Gathering my Thoughts

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

Karoline made an amazing daytime discovery last week. While she was playing with her treehouse-dollhouse in front of the sunroom windows, she looked out onto the vegetable garden and discovered a rather fat groundhog munching away on the okra. Mystery solved. Now what to do about him?

::listening to 

Goalkeeper training. One hour every Monday night. Just long enough to put a post together while I sit in the parking lot, I think..

::clothing myself in 

Running shoes, capris, t-shirt. I really planned start Couch to 5K tonight. Then I got here and decided to blog instead.

::talking with my children about these books

The Chronicles of Narnia and in which order to read them.

And I've pulled out our 9/11 books.

::thinking and thinking

About Syria and the complexities of this world. Heck, the complexities of my nieghborhood, where Martin Luther King would cringe to discover that all that the children played together in our big backyard until the day of the epic argument when one of them said there was one God and another countered that there were really 7 and then someone chimed in that Mohammed was better than Jesus and then... none of them came back. True story.

::pondering 

Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us. To build for man a world without fear, we must be without fear. To build a world of justice, we must be just. And how can we fight for liberty if we are not free in our own minds? How can we ask others to sacrifice if we are not ready to do so?... Only in true surrender to the interest of all can we reach that strength and independence, that unity of purpose, that equity of judgment which are necessary if we are to measure up to our duty to the future, as men of a generation to whom the chance was given to build in time a world of peace. ~Dag Hammarskjold

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Wellll… Last week was a mixed bag. I really don’t know how well my intended rhythm will work, yet. We had a death in the family on Sunday and so, an unexpected trip to New York at the end of the week. I left Mary Beth in charge at home. She kept them all alive and well, but my rhythm? Not so much.

I've also come to recognize that my gym routine from last winter isn't going to work this fall. So, it's back to the exercise bike in my closet for me. I could still hit the gym in the early morning if I wanted to but I don't really see the point of driving there for cardio. It's the classes I really love and those don't fit into our school days since they've eliminated some early times. So, for this season, it's the close bike thing and "mat classes" online at home with my girls. And maybe even Couch to 5K around soccer fields.

::creating by hand

I hung the draperies for the dance studio today. I’d like to do some fall shirts for the girls this week. I saw new Oliver + S patterns and I’m very, very tempted.

On the trip to New York, I knit some love into a sweet little cardigan. Very sweet. Very little.

::learning lessons in

flexibility. I work really hard before a new term to think through every possible detail. I make lesson plans, driving plans, meal plans. Then, I go after those lists with all kinds of diligence to try to make them come to life in a composed, orderly fashion. Then life happens. The first week of school found me asking near strangers to take my children to soccer, packing a suitcase, and leaving Mary Beth in charge as Mike and I left the state. Mary Beth promised to try to stick to the plan and make it all remain calma nd orderly and predictable. She explained to her boss, our state delegate, that she would not be in to work.

He called anyway. He explained that there were some letters he needed her help writing. Then, there were about 4,000 other letters that need to find their way into envelopes. So, she called an audible and "Shakespeare Friday" became this:

::encouraging learning 

This week is for tweaking the longterm plan. I’ve definitely planned too much for some of my children and not enough for at least one of them. Tweaking is a good thing, I know, even if right now it feels like a nuisance.

::begging prayers

for the lonely and depressed.

for all the intentions of our prayer community.

And yes, for that intention I was keeping quiet; it’s still very close to my heart.

::keeping house

Let’s see. I left town for a couple of days, oh and the dryer is broken. So, yeah, this afternoon was all about a major cleaning blitz. The dryer thing should be solved by Wednesday. If it’s not, there will be a mandatory laundromat trip on Thursday.

::crafting in the kitchen 

The cooler weather has inspired a craving for Pasta Fagiole or Minestrone or Mulligatawny Stew. Or all three.

::loving the moments

when my extended family is gathered. Even though the occasion was sad, it was happy. My great aunt lived to be 96. She had a way of making sure that everyone thought he or she was the favorite. She lived life full-on and she loved the same way. It was really a blessing to celebrate a life so well lived.

::giving thanks 

for life and breath and hope.

living the liturgy

Making plans to celebrate all those favorite feasts of fall (lots of links there).

::planning for the week ahead

This is our first full week of homeschooling, full soccer schedule, and full dance schedule. It’s also the week of our 26^th wedding anniversary.

Gathering My Thoughts

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

Something rather large had its way with my garden a couple days ago. From the trampling and the tracks and the height of the leaves that are gone, I suspect a deer. If you could see where I live, you’d know why this hard to wrap my brain around. It’s just not that rural at all. That was one very audacious (or lost) deer.

::listening to 

the ceiling fan. I’m in Charlottesville this morning, enjoying quiet in the morning before a really busy day.

::clothing myself in 

Today, I’ll wear a white eyelet shirt and a khaki colored skirt. I’ve packed a gauzy scarf that sort of ties it all together, but it’s going to be ninety degrees and humid. So, we’ll see about that scarf.

::talking with my children about these books

Let the book discussions begin in abundance. Tomorrow is our first official day of the term and it’s going to be a Storybook Year.

::thinking and thinking

About transitions.

::pondering 

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." ~Audrey Hepburn

::carefully cultivating rhythm

I’ve worked really hard to plan for this school year. An actual schedule, subject-by-subject? That’s going to have to grow organically. I sense there will be undue demand on the two laptops we have and on the new iPad. Several of our planned subjects are computer-dependent. And there will be some demand on Mom, too. So, we’re just going to have to see how it all sifts out. The first day is always tricky.

::creating by hand

We did some back-to-school sewing—a couple of pretty notebooks covers and I finally got around to helping Kari finish a pillowcase she started long ago. I still need to make headbands for Karoline’s dance company before dance begins next week. And then there are draperies for the dance studio.

::learning lessons in

a new season of life.

::encouraging learning 

I have everything all keyed in Homeschool Helper. We'll see how it goes.

::begging prayers

for the repose of the soul of my beloved Aunt Ida, who died yesterday.

for all the intentions of our prayer community.

And yes, for that intention I was keeping quiet; it’s still very close to my heart.

::keeping house

I had hoped to have the basement perfectly clean by the time school started. It’s not. Christian’s room is perfect and the bathroom is very clean (and in need of a contractor), but the rest is still happening slowly. My new goal is to have it clean by the time Colleen visits early next month.

::crafting in the kitchen 

My freezer is nearly stocked. This “stocked” status is actually far fewer meals than when the same freezer was stocked previously. I’ve been freezing in glass jars because I’m trying not to use plastic. Zipper freezer bags laid flat are far, far more space saving. It’s a conundrum because this glass thing isn’t terribly efficient.

::loving the moments

when, after three and half hours wait time at DMV, Mary Beth got her driver’s license. Oh, happy day! She promptly scrubbed the spare car clean of all big brother evidence and volunteered to go to the grocery store and the dry cleaner and the hardware store and the ...

::giving thanks 

for a healthy heartbeat!

living the liturgy

Making plans to celebrate all those favorite feasts of fall (lots of links there).

::planning for the week ahead

I am in Charlottesville this morning, headed to Harrisonburg at noon, then back to Charlottesville for soccer tonight. Tomorrow, we begin our new term. There will be a visit to National Zoo. And then, there's soccer in Fredericksburg and Richmond at the end of the week. If nothing else, these litttle girls are truly getting to know Virginia.

Gathering my Thoughts

::noticing God's glory: 

The tips of the leaves are already changing color. This is early for Virginia. I read yesterday that The Farmer's Almanac is predicting an exceptionally cold winter. I believe it. I'm taking inventory of boots, coats, and gloves and stocking now. The child whom we call "Super," who happened to be born just after his father touched down upon return from a Super Bowl production turns 15 the day of the Super Bowl this year. He's already planning a party. There's a mighty storm predicted.

::listening to 

Sleepover girls eating French toast and making plans for the day. Last sleepover of the summer... 

::clothing myself in 

Fleece. It's chilly this morning but I know I'll shed layers as I go.

::talking with my children about these books

The other day, I saw the reading list for a high school. There were eight books across the curriculum, outside of textbooks. That's eight books for four years! So we've been talking about "don't miss" high school books. What are your suggestions?

::thinking and thinking

About how to explain the Middle East to kids. And how my father really did try to explain it to me. It's inexplicable really. Pray.

::pondering prayerfully

Romans 15:13

::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've reconstructed the master calendar for the next term. It's busy, but it's definitely do-able. I'm taking this week to think through every detail of rhythm and make sure that it's all intentional.

::creating by hand

I've pushed aside the "for me" blouse for the time being. Instead, I have a little birthday sewing to do for a friend of ours and I have some delicious fabric on its way for some very fun gift sewing that has spent too long in my brain. And there's a length of fabric stretched across my dining room table that is destined to be curtains for the dance studio. And then, there are fourteen more headbands that still need to happen...

::learning lessons in

finding my way around the county. I've done so much driving in other towns that I really don't know my way around my own backyard. At least I didn't until last week. After a very poor beginning in which I made my husband lost and late for work, I spent the rest of the week acquainting myself with all the (beautiful) fields all over Loudoun County as Nick and stephen had practice every day, sometimes twice a day. It was busy, but it was good, and now I have my grocery shopping, errand running mapped out for when the regular school year rhythm begins.

::encouraging learning 

You asked about this screen shot:

It's the Homeschool Helper app for iPad. Aimee uses it and I admit that this app was what pushed me to acquire an iPad. So far, I've really loved it. I'm nearly finished planning. The caveat, of course, is that I haven't actually used it yet day-to-day.

Speaking of the iPad, stay tuned for a guest post full of educational apps. Very soon!

::begging prayers

There's this private {all good} intention close to my heart. Could you send a prayer up for this intention? One day, I'll tell you all about it.

::living the liturgy

Today is the Feast of St. Monica. She's pretty special. Beautiful prayer and icon here.

::keeping house

We're making slow progress in the basement. Christian's room and bathroom have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. I think the kids see the potential now. Hopefully, they will be more active participants in working the rest of it. This week, I'm all about getting the house really well kept so that we begin the school year from a place of peace.

::crafting in the kitchen 

I've been stocking the freezer with the bounty of the Farmer's Market.

::loving the moments

when tough decisions are affirmed. Nick's new team played his old team in a tournament last weekend. It was good to see old friends and we all felt very loved. The new team beat the old team in the semi-finals. One dear family stuck around to watch the finals with us. It's a gesture I will long treasure. When you've spent all weekend at the Soccerplex with two different kids playing and they're both finished and you really can go home and have half a Sunday, it's a big deal to stay and watch one more game. Turns out this game went to overtime and then penalty kicks. Nick was in goal for the PKs, made some great saves, and won the championship. It was a very sweet moment. Throughout the course of the day, the dear friend who made it all work for me last year, told me all about her decision to send her kids to school. It's the right decision for their family. Just as an aside, that decision would have mean that our plan would have come crumbling down had we not moved the boys closer. All good.

::giving thanks 

for peace as the new term approaches.

For some special people who sent Christian off with more love than I could have imagined. They chose the verse for Christian, but I've been carrying it around and considering it in my own heart a great deal since that night. 

::planning for the week ahead

I need to take Mary Beth to get her driver's license. Feel free to pray for that.

The rest of the week is all about preparing for the school year.

We have a great deal of activity coming our way this weekend. Nick has a tournament in Maryland. Patrick plays Friday night and Monday in Charlottesville. Tuesday is our "official" first day of school. I think I see apple picking on the agenda that day.

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!