More Love Festing...

...Because I can only upload five per post, and these kids are DARN cute!

Love Fest for our Little

Love Fest for our Littler

Love Fest for our Littlest

Punishing Parents

7:30 am. If I haven't had food put in front of me and my cup of milk, I am one unhappy camper. Just this morning (7:40) my daddy tried to tease me with my cup of milk as he doddled with my breakfast preparation. With baited breath I waited and waited and waited, while I whined of course. Never mind that my parents have been trying to get me to use signs so that they know what I want. They always know, so why should I put forth the effort in telling them when my pitiful little whine does the trick...and I get sympathy when I use it. That's the best part. Anyway, when my daddy finally got around to pouring my milk, he chuckled at my sighs of relief, and then he did something I have yet to forgive him for! He handed me my cup and when I reached out to grab it, he took it back and laughed some more! I know! How mean! I was not about to let him get away with it. No way. I refused to take that cup of milk from him, and I let him hear it! I did want that milk pretty badly though, so I was quite relieved when he set it down on the table and I could go grab it when he wasn't looking. Chances are, I'll have to show him who is boss again, just like I do my mommy every time she puts down for a nap, but a pretty little girl like me really needs my milk and beauty sleep. So, I'll always give in, but not without a little punishment first. After all, I am the poor, neglected third child.

I can ignore it no longer!

As the academic year begins, I have been faced with the school question. Instead of preschool, we opted for ballet lessons and Catechesis of the Good Shepard for our oldest. I'm sure she would have done well had I enrolled her in a preschool program, but I felt that she might enjoy ballet more, even though her class is only once a week. I had been comfortable pushing aside the school question, but I'm starting to face the reality that decision time will be here before we know it. She will turn five in April, and though I do feel that I could hold her off another year, I do believe she will be ready for Kindergarten. With that, I decided to try a little homeschooling program to see how we do with it. I hope that this will give us greater peace as we make a decision for her. We are trying to approach the decision taking a great number of things into consideration. Though I'd like to homeschool, I do have some reservations. So, I thought this would give us a little "trial run". I will be using the Little Saints Preschool Curriculum. I've also looked into Five in a Row and Catholic Heritage. I'd love to hear any feedback from anyone with any homeschooling experiences. I'm wondering how you go about choosing the right curriculum for your family. I'd also like to have a realistic idea about the challenges of homeschooling.

I always loved biology.

Please excuse me if this grosses you out! The kids and I found this cicada (or is it a locust?) the other day. I had never seen this before. We all found it fascinating!

The Call to Surrender

As I face the struggle mentioned in a previous post, many sinful and weak tendencies are being brought into light. It is time for the pruning of branches in my heart. It is somewhat painful, and in the past I've often felt"punished" by God during these times. As I continue along my faith journey, however, I am much more aware that pruning and purification are gifts given by God in His generosity, and that He is as gentle with us as He can be. How merciful the Lord is! I believe now more than ever that God's mercy is His greatest attribute, because I have experienced His mercy so abundantly in my life. I now have confidence in His mercy. In large part, this is due to the life, example, and intercession of St. Therese the Little Flower. I highly recommend reading "I Believe in Love" which is based on her teaching.

Though it is not easy, this pruning requires my total surrender to God. I'm grateful for all the ways it is helping to pray so constantly. It must be about 600 times a day that I start to get anxious and worked up and I have to re-give Him the situation. I have to re-give to Him my desire to be understood, my desire to be esteemed, my desire to be right, my desire to know that I am right, my desire to be without fault, my desire to fix the situation, and so on. Surrendering means that I have to let go of my pride and all of the ways it is manifested in my life. It means that I must come before the Lord with unveiled face. Looking back at my years at Franciscan University, I can remember so many, many precious moments of being in the Eucharistic Presence of Christ just letting go and letting Him bring to light all of the darkness in my heart and laying it all at His feet! How beautiful! And I hear Him calling me back to that! Heaven on earth, total surrender to the most Merciful Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! "O let me love Thee more and more!"

The Death of Facebook

While I enjoyed Facebook, I found myself spending too much time on it, and I also had an addiction to updating my status regularly. Though I tried to make them humorous, I think that perhaps I shared too much with the world through them...I just couldn't help myself sometimes. :) I will miss my family and friends and the communication that I had with them. I'm also working through a personal struggle right now in which I feel the Lord urging me to quiet myself and draw nearer to Him by spending more time just with Him. I've always enjoyed writing, and to do it well requires that reflection and contemplation that God is asking of me and that I am longing for. So, I'm turning toward the blog for a less distracting and hopefully more positive and productive mode of sharing with others. Perhaps Facebook will have a resurrection, but for now, I'm content with becoming a more frequent and "religious" blogger.