The Simple Life

Have you read this book? I read it about two years ago and I was inspired but also very intimidated. I loved the idea of creating a Rule for my life, but I was skeptical about implementing it. Part of the reason my for reticence was laziness to be sure, but another part was the feeling that to do this, to make my Rule, it had to be perrrrfect. It had to be just like Holly's and just the thought of that exhausted me. So I put the book away and thought,"well isn't that nice....for them."

Over the next few months we experienced so much change in our family it was like we were living on fast forward. Holly's ideas kept creeping into my mind. This summer as I was preparing to begin homeschooling I pulled it our again and began to read through it one more time. This time I was looking at it differently. I had a new reason for needing more order in my life and also a renewed sense of purpose to give my children a firm foundation in a living faith. I read slowly and shared parts with Lee. I began to look at how this could work for us. I was able to discard the notion of being just like Holly and to listen to what the Holy Spirit was asking of me.

I have sketched out a Rule for myself and I have not been entirely sucessful in following it. That is ok though, it is a work in progress, just like me! The best thing I have gleaned from the book is the concept of the 5 p's. It is slowly transforming my way of living and prioritizing.

Another recent nudge of encouragement in my quest for simplicity and order have been a series of posts, beginning with Dawn and culminating in Kim's wonderful posts, beginning here.

I will post some pictures of my own efforts soon, I promise. Thank you ladies for inspiring me and Kim, thank you for the generous downloads.

Thankful Thursday

Lisa, at Joyful Chaos, is hosting Thankful Thursdays every week in November. It is such a breath of fresh air to read everyone's lists and composing my own was a wonderful way to start my Thursday.


10 Things I am Thankful For: in no significant order

1. coffee

2. family dinner when Lee is in town

3. living close to my parents and Lee's parents-particularly it is the kids who benefit. having grandparents close by while growing up is priceless

4. wine

5. our children-I debated on listing this because it seems so obvious, but honestly this one could be listed 5 times for each one of the precious little stinkers so really I am cheating a bit lumping them together in one.

6. homeschooling-I am surprised over and over at what a wonderful thing this has been for our family. I know others are even more surprised at how much I really, really love it!

7. our washing machine and dryer

8. my wonderful husband-he not only puts up and does it with a smile, he actually claims to love me! That crazy nut!

9. my faith

10. the cool internet browser and ordering feature my library uses-I can search for books, request them, even from other branches and then just pick them up at our branch when they are ready, for free! Ok, I know it is is really not free, my tax dollars at work and all, but it is great to be getting something for my tax dollars.

Farmer Boy

We have been listening to Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the car. This really is my first intro to LIW too, other than the television show. Although I have always been an avid reader, for some reason I was never into these books as a young girl. Farmer Boy is great for us, because, well, it is about a boy. This is a great introduction for them and perhaps it will whet their interest in the 'Little House' stuff, but I am not going to push it.

So far we are totally enamored with the Farmer Boy audio. Cherry Jones is a great reader and totally draws us in. One thing we all noticed is how much is written about the food! Almanzo is always hungry like a good, hard-working boy should be. The descriptions of food are heavenly,or pure evil if you happen to be dieting! At one point, after a lengthy, detailed description of a ham dinner, Ryan leaned forward and said, "Mom I can smell it!"

Listening to the books in the car is great, even Mary Clare, Luke and Laine are quiet for a bit. we are not in the car as much as we used to be, but still it is a great way to use every single bit of time we are given.

My Ry Guy

Ryan turned 7 not too long ago (10-27). He loves math, sports and playing with his brothers and sisters. When the twins turned 4 and the Mary Clare turned 1, I posted something special for them and I want to keep up the tradition.

Ryan is just 14 mo. younger than big brother, Jake. It is such a blessing that even being different in temperaments they are so close. Ryan really loves sports and has a competitive streak, but he also has a great time playing imaginary games with his siblings.
He loves cuddling and stuffed animals still too. He has a strong sense of justice and a temper to match.

Currently, he is missing his upper two front teeth as well as his lower two front teeth. The upper ones were actually knocked loose about two years ago. The lower two are coming in now and the upper ones should be too far behind. The dentist noted in his x-rays he has a 'very young bone age'. Strange, no? Teeth or no teeth he is one charming kid.

He is a chatterbox and is always making noise. He is busy and active and loud, sometimes he can be like a bull in a china shop. Other times he melts me with his sweet tenderness to his siblings. He still like to climb into my lap, but he barely fits anymore.

His enthusiasm is contagious once it is kindled. It is a beautiful thing to see his wonder and awe for nature. The nature studies we began and particularly the bird unit have really caught his interest. He likes to draw and yesterday finished his own book, "My Favorite Birds" with detailed illustrations.

Ryan is also silly and has a laugh that infects everyone around him. I apologise to all the other moms out there , but he is the kid that gets everyone around him all wound up and rowdy. Good at times, but we are working on appropriateness ;)

Ryan is a child that really challenges me. Parenting him is a gift. He has helped me to know myself better and I have grown in patience and in my ability to experience joy in simple, everyday ways. He helps me to see the absurd and to get physical. He attacks life! I have learned to relate in things that matter to him and he has helped me see the world from a new perspective. That's my Ry guy.

Jake is the cowboy, Luke is Spiderman, Ryan is the

Army Special Forces guy.

For some reason I don't have a good picture

of Laine, but she was a ballerina. I know my

MIL has some cute ones of her though.

Here's Mary Clare walking with Dad to the

pizza party in the cul-de-sac. After the party,

she stayed home with Lee to hand out candy

and I supervised the Trick or Treat Brigade.

Reconciliation

My oldest will be receiveing his first sacrament of reconciliation soon. Today he went to a 2hr. retreat with Lee to learn and prepare. It went well, Lee reports, and Jake has a mature (for an 8yr old) intellectual grasp of God and his relationship with Him.

Knowing Jake is preparing for this has set me to thinking on this sacrament as well. It is not well understood, even by faithful Catholics.

The whole nature of sacraments is so mystical and it was only recently that I could even entertain the thought of a physical sign really being a conduit of such an immeasurable substance, grace. I am not sure how or when the thought that God would not interact with humans in such a concrete, tangible way ingrained itself in my heart. Now it seems very logical, I mean He became matter Himself, being born of the flesh, therefore giving it inherant value. Why would it be so inconcievable that he would not continue to interact with humanity in such a physical presence? At some point I simply rejected that possibility without even realising it.

Confession is good for the soul. Even those who are not Catholic can agree with that. Ongoing self-examination, seeking self-knowledge, is a humbling, but satisfying work. How can we know ourselves if we don't stop and reflect, honestly and truthfully, not only on our acheivements, but also on our failings? How can we rely on God, grow in intimacy with Him, when we don't pause to see where we are falling short on our own efforts? When I am preparing to make a Confession, I reflect on all of this. Sin is real and it seperates us degree by degree from the One who loves us more than we can imagine.

The whole negative Catholic guilt thing has become cliched. In a proper balance guilt is good! Darn right my kids should feel guilty for lying, disobeying, being manipulative or using others, no matter what the "reason". Why shouldn't I feel the same?

Catholics believe that the institution of the sacraments is scriptual as well as traditional. When I go to confession, the priest is there as a servant of God and when he hears and absolves me, it is not him absolving me, it is Christ acting through the priest. In the Gospels, when He heals the paralytic he makes it clear that to absolve from sin is God's ability alone. I can also ask God for forgiveness on my own and I do that as well. The Church teaches, and I believe, that during the sacrament there is a specific transference of grace, that wonderful immeasurable stuff that you can never have too much of.

The result is not only a clean heart, but a clean mind, renewed and full of purpose and hope, because while it is true that sin is real, thorough and complete forgiveness is real too. That is what I want my son to know.

Magic Moment!

My Atlanta blogger friends Lisa and Eammon just recieved the referral of their daughter today. They have been such encouraging members to the Atlanta area adopters and everyone is just so overjoyed that now, finally they will be meeting their daughter, Maisie, soon.

Every time the new rounds of referrals are announced I get so excited and teary. It is like reliving our special moment. The anticipation of actually seeing your baby's face, learning her birthdate!, her hometown!, her likes and dislikes is a moment that cannot compare to any other place and time on this earth. Most of us prayed and waited and worried for years to recieve this confirmation of our newest familiy member and dear loved one.

Even compared to becoming bio-parents, this moment of referral is more emotional and completely exhilirating.

Congratulations Lisa and Eammon!