Notes to Self

::noticing God's glory: 

My tomatoes are doing good things! We won't have enough to can or anything, but we at least have enough to feed the whole family at once. And okra! Yippee. Look for an okra and tomato polenta recipe on Friday.

::listening to 

Dance studio chatter. 

::clothing myself in 

Yoga pants, t-shirt, lightweight sweatjacket. It's chilly. Really.

::talking with my children about these books

Well, not books, but stories. I love to listen to books/podcasts while I work around the house and I'm trying to share the value of that with my kids. We've recently discovered Sparkle Stories. Love:-).

::thinking and thinking

about the role I want the Internet to play in my life. Food for thought:

What it Looks Like to Have a Cyber Sabbath

Switch off the Static and Turn on Your Mind

and I'm eagerly reading an advance copy of Hands Free Mama's new book. 

::pondering prayerfully

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not actually worth reading at the age of fifty." C. S. Lewis

This is my guiding principle for the school year.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Sigh. We made some major decisions, left two beloved teams with longtime, very close friends, and made our radius much, much smaller. I'm thinking about a post about why we did what we did for as long as we did and why we made a change. But then I think no one would ever do what we did and my experience probably has nothing to offer anyone else. 

::creating by hand

I really want to sew something other than headbands...

::learning lessons in

asking Jesus all day long.

::encouraging learning 

A number of people have asked about math curriculum. I hesitate to offer anything in that regard. Really, I've yet to find the magic math curriculum. But I do love Dreambox. 

I'm super excited about plans this year, which is a lovely surprise. For the younger three, it's going to be a Storybook Year, heavily dependent on these lists (browse the lefthand column--there aren't enough days in a childhood for the treasures here). For the older three (and the younger, too, actually), lots of fresh inspiration from these thoughts:

Nature Deficit Disorder

Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day

The Four Language Arts

Nurturing Competent Communicators

Fairytales and the Moral Imagination

::begging prayers

Please continue to pray for Shawn, for Elizabeth DeHority, for my friend Carmen, and for my mother-in-law, who soon begins radiation treaments.

And for a private {all good} intention close to my heart.

::living the liturgy

It's nearly time for the St. Monica novena. What a perfect novena at a time when two of my boys embark on a new college semester. Novena begins on August 18th. Join me?

::keeping house

I frequently refer to the wreck that is the basement. Last week, I posted some pictures of said wreck on Instagram. I think I surprised some people. It really is a wreck. I'm overwhelmed by the wreck. But we're making slow progress. Some big items are leaving permanently, off with Christian and his friends. If I'm honest, I think I'm working up my anger over the wreck so that I won't be leveled by the sadness that will be inevitable when he and his basement band are no longer making gigantic messes down there. What ever it takes...

::crafting in the kitchen 

I ate Domino's gluten-free pizza the other day. It was delicious. It's NOT gluten-free. 'Nuff said. 

::loving the moments

when I'm snuggling her to sleep and her hair just smells so good and life is peaceful. And light. And lovely. 

::giving thanks 

for special prayers at dinnertime.

::planning for the week ahead

The coaches Christian has teamed up with for the last several years have planned a going-away party for him on Friday. And then, he goes on Monday. I sort of have tunnel vision.

 

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iPhone pics, all mine. That one of Mike making wildflower bouquets just about does me in. 

Have a beautiful week, friends!

Notes to Self

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{All photos are a GIFT from my friend Nicole. I was afraid to take my camera to the beach. }

I have a dozen or so blog posts running through my head. I'm pinning notes to myself here and hope to follow up later this week.

::noticing God's glory: 

 Mike helped me in the garden this week. Actually, he began the task while I was at the beach and we finished up together when I returned. It's been so wet that there was a riduculous amount of weeding and pruning to do. I'm so grateful for his help and his company!

::listening to 

Silence. It's crazy early, but I have to grab it while I can get it. It's going to be a very rare thing very soon. 

::clothing myself in 

These shoes. Several people have asked about them. I love them. I wear them every day, everywhere. Skirts, shorts, jeans. They're awesome!

::talking with my children about these books

We're wrapping up our Shakespeare studies with Christian. Actually, we're wrapping up all our studies with Christian. This is a bittersweet time, indeed. We shall continue our Shakespeare Fridays in the fall.

::thinking and thinking

about how I think the Internet is the modern day Tower of Babel. It's amazing how people come together and completely misunderstand one another!

::pondering prayerfully

"There is a small lack of humility in wanting to be Mary before having worked with Martha." ~St. Teresa of Avila

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Well, then. Some pruning happened in the garden, but some even more significant pruning happened in our planning. I think I might even have a sense of peace about our rhythm. More on this one later.

::creating by hand

There is a lovely bunch of ten-year-old girls who have squeezed into ill-fitting jazz costumes for the last time. I promised them all that we would make them into headbands after the last show. The time is now. Going to try to fit that into a very full week.

::learning lessons in

letting go. Here we go. It's August. Countdown to the Great Leaving. This time last year, all nine of my children lived in this house. In nine months time--from December to August-- the oldest three will have flown the nest. All boys. The dynamic of this household is definitely changing. Christian leaves in three weeks. I've never been away from Christian for more than six days. 

Ahem.

Moving on...

::encouraging learning 

I'm very excited about plans for the new term. The absence of the big boys and some pretty drastic changes to our rhythm will yield very fruitful days, I hope. Not that the big boys disrupted our rhythm. 

Well,actually, they sort of did.

I'm super excited about plans this year, which is a lovely surprise. For the younger three, t's going to be a Storybook Year, heavily dependent on these lists (browse the lefthand column--there aren't enough days in a childhood for the treasures here). For the older three (and the younger, too, actually), lots of fresh inspiration from these thoughts:

Nature Deficit Disorder

Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day

The Four Language Arts

Nurturing Competent Communicators

Fairytales and the Moral Imagination

::begging prayers

Please continue to pray for Shawn, for Elizabeth DeHority, for my friend Carmen, and for my mother-in-law, who soon begins radiation treaments.

::living the liturgy

 Daily Mass: critical to the new rhythm.

::keeping house

Last fall --actually all last year-- I prayed a very specific prayer for our house renovations. I prayed that this place would beautifully reflect the living of God's will as a Christian family. I had visions of ladies' Bible studies and a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium. Perhaps, in time, that will happen. But last night, I had a rare flash of insight, kind of a Holy Spirit pat on the back. 

Patrick has come home very frequently since leaving in January. He has never, ever come home alone. Always, he brings someone along. Last night, after he won a National Championship in Richmond, we got home around 1:00 AM. We rolled in with eight of our children and five extras. One of the girls whom Patrick invited sighed a happy sigh when she walked in and said, "It smells like home. It's just so nice." If my mission these days is to be home away from home for homesick college students, I'll take it.

And be very grateful. Not what I imagined. Better than that, right now. 

::crafting in the kitchen 

I learned a thing or two at the beach last week. Only the girls and Nick came with me. Cooking for six, when five of them are female? Much. Less. Food. I overpacked. I had leftover spaghetti three meals! This fall, I might just make a recipe or two as written, instead of automatically doubling or tripling. Weird. 

::loving the moments

when they are reunited. Karoline was literally giddy upon seeing Katie after being separated for a week. She missed her so much!

::giving thanks 

for going and coming home again. All last week, it was just Karoline, Sarah, Mary Beth and Christian at home. Everyone else was off on an adventure. They all had a grand time. They're all glad to be home.

::planning for the week ahead

I had so much planned for last week. Only four at home, I was going to finish school planning and dig out the basement and deep clean closets and on and on. Instead, I had a whopper cold that completely leveled me for the entire week. The upside is that with so few children home, I didn't get way behind being sick. The downside is that I didn't really get to relish the week the way I'd hoped. 

This week is crazy busy. The pre-season intensives have begun. There will be much driving hither and yon. All the beds are filled and there were yoga mats and sleeping bags on the floors as well last night. Tomorrow is a Big Day in the Life of Katie. Her very first pointe shoe fitting:-). Wednesday, we are looking forward to a visit from a Colorado family on Wednesday. And I hear there is a plan for date night on Friday. 

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iPhone pics, all mine.

Have a beautiful week, friends!

Beach Notes

::noticing God's glory

We are at the beach this week, noticing flowers that look like great peppermint candies, and magnificent sunsets over the bay, and horseshoe crabs that are "stuck together."

::listening to 

Ann Voskamp's blog. Did you read her note to Kate, Duchess of Cambridge? I wandered over there to read it and decided to hang out in the neighborhood and enjoy the music? 

::clothing myself in 

PJs. It's actually fairly early Monday evening, but we've been going and going and going all day and we have to be up and out the door tomorrow at 6:45 to start a new day of dance.

::talking with my children about these books

I only packed two books for bedtime read-alouds this week. Karoline is determined we will read every story in The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter and Katie is happily choosing at least a story a night from the Random House Book of Humor for Children.

::thinking and thinking

about the value of homemaking. It really does amaze me that an art so vital to the health and welfare of every one of us is given so little thought. We do a deplorable job of training young women to makes homes. Instead, they come of age in a state of cultural confusion over the value of such things as cooking, cleaning, or even the thoughtful rearing of children. And it shows. I wonder if we aren't a generation or two away from "home" being a quaint concept one reads about in old stories.

::pondering prayerfully

"When your ordinary work or business is not specially engrossing, let your heart be fixed more on God than on it; and if the work be such as to require your undivided attention, then pause from time to time and look to God, even as navigators who make for the haven they would attain, by looking up at the heavens rather than down upon the deeps on which they sail. So doing, God will work with you, in you, and for you, and your work will be blessed. "  ~St. Francis de Sales

::carefully cultivating rhythm

There's that careful balance of relaxed vacation time and competition time and just plain eating/sleeping/living time. I'm trying to maintain some rhythm while still getting the girls to the stage on time for a week's worth of dance performances. We're squeezing in every minute of outside time we can!

::creating by hand

I planned to bring some knitting along, but I think I left the bag at home in my sewing room. I did bring a wee bit of embroidery. I have plans for an embroidered headband...

::learning lessons in

traveling without my big boys. So strange to be here without my veteran travelers! I miss them terribly. And I am reminding myself all the time to soak up the wonder that is these six still left at home. Such a different rhythm when the majority is female.

::encouraging learning 

Ah, those podcasts. What a great little conference I designed for myself:-) 

Several of you asked for links to good listening. Lately, I've been listening to Andrew Pudewa:

Nature Deficit Disorder

Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day

The Four Language Arts

Nurturing Competent Communicators

Fairytales and the Moral Imagination

::begging prayers

Recently, three people very close to me have confronted a cancer diagnosis. I've told you a little about Shawn. And my friend Carmen is recovering from a double mastectomy. The third one I'm holding very close for now.. Please, please pray for all!

::living the liturgy

The end of the July truly is the liturgical celebration of homemakers. This year, we began with the gospel story of Martha and Mary. Then we shall celebrate the feast of St. Anne on July 26 and the Feast of St. Martha on July 29. Lots of notes on those here in this post (along with some wonderful St. Francis de Sales wisdom). Sarah Annie is very happily looking forward to her name day celebration!

::keeping house

This week, we are sharing a condo with another family. Housekeeping is so different at the beach. It's always fun to play house in a new neighborhood! Still, I really need to do laundry tomorrow.

::crafting in the kitchen 

I brought my blender, so smoothies are still happening every day. I cooked ahead last week and brought most of our main dishes out here frozen. And we stopped at a produce stand on the way to the shore and stocked up so that we have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. Well, plenty enough to get to Wednesday, at least. After that, we may be a little on the less green side because fresh fruits and veggies at the grocery store here are outrageously overpriced.

::loving the moments

when she swims to me!

::giving thanks 

 for safe travels.

::planning for the week ahead

Swim, sun, dance, eat, sleep. Repeat.

Summertime and the living is easy?

::noticing God's glory

This is how amazing the pond in front of our library looks right now.

::listening to 

Three boys discussing last night's All Star game. One of our dance teacher's sons spent the night last night. It's so fun to have a "little boy" in the house! And this one is quite the charmer.

::clothing myself in 

not my contacts:-(. I went a long time between eye doctor appointments. I don't recommend doing this, particularly if this long time period includes being pregnant, weaning, and being not pregnant/not nursing for the first time in two decades. When you stop being pregnant and nursing, your eyes change shape, ladies! My contacts have now warped my corneas. We're hoping a long break from contacts will fix this. Since I don't have a right ear, I kind of love my contacts. It's a tricky thing to keep glasses balanced. 

::talking with my children about these books

The One Thing is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything I am really enjoying this one. Fr. Gaitley just speaks a language I understand, I think. 

::thinking and thinking

about the coming school year. And I'm scouring my bookshelves and moving things from one basket to another, ensuring that each child will have a rich banquet spread for him or her--all without buying anything. We have everything we need right here or at the library pictured above (isn't it lovely?). This is the year of the no-purchase curriculum.

::pondering prayerfully

Screwtape explains: Our business is to get them away from the eternal and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make them live in the Future....In a word, the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays... ~C.S. Lewis

::carefully cultivating rhythm

The Screen Rules are doing good things for rhythm around here. I've enjoyed the conversation in the combox, too. Even the naysayers have been interesting to me. (By the way, why are the naysayers on my blog in the summer almost always 20-something?)

I'm relishing this week, our summer finally feels like summer. We've had a revolving door of friends and FINALLY enough sunshine and heat to hang out at the pool. Next week, it will all be different, but for now, I'm happy to have this golden time.

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::creating by hand

We're still rocking those headbands. Every girl who walks through the door these days leaves with a handmade headband.

::learning lessons in

flexibility.

and in the value of homemaking.

::encouraging learning 

Have you read this? Please do. So, so good. 

Also, I'm tutoring a young man who is playing professional soccer. Much of our work is done via Google Docs and Skype. I'm on the lookout for ways for him to use the computer to work on schoolish things and for me to check in from afar. We're working at the middle school level, academically. Suggestions out there?

::begging prayers

In the last three weeks, three people very close to me have confronted a cancer diagnosis. I've told you a little about Shawn. There's a longer, detailed update by Shawn himself on my Facebook page. And my friend Carmen is recovering from a double mastectomy. The third one I'm holding very close for now.. Please, please pray for all!

::living the Liturgy

Today is the day to begin the St. Anne novena in order to finish it on her feast day. This novena is so, so special to us. I love this feast! Here are some thoughts and ideas for preparing to celebrate.

::keeping house

I had three hours alone yesterday. I used it to clean and to listen to homeschool talks on mp3. It was so incredibly therapeutic I can't begin to express its value. But I intend to figure out a way to replicate the experience again soon. And again. And again.

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::crafting in the kitchen 

I'm doing a lot of cooking ahead this week, prepping meals for our time away at a dance competition next week. I can't afford to eat out on the road, either financially or physically. Who has great ideas for things to make ahead and eat in a beach house?

::loving the moments

when the whole house is clean at the same time. Can that happen again? Please?

::giving thanks 

 for a peaceful, productive week.

::planning for the week ahead

Lots of dance rehearsals this week and lots of little people coming to visit while their moms teach. We're having fun with them! Patrick has a playoff game in Richmond again this weekend. And we have a road trip to take to the beach for competition. Last weekend, we vistied Richmond and then went on to Charlottesville to hang out with Paddy for awhile.

Simplicity in the Midst of Complexity

::noticing God's glory

We have some okra in our garden. We also have mold, mildew,  and root rot... Not the best gardening year:-(

::listening to 

Nick and Sarah singing while they draw in the sunroom. Nicky is making up new lyrics to the Signing Time Rainbow Song. It drives him crazy that the colors are out of order on the video, but he does love the song. He's keeping me very entertained. And it's nice to hear him sing again. He's been sick for a week now. I've missed his cheerful singing voice. 

::clothing myself in 

Denim shorts, crochet trimmed T-shirt, these awesome shoes. 

::talking with my children about these books

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief. We've had some interesting conversations about ADHD and dyslexia around here lately. And, of course, reading Percy Jackson inevitably leads to someone reading D'Aulaire's Greek Myths...

The One Thing is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything I have just started reading this one, but I find myself wanting to share something with Mary Beth about evry other page.

::thinking and thinking

(Still;): about battling back from burnout. I have to admit that I'm burned out. I tried to deny it, tried to defy it. Now, I'm "battling back." Actually, I plan to retitle that chapter in its new edition."Battling back" sounds like so much work. Instead, I'm embracing renewal. I've got lots of new ideas about burnout. When I wrote that chapter a dozen or so years ago, no one was emailing with team updates every ten minutes. There was no constant barrage of social media. My phone didn't go with me when I left the house. I was thinking about survival in the near term and not necessarily sustainability over the long haul. It just seems like there is so much more noise, so much input.

Ah, but I was also unable to pray the Liturgy of the Hours while sitting in the waiting room outside an college IEP meeting.  couldn't text a friend when I got stuck on the renewal journey. So, it's not all bad. Can the internet be a tool in renewal? I'm pondering that.

::pondering prayerfully

"The woman is at the heart of the home. let us pray that we women realise the reason for our existence; to love and be loved and through this love become instruments of peace in the world."  ~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

::carefully cultivating rhythm

The Screen Rules are doing good things for rhythm around here. So is the fact that I don't have to drive hardly anywhere this week. There is definitely more time for the important things. The screen rules stipulate that some things only happen after chores are finished. Next up: create a practical, functional chore chart.

::creating by hand

We're kind of on a sewing binge here. My hair is crazy curly out of control. Katie and I are making as many of these as we can without having to go to the fabric store. Fortunately, we have an abundance of elastic and seemingly endless fat quarters. We are planning to invite some friends to help us create...

::learning lessons in

Simplicity Parenting. Always learning those lessons, always needing a refresher course.

::encouraging learning 

Have you read this? Please do. So, so good. 

::begging prayers

In the last three weeks, three people very close to me have confronted a cancer diagnosis. I've told you a little about Shawn. And my friend Carmen is recovering from a double mastectomy. The third one I'm holding very close for now.. Please, please pray for all!

::keeping house

Michael and Kristin came over the other day to make T-shirts for Shawn's family. we had to drag the whole production into the living room because the three of us couldn't turn around in the sewing room together. This prompted me to deep clean the sewing room after they left. And that makes me very happy! It's so nice to be there now:-)

::crafting in the kitchen 

Green smoothies every day and all kinds of variations on "beans and greens." My favorite smoothie this week was watermelon, spinach, cucumber, ginger, lemon, and mint. It's the perfect breakfast after a holiday weekend of eating.

::loving the moments

when the news isn't as bad as we feared. Of course, the flip side is that the other news is so much worse than we feared. Life is hard sometimes.

::giving thanks 

 for a friend who just happened to be in the same place where John Paul II's intercession was begged for the second miracle at the same time I was texting her that Shawn needs a miracle. I struggle sometimes frequently with my inability to talk to Colleen whenever I want, like I used to when she was in Louisiana. But I do know that God knows what we need and He does provide.

::planning for the week ahead

More revolving doors, but a little more relaxed these days.  Mary Beth and Stephen are Stuebenville-bound. Some of the rest of us are going to wander a bit, too. There's a date night on the horizon for Friday night and then on Saturday we'll go to Richmond to watch Paddy play and hang out with my friend Jan and her family. And I think hear Charlottesville calling my name.