Tag Archives: family

Sunlight through Shadows

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Friday morning found me a little groggy and road weary.  Allen was traveling and I had been glued to my mail and phone for 48 hrs so as not to miss an update. Grandpa, the only father I've known, entered hospice care and died soon after.  

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There would be no more news on funeral planning for several hours due to the time difference between here and there.  I briefly considered crawling back into bed but the sun was beckoning and little people were getting cabin fever. Some days you just know you will be more rested when you wear them out.  So we packed up the blanket, packed water bottles and sunscreen, and met our friends at the Seewoog.

Maria is one of those friends I don't see often but, when we do, words spill out easily. The time passed is quickly bridged and there is great comfort found sharing with another soldier's mom.

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( I suggested sunscreen…)

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(the men in this family take ball sports seriously!) 

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  The boys ran themselves ragged playing ball in the open fields.  The ant mound drew them not surprisingly, and plans were made to begin an ant farm.  (and just as quickly laid aside ; )) The little girls, too, fell right back into step.  With clasped hands they roamed the reed strewn banks with their brothers, bringing us lily fronds and fish eggs, daisies and dandelion.  We left filled to the brim.  Just what the day called for.

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new every morning

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It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.    They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.   Lamentations 3:22-23

 

Mar


2012


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2012

2012

One of the biggest surprises I have had in the past several months has been a growing fascination with the Old Testament.  I will admit it did not draw me in regularly for many years.  It was Allen's audio bible study app that started it all.  He is a man of schedules and goal setting and the whole idea of this reading all planned out appealed to him especially.  He listens to his chapters on his own and then reads to us after the rosary.  More often than not I am so caught up in what we hear I grab my bible after to read the sections before and after.

 It's been a blessing.

Every morning. 

Smile because it happened

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There she was, that nanny goat, as we turned into the marketplace full of Easter revelry. She arched her blonde neck to nibble the last bits of grain from one wrinkled hand.  Moira and I tried to coax the little girls in close to feel that soft nose, to see the sleepy burro in the straw.  Oh, they stepped in a bit.  Tentatively.

Mar
They don't remember. 

Their world is so new that their memories don't reach back beyond these cobblestones. Tess talks of loving to ride the horse, but it is not our horses she speaks of.  It is the pony ride tent she recalls.  For a minute my knees are weak.

Mar

It wasn't so long ago.  I sat on an upturned bucket and ran my hand along the side of doe like this one, coaxing milk from a warm udder and knowing exactly how long I had to work before the feed was eaten and she'd stomp impatient. If I close my eyes I can feel the metal handle of the water bucket, hear the bleating of goat kids in the stall nearby.

Mar
 It wasn't so long ago.  And it was good.  

Mar 2012 prague petting zoo 2 web


Things are different today.  We stand here with these girls peeking between old boards. Another farmer will gather this flock in tonight.  My husband and I will gather our own little flock into a yellow house at the edge of  a village some 5,000 miles from a barn in Colorado.  While they sleep we pore over pictures of houses in yet another country, wondering which we will find ourselves in this summer.

Mar

This too is good. 

Mar

 

Jan 2010

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned these past two yrs is that happiness is not wedded to a place nor a circumstance.  It is not frozen in time. It is fluid and changing and can pour out of its old containers to fill up entirely new spaces.  Even to overflowing.  I think I didn't know this for sure until I left. 

 

Aug 2009

I leave here with something I didn't have when I came.  Faith.  Faith that happy isn't just a fluke.  It can happen again.  And again.  Just like challenges.  I don't know where we are going exactly but I feel sure there is good there and we will find it. 

 

Apr 2010

Still, I hope that just maybe, there will be another day when I turn a corner a England and see a nanny goat.  

Mar 2012

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.  - Dr. Suess

A table for St Joseph

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Mar 2012 st joseph table web

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St. Joseph,

Renowned offspring of David,
Light of Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster father of the Son of God,
Diligent protector of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most strong,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of artisans,
Glory of home life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the wretched,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,

pray for us.

 

 

*book here

*St Joseph table traditions and cut and paste model here

free printable matching card game here

* coloring page here


Living and learning lately – Early March edition

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Late winter went out with a bang as far as school has gone.  Aidan had the opportunity to attend a co-op class on Celestial Navigation. (Thank you Amy! ) Truth be told, some of it was over his head as he was one of the younger participants.  But fortunately we still have access to the wonderful slide presentations and I have been pulling materials from the shelves to continue the conversation at home. Brendan and Kieran have been fired up about astronomy since overhearing us chat about class so they got some projects too, 

Mar 2012 aidan cel nav web
Mar

We found the Wrap-Up's.  They had been hiding at the bottom of a box I had unpacked and repacked and missed them. They were so excited.  Brendan and Tess were too little use them before we moved. Highly recommend. They last forever. 

Mar 2012 party web

Lunch for 20 last week.  Brendan wrapped 30 burritos the night before.  Go B! Once he got the hang of it he was a wrappin' fool.  The kids had their first St. Pat's gig earlier in the day and came back here for food and an afternoon at the zipline.  The boys headed out to the woods for a long imaginary adventure and later they all ended back inside for board games.  We know some great kids. 

Mar 2012 brendan roman numerals web

Roman numeral cards free here.   Fun extension ideas here.

Mar 2012 st pat crafts web 2

A cut and paste morning for the little Irishmen – and women. : )  From the links here.

I forgot to mention a couple read aloud standout's. 

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon  

This Audubon bio was fabulous. Really. It packed a lot of information in story form and included actual pages from his journals alongside lovely watercolor illustrations. I think we may try this art extension idea.  More than you could ever do here. 

The 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven 

This was a sorta silly story but I honestly didn't realize he had moved even more than we have. ; ) 

And I better wrap up here.  

Stop by tomorrow for the details on a Luck o' the Irish homeschool giveaway!

The prayer table – 1st week in lent

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Lent is upon us and I thought we would share a peek at our little prayer table and how it looks right now.  It sits off to one side of the living room and the little ones gravitate there when I am working nearby in the kitchen. 

Feb
I loved Ann Voskamp's idea for Ash Wednesday so we began lent there. We had a good talk about the Our Father prayer and really listening to what we are saying when we pray.  "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."   Which is essentially saying, Dear Lord, please treat me the way I treat others.  It's a prayer with a bit of a catch.  Sigh. 

Feb

Feb

Alongside the bowl of 'dust' is a bible and a bowl which holds strips of paper with relevant verses to look up.  Last week they were all about forgiveness.  We have had lots of discussion about what forgiveness is and isn't.  As in, forgiving an offense does not mean you approve of it.  Forgiveness also does not mean you must remain in close contact with the offender.  Sometimes that would not be wise nor safe. But we must always, really and truly, let it go inside. 

Feb
 Feb

Above the table last week was Ann's printable.  Today it was replaced with this illustration of the week's gospel story about the Temptation of Christ.  There are new bible verses: Download Temptation  We have printed some coloring pages and will use some ideas found here and here this week.  (there are obviously more resources on those two link than ANY one family could do.  We will pick one or two this week.) 

Feb

Learning to Love

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"There are many who want me to tell them of secret ways of becoming perfect and I can only tell them that the sole secret is a hearty love of God, and the only way of attaining that love is by loving.  You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving. Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art." 

– St Francis de Sales

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valentine Little love apprentices at work around here this week.  

Walk in Love

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"The lens of loss and trial has a way of bringing blessing into sharp focus. It is the the relative ease of the uninterrupted daily that muddies the water, allowing discontent to filter in. It can make it hard to see love, to show love, to feel loving. How often we become farsighted as marriage ages, seeing clearly that which is beyond our reach, while what is right there before us blurs and fades from our sight…"

please visit Suscipio for the rest of the story