very nice.

::clothing myself in

Wool. I wore a wool blend cardigan yesterday and didn't wheeze. Progress perhaps? Elizabeth Zimmermann writes that if you have a child who is allergic to wool, you work a little into her sweaters, increasing the amount each time you knit, kind of like allergy shots;-). I thought she was nuts, but I've been knitting with a blend recently and I just tried to wear a blend and survived. One day, I'd love to knit with a Madelinetosh yarn. Ginny gave me a small ball of it a couple years ago and we both were surprised by the ferocity of the way my body reacted. Still, I remember that yarn and hope to re-acquaint myself.

::talking with my children about these books

Shakespeare. I think it's time to re-institute Shakespeare Fridays.

::thinking and thinking

Last fall some time, I took all social media apps off my phone. Except Instagram;-) Very good move. I felt much less stressed. I also all but left Twitter altogether, not intentionally, just because it wasn't on my phone and it's that kind of thing--you sort of have to do it in real time, or at least I do. Then, I stepped it up a notch and limited myself to one Facebook check-in a day, at least on most days. Even better. (I will note here, though, that Facebook has an annoying glitch that moves things off one's wall. I've missed messages because I waited to long to check in. Really, don't try to contact me via Facebook. Too unreliable.)

The reality is I hate sitting here in front of this screen and typing. I don't hate blogs or writing (as in composing) or the internet. I just hate the physical act of being tethered here.

I've switched all my planning--calendars, lesson plans, listmaking--to paper this year. Pretty paper. I really do love pretty paper. The paper in my life--the treasured books, old letters, prints of photographs, the daily missal--I'm bringing it to the center and moving the computer to the margin. At least I'm trying to do that.

On December first, knowing that my family was going to need my undivided attention and a lot of it, I pulled back from the computer even more. I ran a lot of old posts on my blog and I rarely checked in on social media. Even though those were very intense weeks, full of lists, and even though I was running hard and fast and staying very task-oriented, I felt a certain sense of balance.

At bedtime a few nights ago, Karoline commented, "You aren't on the computer very much any more." That was it. Just an observation. The reality is that all of the above, plus the fact that I've been sharing my laptop with Christian, makes her observation very accurate.

I like it that way.

And now, I'm trying to figure out how to hold onto that and still be the writer my soul begs me to be. I'm wondering how my eagerness for a new camera will play into this scenario. I want to capture the images and to learn to do it well. But I'm worried about adding photo editing time.

If I'm here, reading or typing in the glare of this screen, I'm not knitting or sewing or gardening or reading a picture book to a little girl who looks nothing like a toddler any more.

Thinking. Lots of thinking.

::pondering prayerfully

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Last night, after our first Monday of the "new normal," I was with Nick in the kitchen before turning off the lights on the day. He sighed a happy little sigh and said, "Doesn't it feel good to have the house clean and have gotten so much done in this day?" He noticed. It did feel good. The day wasn't perfect and it wasn't without its own drama, but there was a really palpable sense of peace in my home. It's rhythm, establishing itself.

::creating by hand

I think I will try to conquer those nightgowns I once intended for St. Lucy's Day. And I've been happily knitting the first of the Easter sweaters. I do plan a post of knitting and sewing plans, mostly just to create a visual organizer for myself. (This remains the same as last week. I'm going to make myself get to those today. I need to get back into a sewing rhythm, I guess.)

::learning lessons in

fitness. I went to the gym. I spent six minutes on the elliptical. I thought I was going to die. Even hours later, I felt terrible. Clearly, there is a big difference between the recumbent bike in my closet or walking briskly in my neighborhood and that monster machine at the gym. I'm scared to go back. Fitness people feel free to comment.

{Just an aside, as I shushed the interior voice telling me what a sad sack I am, I did remind myself that even though everyone around me was clearly a fitness superstar, it was highly doubtful anyone had borne nine children. My body is pretty amazing. Just sayin' ;-) }

::encouraging learning

Mike is taking a Spanish class practically at dawn every Wednesday. He had several years of Spanish in high school and college, but his Miami office (ESPN Deportes) is entirely native Spanish speakers. It was well past time for a brush up. In solidarity, everyone here is re-commiting to Rosetta Stone. Karoline is quite certain she's already bilingual.

::begging prayers

for Elizabeth DeHority and Kelly Davignon and Jen Fulwiler.

::keeping house

Last time Patrick left, I never re-wrote the chore chart. I'm not sure why. I think it might just have coincided with a time in my life when I was tired of thinking through homemaking routines over and over again. I'm not sure. Once upon a time, a friend and I traded those lists and tweaked and thought it all through so much that you would have thought we were employed full time in some sort of domestic think tank. And then, poof! I just started running this house with a very loose--not written any where--kind of plan.

I'm not sure I can commit yet, but I think I might have a new homemaking notebook itching away at my fingers.

::crafting in the kitchen

I made an enormous pork roast yesterday. Fifteen pounds. Mike commented that dinner was really good last night. I'm glad he thinks so. We're going to be eating it all week. Your suggestions for leftover, slow-cooked Dutch oven pork most gratefully accepted.

::loving the moments

On the day that Patrick left, without any real plan to do so, I started sharing snippets on Instagram. (You can see those pictures here.) It did occur to me that this was raw stuff and perhaps it was inappropriate for such a venue. But something happened. Joy said it best later in the day, when she wrote, "I'm grateful for Instagram on days like today...what I prayed and how I prayed changed as the day went on and the pics that came up. I'd never thought to use it that way before, but I do think my prayers for my friends will change after today." I couldn't agree more. I knew people were praying. It was tangible and very real. Like Joy, I think the way I look at Instagram and pray accordingly will be forever changed. (Documented on Instagram. Follow me @heartofmyhome or click the camera icon in the top right sidebar. See you there!)

::giving thanks

::for the new normal.

::For time with friends from high school. It never ceases to amaze me that after all these years and their countless moves, Shelley and I can still gather in the kitchen and pick up right where we left off in the sharing of hearts.

living the liturgy

Yesterday, I took a few moments and wrote down the baptism anniversaries of all my children in my calendar for the year. Today, I plan to do that for godchildren, too. I really want to make a little fuss on their baptism days every year. I always intend to, but often forget. I want it to be a solid family tradition, just like birthdays and namedays. (Cool little things: Mike was baptized on my birthday. Well, not really, because I wasn't born yet, but he made it a pretty special day the year before I arrived. And Nicholas was baptized twelve years before Michael's wedding date, in the same church, by the same priest. Twelve years later, he was best man on that day! He says that day counts as a good baptism celebration. Not sure how I'll ever top it, actually.)

::planning for the week ahead

We are going to keep doing the new normal. I'm looking very forward to a visit from a friend. We are going to make some grand plans and go out to dinner, just us. I'm so ready for girl time, I can't even contain my excitement!

January 07, 2013

The post that took a week to write

January 07, 2013/ Elizabeth Foss

Eleven hours after we arrived home from the wedding, at 11:00 on Sunday morning, we hosted 50 or 60 people at our house to celebrate Patrick and send him off to college. Even now, as I write this, it sounds like a stupid idea. Who does that? Who pushes to do a birthday party, a huge Christmas party for extended family, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, a rehearsal and dinner, a wedding and reception, and then a brunch all in the space of nine days? With nine kids? And all at our house except for the rehearsal and wedding days.

I do. Did.

WIth the brunch, I thought I had a good plan. We'd bring in most of the food, picking up after 8:30 Mass. I talked to the contractor who had helped with our renovations and he agreed to have a cleaning crew in my house on the day of wedding. So, from Christmas until the wedding, I just worried about keeping things fairly picked up. Our contractor is wonderful and I had every confidence he'd polish things to a suitable company shine.

The cleaning people didn't show. At 11:00 PM, upon arriving home from the wedding, all my big kids (except Michael and with the addition of Hilary and Molly) and Mike and I started cleaning house. We pulled it off. Mostly. I don't know. I remember very little of the day after. I know Kristin and Michael came by for mochas before I left for Mass and they left for the airport. I know the house filled with people, food was eaten, and everyone left. And I know that at 5:00 that evening I faded into my couch. I think I even slept;-).

I thought this week would be a mellow one, that I'd catch up on some rest and do some (fun) things I've wanted to get to but haven't had time. Instead, I have grown to recognize that my "to do after the wedding" list was ridiculously long. Patrick has to leave earlier than we thought and we're in scramble mode. Christian has several important appointments before the start of the new semester. The new soccer schedule has some big surprises in it. Life is just barreling ahead.

****

Typepad tells me I wrote the above five days ago. I remember I was interrupted and then I took kids to the doctor to be diagnosed with flu. Let's begin again. How about a Monday Morning Almanac? Jump to the end of the now very dated brunch pictures, please.

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

It's cold outside and I have trouble staying warm even inside. Still, I've resolved to get out and walk every day.

::listening to

The trash trucks careening through the early morning.

::clothing myself in

Two new Anna Maria scarves this week--one voile and one a voile-velveteen infinity. Made by me, for me. Yay!

::talking with my children about these books

Small Steps for Catholic Moms. Karoline had an idea for a family project. A really good idea.

::thinking and thinking

Oh, my. Lots to think about. Right now, though, I'm forcing myself to confront the fact that Patrick leaves Thursday. I think I've put it off as long as I could. I told myself I wouldn't think about it until after the new year began. Then, the date was moved up and we realized we hadn't even begun to make packing lists, and, well, the denial strategy isn't working.

::pondering prayerfully

A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship. -St. Francis de Sales

::carefully cultivating rhythm

I know that this week won't be completely "normal" because there is packing and leaving to do, but I definitely intend to re-establish the focused, intentional learning times and spaces around here.

::creating by hand

::learning lessons in

letting go.

::encouraging learning

I wrapped a fresh set of Bob Books for Epiphany. Our first set was tattered beyond being "vintage." Karoline and Sarah are tickled.

::begging prayers

for Elizabeth DeHority and Kelly Davignon and Jen Fulwiler.

::keeping house

Sigh. It's time to pack away Christmas. Usually, I'm pretty eager. I like the feel of uncluttered space. This year, though, I don't feel like I've had time to sit and linger in the light.

That fact is reflected here, too. There is no "year in review" post, no "Christmas recap" post, no resolution post. I'm still pondering this home in cyberspace and what I want it to be. Ironically, I've had very little time for it in the last few months and, even as I ponder, I wonder if it isn't futile planning. Will I have time for it now? Perhaps next week I'll have a better sense of the "new normal."

::crafting in the kitchen

It's a roast chicken kind of day. And then, bone broth. I am wanting and needing to re-commit to the strictest of the paleo autoimmune protocol. Even the little bit of wandering I did over the last few weeks has wreaked havoc with my joints.

Mary Beth and I had a little fun yesterday and left some treasures in a new kitchen. We snuck over and spruced up at Michael's and Kristin's house before they got home. It's always more fun to clean and polish in someone else's house isn't it?

::loving the moments

when everyone is gathered here on a Sunday afternoon. (Documented on Instagram. Follow me @heartofmyhome or click the camera icon in the top right sidebar. See you there!)

::giving thanks

for a ridiculously peaceful Christmas season. It's a miracle, really, in every sense of the word. God is so good.

living the liturgy

I love liturgy. Love it. While I certainly relish bringing the liturgical year to life for my children through food and art and traditions, it's the Liturgy of the Hours and the liturgy of the Mass that anchor my soul. As my children get older, they still delight in the comfort of liturgical traditions (little "t"), but I hope that they, too, will take into their hearts the unfailing gift of grown-up Liturgy.

::planning for the week ahead

Thursday looks to be pretty huge. Some important appointments for Christian. Patrick's last day home. My birthday. Nothing, nothing like last year. Sigh.

In The Heart of My Home

In The Heart of My Home

Journal

In The Heart of My Home

Gathering my Thoughts

Gathering my Thoughts

Gathering my Thoughts

Gathering my Thoughts

The post that took a week to write

In The Heart of My Home