Moments of Gratitude
::homemade chocolate chip ice cream
::late evening swimming at our friends
::squishy fat rolls on the baby
::Chris & I staying up with the older girls to watch Sense & Sensibility
::Frances the dog wading out into the pond to escape the heat
::crock pot meals
::planning {I love the planning process, it’s the follow through I have trouble with}
::listening to the cicadas during the summer
::tractors on the road
::hay bales in the field
Beauty in the Ordinary
I am in the process of making lists and plans for our ordinary, daily life. But I have to temper my desire for control with my desire to live life. As much as I would love, or so I think, children in bed by 9pm sharp, that removes the possibilty of late evening swims at our neighbors that don’t even start until 8pm. And as much I would love a strict schedule, those restrictions remove the possibilty of an impromtu read aloud, or a summer mystery trip early in the morning to the donut shop and park. I am a work in progress and the grace and mercy I extend to myself, I must extend to others as well. We can’t live by a strict schedule, but I think it help us to have a firm routine, I think?
From the Kitchen
Tuesday: Scooter’s Spaghetti & salad
Wednesday: 4th of July yummies
Thursday: Slow cooker potato soup & bread
Friday: Beans with chips and cheese
Praying
::Our family is still praying for baby Christopher, my husband’s cousin’s little son born at 24 weeks.
::The children and I are sending up prayers daily for daddy working in this awful heat.
::Planning prayers {see above ‘Beauty in the Ordinary’}
::being a wife, mom, sister, friend, teacher…is hard; praying for you all.
Meditating
When my children were smaller, and fewer in number, I would go to daily Mass at least a couple of times a week. I miss that. I cannot wrap my mind around planning for daily Mass: the gas money, time and effort involved. But, once a week during the school year as I take my girls to piano, we pass a beautiful Catholic Church. I have decided on those days we will stop in and make an hour’s visit to our Lord.
Even though we don’t have piano during the summer, we have gotten out of the house during that time and gone to the library. This helps us to stay in the routine of leaving on that day at that time. So last week was our first visit. We tried for half and hour and it went well. How does all this relate to Meditating?
The last few minutes of our visit, I led the little kids in a meditation on the Second Joyful Mystery of the rosary. There was a beautiful stained glass window depicting the Visitation in front of us to help.
Pondering
I am still pondering friendships. My natural reaction to getting burned {twice in the last year} is to retreat. But that gives my decision making power to someone else. I don’t like that idea. But standing my ground brings about its own challenges. How to remain civil and polite {without all those conversations in my head of what I really want to say but won’t because it would not be very nice} yet distanced and guarded?
Reading
Parenting Teens With Love And Logic
Memorizing
Let’s just skip this section until have the Magnificat memorized ok?
Pinned
The Power of Words: yes and amen!
Mmmm: Summer Squash recipes
Really?: Beautiful, smooth feet
Looking Ahead
It is going to be more of the same, hiding from the heat.
Captured
A new link up here at Suscipio! A Catholic Woman’s Almanac or CWA. Let’s get together each Monday and share where we are in this great big world, what we’re reading, cooking, pondering, praying, etc. Feel free to make this your own, add or subtract as necessary.
Add your link to our CWA link up so we can visit and get a peek into your life. If you do not have a blog, please share your CWA in the comments.
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Squishy fat rolls on the baby! So many things to be thankful for, but those squishy fat rolls have gotta be the best!! I have a soft and cuddly 2 yr old granddaughter that I’m blessed to care for several days a week, and she still has that slightly pudgy baby look and ultra soft skin. Sometimes I just want to hold onto her until she’s grown… sigh…..
My older ones were just asking me yesterday how and why babies are so soft {grin}. Your grandaughter is bleesed to be able to spend that time with you.
I just love CWA. I have to get my blog straightened out as I would love to link up. I always try a strict routine and it never happens so I try to leave room for balance and ‘general’ routine as well.
Don’t wait to straighten up the blog – link up anyway! We’d love to visit!
Heck! It’s comforting for ME to have a routine!
I’ve been pondering friendship myself, Jenny. During the years when my children were very young, there was only time and energy to tend to their needs and to Mr. Pea. My unmarried and “un-childrened” friends drifted away. As our children got older, we slowly grew a new circle of friends, the parents of our children’s friends. When I went back to work full time, that circle of friends contracted dramatically. I always felt that the women I left behind considered me to be a traitor; to be less than because I did not stay at home; to be lacking because there was a nanny who picked my younger kids up from middle school and stayed with them for an hour until I got home from work. My friends at that time thought that I went over to the *cue Darth Vader voice* Dark Side because I chose to work in order to ease our family from the financial burden of multiple Catholic school tuitions and college expenses. Now as another child of mine slips into adulthood and heads off to college, I feel the friendship circle shrinking again. This is indeed a time for pondering…and time to step out and make some new friends!
Angela, you must be a sanguine…”time to step out and make some new friends!” Isn’t it crazy how quickly women can turn on each other? Friendship is a tricky thing, needed yet hurtful at times.
I’m a firm believer in the firm routine, punctuated by the occasional moments of planned spontaneity. It’s comforting to children to have a routine and the occasional spontaneity gives them practice in things going differently and the break from the routing.
I completely agree in a firm routine; it makes me feel better. I guess my struggle is a workable routine with an infant all the way to a teen to do all we need to do with school and house?