What I am Up To

1. Today we (and by we I mean myself.....since Tim is out of town and the kids are well, KIDS!) are cleaning for the Big Game tomorrow.
2. I am also writing a reflection on The Shack in my head before I write it for a newsletter - deadline: Monday.
3. Taking Bella to a doggie daycare for tonight and tomorrow night so we can have a dog-less Superbowl Party!
4. Going shopping for a few last minute things.
5. Laundry, Laundry, Laundry. Sigh.
6. Doing the secret happy dance that the kid's soccer camp was cancelled this morning - gave me 2 extra hours at home for cleaning!


Enjoy your weekend!

Roots and Wings, Part II

One of the things that is so essential in this whole character training is something I read on a dear friend's blog. You can read her entire beautiful post here.
What I have been thinking as I read Stacy's post and the original Charlotte Mason text is that I am the one who is in need of change. It is not about our children or their training at all, really. It is about us. And our attitudes. And our training. I am the one who needs cheerful patience and temperance!

Lord, I am in awe how this journey of parenthood is my own growth in sanctity. So, I get down on my knees again. I surround myself with things that bring out the best in me and I seek His grace. Over, and over, and over again.....His Grace.

Some resources: Praying for your children. This is an amazing resource that you can expand or adapt to suit your needs. I love the fact that it is in a grid format and I can just print it off and have it on my fridge or bulletin board.

A letter of admonishment ...or encouragement? This letter is timely - it is written by a professor of theology from Ave Maria University. He reflects on Pope Benedict's letter to families and how we may or may not fall short of this calling. What are we waiting for? Now is the time, this is the place, this is our calling now!

And finally this scripture: one that has inspired me for years but it wasn't until a dear, dear friend posted it as her blog header that I began to pray it as a mother. I love her particular translation so I am just going to write it here for you. This is the stuff our vocations are made of.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your
weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak
and lame will not fall but become strong.
Hebrews 12:12-13

A snow day haiku

The kids are off school
Though I am still here working
I'll miss snowangels

Roots and Wings

Character Training.


Around here it happens all the time, of course, but more intentionally, we have Character Training lessons every tuesday after school. I am hoping to see growth in some of the following areas:

Attentiveness
Joyful Obedience
Honesty
Respect
Integrity
Gentleness
Self-Control
Piety
Sharing
Gracefulness
Cheerful Patience
Deferring to one another in love
Temperance



Oh, I could go on and on. I am working on getting it all organized and written down. But that is where my own character falls short. So Tim and I came up with a list of I don't know 30 some character traits and virtues and family rules we want the kids to grow in. And rather than be a reactive parent I have decided to go ahead and be pro-active about it and not only model the behavior I want to see in my children (still working on that one) but also instruct them in the way they should walk.
The idea is to take 30 minutes every week and have an intentional lesson about this character trait/virtue/family rule, whatever. Include a relevant scripture that is short enough for them to memorize and for all of you to recite throughout the week when a reminder is needed. =)
The lesson could be as simple as playing a game that involves simple obedience like Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light. And then a short teaching about all the ways God asks us to obey. And a brainstorming about how we can better obey Mama & Daddy.

Regardless of what you do, it is vitally important that we teach these things to our children. I remember a friend relaying a story about when she was a new wife and mother and the house was kind of messy and one day it dawned on her: "What am I waiting for? No one else is going to come in here and clean this! This is MY role now!"
So I too have been given an Aha! Moment: What am I waiting for? It is not as if they will be learning these things any place else! This is MY role now! THIS is the very heart of what it means to be the primary educators of our children!!!





I have been brainstorming over this endeavor for quite some time and have a few additional things to say about it. But for now I must away to my sweet lovelies who are home from school on a snow day and in need of a snack.

Stay tuned for part II.

Slug Day

It is a slug day here in our house. With almost 100% participation. We went to mass last night and we don't need to leave the house today which can mean we can claim a slug day. No showers, no getting out of pjs, no work. Unfortunately, Daddy had to go to work. But it is snowing outside, the kids are enjoying their second breakfast with some cartoons, and I am trying to stay warm with a personal heater on my lap.... my laptop!

Hope you are having a wonderful day filled with grace!

Um, too cute!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

May old aquaintance be forgot....

Happy New Year!
I cannot believe it is 2009 already! Seems like 2008 just flew on by, for better and worse.
Here is our family holiday newsletter that I wanted to share with all of you my bloggy friends!



Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the ******** family!! We hope you had a healthy, happy and holy 2008 and we pray that 2009 brings you an abundance of God's blessings. We are well. God has been good to our family in 2008
Emma Rose is 5 and a half (isn't it funny how that half is so very important to little ones!). In 2008 she danced with LA Dance company, swam, played softball and soccer, joined Girl Scouts and learned to READ! She has been a busy girl! She also started kindergarten at Holy Spirit (our parish) in August and has been kept very busy with all the homework she has been doing. She is a delight around the house - always singing and dancing, and offering hugs and kisses. She is a sensitive little sprite who feels everything very deeply. She has grown closer in her relationship with Jesus this year, and still claims St. Therese as her best friend. What a gift! In 2009, Emma looks forward to completing her RRR marathon, going to soccer camp, graduating from kindergarten, possibly losing her first tooth, seeing Disney on Ice, and going to Canada to visit Nana.



Timmy Joseph is 4 and a half and is the little clown of the family! Little is not the operative word however since he is getting to be taller than his older sister! In 2008, Timmy completed preschool and moved on to pre-K at Holy Spirit. He also swam, played baseball and soccer, climbed a tree on his own, and learned to tie knots, and developed both a high sensitivity to sugar and a keen sense of smell. (Weird fact to include, but it has become an everyday thing we deal with around here - ensuring he eats enough protein, and helping him to deal with an over-sensitive olfactory nerve!) Timmy is the funny guy around here, constantly keeping us laughing...and we are so grateful! He is a sweet and caring young boy who loves Jesus and Mary very much. In 2009, Timmy is looking forward to starting kindergarten, learning to ride a big-boy bike, learning to read, visiting Nana, and going to soccer camp.



Tim's job with Drury has kept him very busy in 2008. He has travelled to conferences, spoke at a Board of Directors meeting for the YMCA Trout Lodge, joined the Fairview Heights Chamber of Commerce, and travelled to help the company out in Kentucky. He has also done a great job of working more balanced hours so that his family could see him a little more this past year. 2008 also saw us saying a final goodbye to Tim's Grandpa Jim who died on January 1st, 2008; Tim's 31st birthday; and his role as Best Man in his brother Dan's wedding. Tim's highlight of the year (i think) was probably coaching Timmy in baseball and Emma in soccer. He has been waiting to coach his own children since the day they were born! His other highlight may have been all the race announcing he got to do for collegiate level track and cross-country. This is definitely one of his passions, and he is great at it! (I can brag on him because he is not going to proof this before it gets sent out.) Tim also was blessed enough to serve on 2 ACTS teams in 2008. A blessing for him and our family as he drew nearer to the Lord with each teaming experience. God has a wonderful way of calling us to Himself, doesn't He? I am so proud of Tim and all he has done in our community and our family. In 2009, Tim is looking forward to running the Drury sponsored Go! St. Louis Marathon and having continued professional success as well as coaching the kids' sports once again.



Stacey has had a year of change. In the first several months of 2008, she was still staying at home with the children as they went off to preschool and pre-k part time. And she was still babysitting the 3 year old twins, Emily & Natalie, whom she'd been with since they were born. So life was crazy and busy around the ******** household with 4 kids 5 and under around all the time. Then as Spring approached, Stacey retired from babysitting other people's children and focused all her energies on spending a full summer with her kiddos before they went to school full-time. The summer of 2008 brought the 1st anniversary of her father's passing. He died June 6th, 2007. That was a hard week. As summer winded down and school began, Stacey began to feel purposeless - with no littles at home to care for. So she got a job at Vantage Credit Union as a teller, and is really enjoying it. The extra money is nice and really helps out, and the job itself is the perfect mix of challenging and enjoyable. Stacey served as Music Director on an ACTS team, coordinated and led the music for our parishes Vacation Bible School, and led the music for Exalt at our parish in October. She is blessed by the journey and completely grateful for the sisters God has blessed her with along the way. Stacey became a godmother 3 times in 2008 to Charlie Basta, Joseph Mason, and CJ Luczak and is blessed by each one of the families who has chosen her to be a spiritual mother to their sons! (yes, all boys!) In 2009, Stacey is looking forward to running in the St. Louis HALF Marathon, hopefully finishing our hardwood floors, perhaps teaming again with ACTS, and enjoying being a mom to the two best chiklettes in the whole world!



May your New Year be abundantly blessed with His grace!
Love in Jesus, and St. Therese, Tim and Stacey and the kids.