Beauty

We've missed snow. It turns winter browns into beautiful, cool white. My children don't particularly like to play outside when it is cold and blustery and not snowing. Throw in a little snow and ta- da! They actually want to get outside, roll around. Sure it is messy, cold and a pain to drive in. But yes, snow gets a thumbs up in my book. (except for snow past mid- March. If you didn't get it in during winter, Mother Nature, it's too late.)

Let's try this again

Delle being initiated at her first Spa Night.

I keep starting posts and then abandoning them. So while there are a ton of pictures I could post from the last month and a half, I thought I would start with this one. Have to start somewhere, right?

Life has been pretty good. It was a really good Advent, not too much, not too little. Just preparations. Holidays were nice- we hosted both our families on separate days, so there was some cleaning involved, but it was nice to not have to drive around.

I was feeling like I was starting to get drug under by the winter blahs, so I have been trying to turn it around. I have recommitted myself to my AAMI work so that I can get my Orientation finished before the end of February. Then I can really dig into the meat of it. This has helped with the blahs, fortunately. January and February (and August) are kind of my least favorite months, so anything to help them pass by more smoothly would be great.

We started back to our core things last week and will be continuing the Alphabet Path tomorrow, which everyone is pretty excited about. I am looking into using the Mater Amabilis curriculum next year. Just exploring it right now, seeing if it'll be a good fit for us. Issy will be in 3rd grade, Isaac in 1st and Liam in Kindergarten (which totally weirds me out- I can't believe he is going to be in Kindergarten!).

So that is us. We are just hanging on tight, hoping to get into a good rhythm and get through the grey winter months. I will try to get some more pictures up soon :)

Um, hi.

I am alive. And I have really cute pictures of the kids. I even started a post a couple of weeks ago about all the things that we have been/ will be doing this Advent.

This is not that post, though.

Things are fine, really, just busy with Advent preparations. Better update soon.

Things go smoothly in my head...

I decided Thursday morning to take the kids to daily Mass at our new parish. It is something I have been meaning to do for a while. Years actually. When I was in college, there was a chapel in the basement of my dorm and I loved having Jesus there, available all the time. Daily mass at 9 every evening. So since I started having children, it has been a goal of mine to make it to at least one weekday Mass.

Well, for a while there, the prospect of taking 1 (or 2 or 3 or 4) small children to Mass by myself seemed a little daunting. But since we moved back and Adelle has gotten older (and Liam has gotten better during Mass) I figured I could handle it. No problem actually. I mean, daily Mass lasts about half an hour, how rough could it be? And at our new parish, it starts at 8:30 instead of 8, giving me the extra half hour to round up my little peeps.

So I did it. And in an honest assessment, it really wasn't too bad. Issy was great. Isaac was spacey and hummed a lot (he drives me crazy with this- he seems to have the inability to be completely silent with his mouth. there is always some sort of noise emitted from it. I give him a stern look, he looks contrite and then about 10 seconds later, the noise starts again. never terribly loud, but loud enough to be noticeable.)

And Liam. Well, he wasn't misbehaving, persay. There was just a lot of trying to snuggle with me. Which is fine when I am sitting on the couch reading a book to him, not so much when I am holding a squirmy toddler and giving Isaac stern looks for making mouth noise.

Adelle was a 17 month old that wants to get down and run around and was unhappy when I didn't allow that. And then Liam kept touching her to, in his words, "make her happy" but really it was making her shriek, "no no no no!"

Fun times.

All this left me feeling a little bit flustered. If it was just us, or a group of other families with small kids, their age-appropriate but not obnoxious behavior wouldn't bother me. But as it was, we were sitting with a lot of older folks, who I have found may or may not very forgiving of this kind of behavior. I always assume they aren't, though and this leaves me feeling self conscious and a bit like a bad parent.

So at about the first reading, I was seriously reconsidering my decision to come and was thinking that maybe I wouldn't try daily Mass again for a couple of years.

At communion time, I took a deep breath, stepped out of the pew, begged for the grace to get through the next few minutes and walked up with my crew (Delle in my arms and Liam whacking each pew on the walk to the front of church, despite my feeble efforts to discretely get him to stop).

And I got to receive Him, which is always a good thing.

We went back to the pew to pray and Mass was over. There had been two older ladies behind me and as I was walking out of the pew, they stopped me to tell me what beautiful children I have.

They thanked me for bringing the kids to Mass.

I told them, honestly, that I had been thinking that maybe it hadn't been a good idea and they told me that they weren't bothered at all and yes, please bring them back.

So we will go to daily Mass again and I will remember that no matter what happens, I am taking my babies to see Him. And I get to receive Him.

Which is always a good thing.

Life is pretty great right now

When we moved back here, and especially last January/February/March, I was concerned that Kansas would never feel like home again. I was so homesick for the mountains, Idaho specifically. Spring and Summer were better.

And then God gave me this Autumn to soothe my soul. Led us to live in a beautiful house with huge windows and gorgeous, leafy trees. Nature walks with the kids complete with gathering acorns like their very lives depended on it (maybe my kids are actually squirrels?). A husband that gets to come home for lunch most days- a beautiful break in our sometimes hectic days. My only complaint being my grouchy, teething toddler. Poor little Delle the Grouch. But she is so cute, most of the time it makes up for the grouchy. And I think the teething is subsiding some (for now, at least).

I feel like I have finally gotten the hang of homeschooling. Love it. Love to see them learning. Building community with each other, taking care of one another. The creativity. Joy.

I am so grateful. I still miss the mountains. So much, but at least it doesn't ache now. I hope to get to live in the mountains again. But I can be alright until then. Good even.

The following pictures are what happens when you allow kids to take the camera outside on a beautiful fall day:

Worm!

Mom (with leaves)

She is just so pretty, I can't get enough of her.

I asked Issy to get Adelle out an outfit when she picked out her own clothes. Not only did she pick out outfits, but then she posed them. Adelle's clothes are holding her Lamby, and Issy's are holding her bear, brushing her hair and wearing a headband. I love her, how precious.

Halloween

Pumpkin decorating. To me, pumpkins + paint + one-year-olds don't mix, so me and the Delle hung out while the older kids painted.

Ise concentrating very hard.

The cap on that glitter glue gave him some trouble.

Issy being theatrical with her pumpkin painting.

Cute P-p-p-piglet.

Marney cousins. About half of the participants of this picture were not feeling very enthusiastic about it.

Sullivan cousins young enough to dress up.

Dragon, Glinda the Good Witch, Piglet and Thomas. Awesome.

Apparently in toddler-speak...

The simple word "up" means:

1. pick me up
2. I would like to nurse (now!)
3. give me some of that food that you are serving the other kids

Good morning, little one

Adelle has been scary lately. My sweet little peanut was replaced by a cranky, opinionated toddler whose favorite word is no (not just a demure little no, either. We are talking the sassiest, loudest NO! that a 16-month-old can muster). She is in a good mood sometimes, but you can't count on it. It has been challenging, for sure.

This morning, she had woken up to nurse at 6:15 and then apparently Issy stirred and woke her up again at 6:45. I laid down in Issy's bed to nurse her again and snuggled her close to me. She started out a bit restless, but as she nursed, the good hormones worked their magic on us- she stopped fiddling, I could feel her breathing even, her little tummy rising rhythmically against mine. And I was filled with love and gratitude for her. She is a challenge at times, but so wonderful. So beautiful. Learning, imitating, growing. I am thankful for those peaceful moments, wrapped up in blankets and warm milk and love.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

The homeschooling group we belong to had a group get together at the pumpkin patch and we got to go earlier this week. The patch we went to had a lot of fun things to do- a zipline, bouncy mat, tricycle track, playground, big slides. And there was a great selection of pumpkins in their "school" patch. It was a lot of fun!

Adelle says, "Hmmm, which pumpkin should I choose?"

Zipline

Adelle was not feeling very cooperative with the group picture effort. In fairness, it was almost naptime for her.

Silly boys

Backyard

One gorgeous fall morning.

Isaac- the party

He wanted a chocolate cake with strawberry icing. And Thomas. This was the craftiest concoction I could come up with that met all the specification. He was a happy boy :)

Lots of fun stuff. Can't believe what a big boy he is getting to be!

Fall is here

Finally! We were able to go to a great little nature area a couple of times last week- once with my sister and her kiddos and once with a friend. It was so gorgeous. The leaves are starting to change, the weather was beautiful. Love it.

Jude and Isaac are best friends.

Big grasshopper!

There were several logs that had turtles lined up on them.

That is one big spider :)

Sweet Isaac is 6

Six years ago today I gave birth to my first son. His pregnancy was a challenge and a blessing. His birth and first few days were likewise.

My firstborn son is sweet, sensitive and beautiful. What a wonderful little boy.

First kisses

Little bluelight special. Later, we thought he looked like he needed a snuggle so we took turns holding him and sitting under the lights.

Settling in. Again.

Life is pretty beautiful here. I really like the new house. This is the view out my back windows:

It is like a little oasis in the middle of the busy East side. Joe has been coming home for lunch- we love getting to see him in the middle of the day for a little bit. I am really grateful that he no longer has to spend an hour getting to and from work.

The bedrooms are unpacked and decorated. We have moved so much in the last few years that I really want the kids to feel like that is something that is theirs no matter where we live.

Joe is on TEC this weekend, which is a little stressful, but life will die down a bit when he gets back. Finish organizing here and settling in.

But so far, I love it here. Love. I think this might be a really good fit for us. It is nice to feel at home.

There we go.

All moved. Unpacking at the new house and cleaning up the old house. Wondering when the newness will wear off and the kids will stop running around like I fed them each a pound of sugar?

Other than that, we are fine :) Looking forward to being settled and starting school again!

Whiney Wednesday

In an effort to purge myself of life's small annoyances and lest I scandalize anyone in thinking that I am living homeschooling dream perfection, I thought I would participate in this. At least this week.

1. Adelle has hit the teething hard. It is making me very tired. She had been down to one nursing between 10 and 6 and would go back down in her crib after she ate. Alas, no longer. Multiple nursings a night that may or may not need snuggling afterward (like, I put her back down and abooout when I am asleep again she is awake and grumpy). It is a bummer for her, too, poor little thing. *yawn* Pass the coffee, please.

2. I am excited about moving to our new house, but I haaaate packing. The Learning Room and I have been doing battle for the last week. I keep trying, but everytime I walk in there, it just overwhelms me. It is getting done, little by little.

3. Having a hard time coming up with a third. Hmmm. Mosquitos? Issy got bit by several in our new backyard yesterday afternoon, apparently I need to get some sort of repellent.

If you would like to participate in Whiney Wednesday, click here.

Motherhood

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -- Elizabeth Stone

I was laying in bed early this morning, nursing the baby and this quote came to mind. It is so spot on, at least for me. I remember being a teenager, surrounded by nieces and nephews and dreaming of the day when it would be my turn to get married and have a baby.

A baby. Even during our engagement, when Joe and I first started talking about our future family, that is what I thought of- babies.

Perhaps it was very shortsighted of me not to think about how my babies would someday grow into toddlers. Then preschoolers. Then kids. (and teenagers and adults eventually, but I still try not to think too much about that :) Maybe it was God's grace that led my short-sighted 20 year old self to think only about holding a soft, squishy baby and not think about all the sacrifice it would require to raise that baby into an adult and all the stages in between. Because really, if I had been aware of the sacrifice/ sorrow/ raw vulnerability that accompanied the overwhelming joy and Love, would I have jumped into parenthood with such abandon? Perhaps not. But I am forever thankful I did.

I think the first time the above quote became real for me was when Issy was faced with finding friends for the first time. She was so sad. And I couldn't make things better for her. There was no kiss-your-owie-and-make-it-all-better fix. I realized that was just the beginning, too. Over the years, especially as they grow in independence and encounter the world outside their home, there will be numerous occasions like that one. Some smaller and some bigger. I can help at times, but some growing pains situations they will have to navigate on their own. I hope to always be their soft place to land, though.

So what is a Mama to do? As I reflected on this, my recent post about Our Lady of Sorrows came to mind. Perhaps there is more than one reason God led me to choose that day. What a comfort. She was a Mama, watching her Son grow, navigate His way through sometimes painful situations. She shared in His absolute heavenly joy and his infinite Love. And when He was sentenced to death and crucified, she was there. She was His soft place to land.

How good it was of Him to give his mother to us- "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." (Jn 19: 26-27) What an awesome intercessor for mothers.

Life is pretty busy around here

Our C week books

D Week

My sister Michelle and I decided to put our preschoolers in the Art Start program at the Wichita Art Museum. (well, really, it was her idea, as most of the good ones are :) She watched the biggers and the little ones while I took Annika and Liam there yesterday. The topic was masks- they saw some, read a book about some and made one. Fun time for our kids!

The fruits of their labors.

Our big four year olds. I remember when they were born!

Grammie took the kids on a walk the other day and these are all the nature things they collected, which they proudly displayed on the kitchen table.

In other news, we are currently taking a break from the Alphabet Path (we are sticking with our core stuff, just scaled back a lot) while we pack and move. It is just to a house across town, right by Joe's work, which will be really nice for him. I hope to take up the Alphabet Path again sometime mid- October, once we are all settled. The kids have really been enjoying it!

Adelle says, "Wait, what? You are moving?"

"Don't forget to take me!"