Vocation of Motherhood

Christmas Getting to Know Me

Since I seem to have no skill or desire to blog anymore, I thought this might be nice to do! Just saw this at a friend's blog (am loving her gratitude posts!). Here goes!

Christmas Getting to Know Me!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gorgeous wrapping paper (Hallmark preferred, especially anything with our Blessed Mother and Baby Jesus) and shiny bows and ribbon.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Me-artificial, Mr. Dreamy-real. Mr. Dreamy wins every year!

3. When do you put up the tree? Hmm.... kind of embarrassing, usually at the last minute, a few days before Christmas to a week before :(. Should be sooner, but I hate decorating.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually on the Feast of Ephiphany

5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT! But ONLY homemade...can't stand the "bubble-gum" tasting stuff!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Christmas without fighting and shouting on the part of my Dad was usually my favorite :).

7. Hardest person to buy for? No one... it usually comes together okay. We don't go nuts so that probably helps.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, an egg shaped one from my Mom. Sounds corny but it's actually very beautiful. And of course we have the playmobil one!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? MAIL THEM, EVERYONE MAIL THEM FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!!!

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A huge WHITE sweater, it made me look like an albino cow.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Mickey's Christmas Carol or the "The Small One"

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I can. This year I did it very early and Advent was so much more enjoyable!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not really

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Stuffing or Sugar Cookies

16. Lights on the tree? Tons of white lights... but every year we seem a disarray of colored

17. Favorite Christmas song? Thanks for asking (as I just downloaded the following song and it's my new favorite! It's this one: The Holly and the Ivy (the boys has this song in their play at school and it was so beautiful!)

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Half and Half... sometimes we go up north and sometimes we have people here. This year we've hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes, I do, but why would I want to take the time when I have a horribly dirty kitchen to clean up? Okay, on to the other questions: 

10. Angel on the tree top or a star? Always an angel....

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning... this year it was 3:43 a.m. (first try) but then after getting them back to bed Mr. Dreamy woke me up later at 6:48 to get them up to open.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the greenery...I love it, but all the decorations in the house start to overtake everything and drive me a nuts.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My dearest wish is to have a "theme" tree, but every year we just get out the same ornaments, which have a lot of sentimental value. I just realized this year that I could start a theme tree on a tinier tree! That would mean less to buy for ornaments...etc.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Homemade rolls

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Nature Boy asked me this a few weeks ago... and honestly, I thought about it and told him, "I guess what I really want out of this Advent season is to grow closer to the Lord." So that was my hope, and a MP3 player (I got a iPod Nano!!!). 

Hope you had a very blessed Christmas as we did!!

Visit to Pinewood Castle

Wow! Can I roll one visit into these categories? Art of Blogging, Friends, Fieldtrips, Catholic Living, Homeschooling, Hospitality, etc.??

This week we took a much-planned for trip to Pinewood Castle. This trip has been cancelled in the past, so I was glad to finally make it. What an inspiring time I had (not to mention the kids, too!).

I'm still trying to put into words how I felt after leaving. (Well, actually I felt horrible and just found out that I have strep throat, so I'm still feeling guilt about exposing Tracy's family to strep!). Anyway, being around Tracy really gave me some motivation and incentive to live out my vocation in a fuller and richer context, especially with homeschooling and family life. Their family is so kind to one another, they speak softly and live very purposely.

I think the main blessing I received from my time with Tracy is the awareness of establishing a routine in the day and week. Their family really embraces the "learning as living" concept (with regards to the Alphabet Path, nature walks, weekly Saints study, etc.). I am so excited to get back into a learning routine here. Yesterday I wrote a new scripture on the chalkboard for us all to learn (especially the youngers ones):

Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. -Proverbs 4:20-21 (We seem to have the need to concentrate on listening skills around here lately).

And the nature walk! Wow, I learned so much and so did the kids! I took some amazing pictures. Tracy shared with me how since leaving the big city she and the kids have been forced to concentrate on the smaller (richer?) things... like the wildflowers on a their neighborhood path.

Speaking of building good habits, I need to spend more time developing them with the kids. Today looks like a rainy day, so there's no time like the present! Here are some pictures before I leave:

Eating a delicious lunch... complete with fresh-picked strawberries and blueberries!

Babies having fun!

Our lunch- is this straight out of a magazine or what? She had salads sprinkled with toasted almonds, blueberries, mozzarella cheese and a homemade vinaigrette. We also feasted on bowls of berries and the famous backup sandwich, PB&J!

Kids having fun playing in their beautifully-landscaped backyard!

(Notice the Mary garden in the background?)

I have more pictures from our nature walk, but will post those later.

Thanks again for the visit Tracy, it was heavenly!

I Never Thought It Would Happen to Me...

When I got home from the homeschool conference I literally hopped and skipped over to the computer to upload my pictures and start blogging (after the kids went to bed of course, at 5:30 p.m.) Joking!! Anyways, went to open Mozilla and TA-DA!!! The DSL router went out AND our network card was damaged. BIG PROBLEM for me. After a quick panic attack I called tech support for our local phone company (yes, it was on a Saturday night). Just now, Monday evening, we are back online. Being without the internet is an amusing predicament for our computer-savvy generation, don't you think?

When I did get back online, I literally raced to check out Margaret's blog (I knew she would have the best pictures)!  I've been perusing a few already and have had my fix :).

Here is a picture of the fireside chat room. Laura the Crazy Mama is in the back wielding her camera.










From l-r: me, Margaret, Tracy, Ana, Jamie & Erin (Laura, where were you, you crazy mama?)

More on the conference in another post, but suffice to say, I'm back online and so glad Tim is wrapped up in his Louis De Wohl book so I can write more!

Top Reasons For Going To A Conference

Tomorrow Mr. Dreamy and I are going to Duluth, MN for this annual conference. Top reasons why I want to go:

1. Time alone with Mr. Dreamy
2. Great opportunity to mix with other parents who share our same goals
3. Hear inspiring speakers
4. Find out more about learning styles (especially for Nature Boy)
5. Buy some great products (especially art supplies!)
6. Get my brain clicking for new business ideas
7. Eat out at our favorite restaurant

Letter-Writing Thursday

We are doing a weekly letter-writing activity on Thursdays. This is to help Nature Boy learn some writing skills that are quickly diminishing in our media-driven society. I am hoping to get a graphic made by Alice so I can use it in my sidebar (especially when I convert back to Typepad, my long lost friend!!). Until then, I encourage you to pick up the pen in your own household. A well written note is such a blessing to the receiver, don't you think?