OhMyGosh!

Have you ordered my Christmas present yet????

This is What it Takes

...to get through a morning of school.

Sometimes, but definitely today---a Monday after a week off.

A new knitting project.

A cup of coffee in one of my favorite mugs.

And Tyler's Cracked Earth chocolate cake. (It's to. die. for.)

We used Ghiradelli's 60% chocolate chips.

~~~~

It's gonna be a long week here.  There's a lot going on and this isn't a good way to start!

Do you have a lot planned this week?

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Advent

I found my Peace yesterday.  I walked into church with the choir, and I started crying.  Just a few little tears because there were Advent wreaths up and the giving trees at the front of the church, and I realized that He's coming!  He's really coming!

Since it's me we're talking about, it got worse.  I couldn't sing the opening hymn because I was really crying by then...tears streaming down my face.  I gradually got myself together---thank heavens I wasn't cantoring---and made it through the Mass.

I didn't think it had it in me on Saturday---obviously, at that time, groceries and laundry were more pressing needs---but with my little Princess  assistant, I managed to put away the fall decor, and set up the Jesse Tree, nativities, advent calendar, advent wreaths, stockings (for December 6), and a few other miscellaneous decorative touches.

So Advent is taken care of, decoratively speaking, and the rest can come out gradually or wait for Gaudete Sunday (that's the pink Sunday!).

I'll be preparing my heart by spending a fair amount of time in the Church while Meg and Pip perform 3 days a week in their play.  Because that's where my Peace is.  I knew He was there when I asked on Saturday, but sometimes you forget in the moment.  

He's always there.  Waiting for me.  And I love that about Him.


How will you be Preparing this Advent season?

URGH: Re-Entry

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the family in Virginia.  The phone-pics from the playground were from up there; I don't know if we had sun here, or not!

It was a Tuesday-Friday trip to avoid Holiday Traffic and get home so that Katie and Brendan could go back to school today for the Big Game tonight.

I got lots and lots of knitting and reading done in the car.  The kids, especially the older ones, got lots of sleep in the car!  They were remarkably quiet for 12 hours!!

We also had two lovely days in which to visit with the family.  Most of the cousins were there, and it was so nice to reconnect with all of them.   I am extremely Thankful that I married into such a close-knit family; holiday gatherings have their little stresses, but on the whole, it is fun and joyful!  Seeing the cousins together makes me smile.  The older ones get along great and they play have so much fun with the little ones, too.

Now we're home, and I'm Very Thankful to be safely here, too.  My big kids left early this morning and I'm feeling their absence.  I'm also feeling the weight of the many loads of laundry, the fall decorations that have done their duty, and the children who want it to look like Christmas all of a sudden.  I'm all in favor of it beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but I'm the one who needs to do it all.  Put away Fall and take out Advent.

Menus and shopping lists need to be made.  Shopping needs to be done.  And I'm feeling spoiled rotten from all my time spent chatting, knitting, and reading over the past 4 days!

Sigh.  It's so hard to maintain that feeling of peace and joy!  How do you do it?

Have a sweet Thanksgiving!
What is your favorite dessert? Mine is Pecahn Pie!

Meg loves fall and flying, too!

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Don't ya love those relaxing vacation days--hanging out with hubby and kids?
What are you doing this fine Fall day?

Thanksgiving Daybook

Outside my window...

Cloudy, but warm today.  It's been a beautiful weekend and I'm loving the warm weather.  I hear it's supposed to cool off later in the week.  Whatever it does, I'll generally enjoy it; weather doesn't faze me too much.  I just let it happen.

And that's a really good plan when you think about how little control I have over it!  :~)

I am thinking...

about all the things I should be doing, but I'm busy reading blogs and listening to some new songs.  

I am thankful for...

feeling so well these days.  I'm getting a little tired of taking so many supplements, but they're really working.  My mood is so much better.  I'm not half-dead when I get up in the morning or overwhelmed by the day ahead.  And I have sufficient energy to get through my day without crashing at the end, or multiple times during the day.

(Got my blood drawn today.  We'll see in a couple of weeks what has changed with all these supplements.)  

From the  learning rooms kitchen table...

Thanksgiving movies and coloring pages?

From the kitchen...

Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls yesterday.  Yum.  And then a gooey pumpkin dessert that was too sweet for me (and that's saying something!).  I think I only ate sugar yesterday.  Well, I didn't, but the steak and broccoli got lost in the shuffle.

I am wearing...

The Uniform.  Today's variation is a big linen shirt that was my mother's.  It's like being wrapped in her arms.  I love wearing things that belonged to her, especially when her birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and she is on my mind a lot.  Would she really have been 73 this year?

I am creating...

Working my way through a second sock! And Saint Dolls!  And another scarf!  And Christmas ornaments!

I am going...

Crazy with projects I must finish and projects I just want to do for fun!  

I am reading...

St. Francis de Sales'Introduction to the Devout Life. Slowly.

I am hoping and praying...

for healing for lots of people with cancer, especially this little boy.  

And for the souls of all the faithful departed this month.

And for this family whose 7th child was just born with Trisomy 13, and who passed away after only 13 days.

And for that baby's uncle, Fr. Kevin Peek, who became an Army Chaplain a few years ago and just recently was re-deployed. 

I am hearing...

The TV is on and not much else.  College students are sleeping in.

Around the house...

Lots of errands to run today.  It will be one of those crazy, crazy days.  

I'm thinking we might break with tradition and put up our Christmas tree before Katie and Brendan go back to school on Saturday.

One of my favorite things...

Vacations.

A few plans for the rest of the week

  Nothing usual about this week.  Family.  Food.  Fun.

It's also time to put together Christmas packages for extended family, to be delivered at Thanksgiving!

Daybook

Outside my window...

I should have a picture....the trees have been at their peak this past week.  They're simply lovely:  all the golds and oranges and bright red trees against the backdrop of the evergreens.  I've really enjoyed the driving this week----the daylight part, anyway.

I am thinking...

about my college kids coming home this weekend!  I'll be so happy to have them around for a week.

I am thankful for...

feeling so well these days.  I'm getting a little tired of taking so many supplements, but they're really working.  My mood is so much better.  I'm not half-dead when I get up in the morning or overwhelmed by the day ahead.  And I have sufficient energy to get through my day without crashing at the end, or multiple times during the day.  

From the  learning rooms kitchen table...

Still trying to stay on track and doing a little better at it this week.

From the kitchen...

It's time to go to the grocery store.  Somehow, I've gotten totally of schedule and out of my routine of making my menu and shopping on Saturday morning.  Being busy on Saturdays is part of the problem.

I am wearing...

Jeans.  My favorite handknit socks (I really need to make myself another pair; I love these!)  Aqua shirt and black sweater.  Just another variation on The Uniform.

I am creating...

Working my way through a second sock!  When I finished the first on on the weekend and showed it to my Dear Husband, he said: Now you have to make another one.

Umm, yeah.  Thanks for pointing that out, honey.  

I am going...

The usual places this week.  Choir.  No AHG this week.

I am reading...

St. Francis de Sales'Introduction to the Devout Life.

I am hoping and praying...

for healing for lots of people with cancer, especially this little boy.  

And for the souls of all the faithful departed this month.

And for this family whose 7th child was just born with Trisomy 13.

And for that baby's uncle, Fr. Kevin Peek, who became an Army Chaplain a few years ago and just recently was re-deployed. 

I am hearing...

Showers running.  Footsteps.  Early morning sounds.

Around the house...

Took a load to Goodwill yesterday after cleaning Meg's room on Saturday.  We rearranged and thoroughly cleaned everything.  Again.  It looks better and she's thrilled, though we were both completely exhausted by the endeavor, and she's trying to keep it clean.  We'll see how long that lasts!

One of my favorite things...

A roaring fire on a chilly, rainy morning, knitting in hand.  Coffee at my elbow. Diligently working children ranged at my feet.  (A girl can dream, can't she?)  

Which part of this picture is the dream, and which is the reality?

A few plans for the rest of the week

   The usual: Choir, AHG, reading, knitting. 

It's also time to put together Christmas packages for extended family, to be delivered at Thanksgiving!

A picture thought...

Tom, with his "standee" of Dr. Seuss for English class.

More Daybooks here.

Corporal Works of Mercy

Our homeschool group tries to do a Corporal Work of Mercy every month.  Since the month of November focuses on praying for the dead, and one of the Works is to bury the dead, the leaders decided to find a neglected cemetery that we could help fix up.

They found a very old cemetery on a busy 4-lane road that is surrounded on the other 3 sides by subdivisions.  It's quite unremarkable as you're driving past, though it has a nice stone sign identifying it.  It was full of weeds and saplings, toppling gravestones, and, in many cases, graves marked simply by rocks.

We spent three hours there during which time a lovely lady told us lots of stories about the cemetery and gave us instruction; we prayed for the dead;  we worked hard to make some sort of improvement.  It seemed like an impossible task when we first arrived, but it was actually looking quite a bit better when we left.

I believe this is an "after" shot.

I think the novelty of the work gave the children and energy they wouldn't normally have had.  There were very little ones who spent lots of time filling wagons and wheelbarrows with leaves and carting them off to the burn pile.  They picked up hundreds of sticks and branches as the back portion is more heavily wooded.

The rocks you see near the tree are actually part of a "wall" that was the  eastern curb on the original road!  It was so neat!

The family plots were all cleaned out thoroughly of weeds and leaves.  Flowers were left at many graves.  Pansies were planted all around the sign for the cemetery.

Weed-whacking was an important job.  I spent most of my time there using nippers to cut down saplings and bushes that weren't supposed to be there.

Sadly, there were many of these broken gravestones which were supposedly broken by the Satanists who have ravaged the cemetery digging up the bodies of babies!  Many of the stones of the children are scattered now to frustrate the grave-robbers.  They're trying to raise the money the have them all put under a cement block to protect them.  Maybe while we're praying for the Dead this month, we can also pray for those who are Spiritually Dead!

This was the oldest grave I saw, although the records show there is a soldier of the Revolutionary War buried somewhere in the cemetery.  His grave is one of the many unmarked ones.

 When we were all exhausted and ready to go, many of the children made crayon rubbings of their favorite gravestones.

It looks as if we'll get to revisit them since our group has decided to "adopt" this cemetery for the year and try to go back every month, or so, to make more improvements.  I think we only touch half the cemetery!  The lovely woman in charge needs the help and was so gracious and friendly to us, strange Catholics praying for people who have already died!

~~~~~~

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home, and within my family.  Amen.

We spent too much time in the car today!

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November Daybook

Outside my window...

It's lighter this week!  Hooray for that aspect of the Dreaded Time Change.  As usual, it's chilly in the house, but the days (with the notable exception of my 2 days and nights in the woods!) are warm and lovely.

I am thinking...

about the school year, and Christmas.  The beginning of the liturgical year is approaching and it's a good time to take stock, and get re-organized.  I'm thinking about having a Teacher's Inservice Day (or 2).

I am thankful for...

Warm, cozy beds, a down comforter, HEAT, and a husband to curl up with at night when my feet are cold!  He, on the other hand, may not be Thankful for my cold feet!

I'm also very thankful that I just had a dead battery on the camping trip; the camp host was able to jumpstart it (twice); and I was able to get a new battery without too much difficulty.

From the  learning rooms kitchen table...

We've been so busy with things like play rehearsals that we're stuck in a rut of just doing the necessities every day. 

Still doing the necessities.  It would really help for me to have that Inservice Day. 

From the kitchen...

A couple of different meals this week, trying to break out of the rut and use some different ingredients.

Chicken Curry is one new item.

I am wearing...

The Uniform.  Jeans, shirt, and my favorite grey wool sweater.  It's so warm, and it's time to start looking for a replacement for it. 

I am creating...

Sweaters, socks, hats. And a cowl.  Although I did rip it out last night since the gauge was off.  Will try again today with new needles!

I am going...

NOT camping this weekend!  But I am going to see my son TMax in his first high school role this week.  Okay, he was a puppeteer in the last play, and got to "be" a spaceship, but this is his first speaking role.  I'm looking forward to seeing it!  

I am reading...

Voyager.  The 3rd volume in the Outlander series.  What a love story! The Fiery Cross:  The 5th volume in the Outlander series!  A Breath of Snow and Ashes: The 6th volume in the Outlander series.  (one more after this!)

An Echo in the Bone.  The last one, until the next one comes out.  

Whew!  Done with that.  There are several things on the nightstand waiting patiently.  Winona's Pony Cart, with a forward by Melissa Wiley, for one. St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life, for another.

I am hoping and praying...

for healing for lots of people with cancer, especially this little boy.  

And for the souls of all the faithful departed this month.

And for this family whose 7th child was just born with Trisomy 13.

And for that baby's uncle, Fr. Kevin Peek, who became an Army Chaplain a few years ago and just recently was re-deployed. 

I am hearing...

Music from another blog.  Tom getting ready for school.  When I started this it was the absolute silence of a house full of sleeping people because Dh and Pete had already left.

Around the house...

Working on that decluttering.  Not very diligently, but getting a little done every day so some of those cluttered areas are getting better.  

One of my favorite things...

Coffee with friends.  Call me up.

A few plans for the rest of the week

   The usual: Choir, AHG, reading, knitting. 

More Daybooks here.