We made something today. HOORAY!
It is my sisters birthday today so we (me and my two preschoolers) C and E made her birthday cards. We used construction paper and cut out pictures from old greeting cards to glue onto the paper and wrote a birthday message, of course. The kids enjoyed cutting pictures out.
This seemingly small endeavor made me feel like I accomplished something today. With a 7 week old baby in the house it is hard to feel like you are "accomplishing anything." I guess mostly what I mean is that I don't feel that I have been giving C and E the attention that I would like to give them. They play a lot together but I don't feel like I have been giving them my time. So I am happy that I was able to do something especially for them.
It is really just a matter of taking the time and just doing it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Unexpected
It looks like I will have a csection for this baby. He is breech we find out last week at 38 weeks and one day. I suspect he has been that way for quite a while though. The nst administrator had trouble finding a good spot to pick up the heart beat so the doctor ordered an ultrasound for a biophysical profile. The baby is doing well. He is just head up with the cord wrapped around his neck therefore they will not try and turn him around. I really don't think he will turn on his own either. I am o.k. with all of this though. A few years ago I probably would have been freaking out. I pray the Lord keeps me and the baby safe and I am healed quickly.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Advent Blessings/ Christmas Poverty
Husband's back surgery on Monday-two weeks before baby is due. Will he be well enough to drive back and forth from the hospital to check in on the kids? My husband hasn't pooped since his surgery. Six days. I'm not sure how serious this is but it makes me worry.
I find out today that my baby is breech and the cord is wrapped around his neck. Because of the nuchal cord the Dr. doesn't want to try and turn him. It seems probable that I will have a c-section though the baby may turn on his own.
A c-section means one more day in the hospital. It means that I may need more time for recovery. It means that I will probably have to rely more on others to get household work done. And the idea of being cut open and the pain of recovery scares me.
Since my husband is home recovering from surgery I feel like I don't have any time alone. He is up early so I can't be alone then. He goes to bed late so I have to stay up later if I want to be alone. I am cross with him and he patiently endures it.
Maybe all this (and I know these problems are nothing compared to what much of the world suffers) is helping me to stick with the basics of the meaning of Christmas and trusting in him more. I have a gift for everyone here in my immediate family and that is really enough. I agonize about what to have for Christmas dinner when perhaps I should be thinking more about what food the kids will eat when I am in the hospital.
I know God is purifying me through all of this. I feel like at the heart of all of this I am learning the lesson of poverty which is what Christmas is. Christmas is about poverty.
I find out today that my baby is breech and the cord is wrapped around his neck. Because of the nuchal cord the Dr. doesn't want to try and turn him. It seems probable that I will have a c-section though the baby may turn on his own.
A c-section means one more day in the hospital. It means that I may need more time for recovery. It means that I will probably have to rely more on others to get household work done. And the idea of being cut open and the pain of recovery scares me.
Since my husband is home recovering from surgery I feel like I don't have any time alone. He is up early so I can't be alone then. He goes to bed late so I have to stay up later if I want to be alone. I am cross with him and he patiently endures it.
Maybe all this (and I know these problems are nothing compared to what much of the world suffers) is helping me to stick with the basics of the meaning of Christmas and trusting in him more. I have a gift for everyone here in my immediate family and that is really enough. I agonize about what to have for Christmas dinner when perhaps I should be thinking more about what food the kids will eat when I am in the hospital.
I know God is purifying me through all of this. I feel like at the heart of all of this I am learning the lesson of poverty which is what Christmas is. Christmas is about poverty.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
This Advent
This Advent...
We are not just getting ready for baby Jesus (as if that weren't enough)but also for our baby boy that is due to be born at the beginning of January. I wish I could write some kind of deep reflection about expecting a baby at this time of year but nothing of interest really comes to mind. Mary was about to give birth at this time of year and so am I. I have a lot that I would like to do to get ready for Christmas but I also have a lot to do to get ready for a baby. There should be some kind of spiritual lesson to learn here, shouldn't there? Alas, I am not able to articulate it.
Hubs has been doing a great job of making sure we gather around the Advent wreath every night. This used to be my job but I am happy to have him take the lead. We light the candle, say the Advent prayer and read from the days Gospel. We then sing Advent songs like Maria walks amid the Thorn, and Gabriel's Message ( I think it is called), and a Christmas Carols so the kids can learn some before Christmas. He calls Advent "ours" because neither he nor I grew up with any Advent traditions to speak of but we have developed our own with the help of Catholic websites and bloggers.
We have some Jesse Tree ornaments that we made together as a family when my oldest was an only child. We tape those to the fireplace mantle after I tell the kids a little bit about each one. We also have an Advent Calendar with little books for each day that tells a bible story in Jesse Tree style or has a Christmas Carol to sing or a little prayer to say.
These are some really very simple things that we have been doing as we have built a little bit of an Advent repertoire over the past few years with the help of websites like CatholicCulture.org. The best part is that we have been praying as a family every night this week. I'm grateful and hope that we continue at least throughout this season of Advent.
We are not just getting ready for baby Jesus (as if that weren't enough)but also for our baby boy that is due to be born at the beginning of January. I wish I could write some kind of deep reflection about expecting a baby at this time of year but nothing of interest really comes to mind. Mary was about to give birth at this time of year and so am I. I have a lot that I would like to do to get ready for Christmas but I also have a lot to do to get ready for a baby. There should be some kind of spiritual lesson to learn here, shouldn't there? Alas, I am not able to articulate it.
Hubs has been doing a great job of making sure we gather around the Advent wreath every night. This used to be my job but I am happy to have him take the lead. We light the candle, say the Advent prayer and read from the days Gospel. We then sing Advent songs like Maria walks amid the Thorn, and Gabriel's Message ( I think it is called), and a Christmas Carols so the kids can learn some before Christmas. He calls Advent "ours" because neither he nor I grew up with any Advent traditions to speak of but we have developed our own with the help of Catholic websites and bloggers.
We have some Jesse Tree ornaments that we made together as a family when my oldest was an only child. We tape those to the fireplace mantle after I tell the kids a little bit about each one. We also have an Advent Calendar with little books for each day that tells a bible story in Jesse Tree style or has a Christmas Carol to sing or a little prayer to say.
These are some really very simple things that we have been doing as we have built a little bit of an Advent repertoire over the past few years with the help of websites like CatholicCulture.org. The best part is that we have been praying as a family every night this week. I'm grateful and hope that we continue at least throughout this season of Advent.
Monday, July 2, 2012
This one is for the Bishops
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:14
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
eleven weeks pregnant
June 13, 2012
I am eleven weeks pregnant today. I have my first doctors appointment a week from tomorrow. We saw an ultrasound at six weeks because we had two previous miscarriages and wanted some indication of how things were going to go. We did see a heartbeat (hooray!) but also know that this doesn't mean there are any guarantees. That is one of the biggest lessons you learn after having a few, or even just one miscarriage. If we hear a heart beat at the doctor appointment next week then we will start sharing the news. That would make me very happy.
The babies due date will be January 2, 2013. I will be 43 when the baby is born. Andy will be 47. Hmmm... who knows what God has planned.
I am eleven weeks pregnant today. I have my first doctors appointment a week from tomorrow. We saw an ultrasound at six weeks because we had two previous miscarriages and wanted some indication of how things were going to go. We did see a heartbeat (hooray!) but also know that this doesn't mean there are any guarantees. That is one of the biggest lessons you learn after having a few, or even just one miscarriage. If we hear a heart beat at the doctor appointment next week then we will start sharing the news. That would make me very happy.
The babies due date will be January 2, 2013. I will be 43 when the baby is born. Andy will be 47. Hmmm... who knows what God has planned.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Our Garden Plot
We've been gardening. There is a community garden about five miles away from where we live and we got a plot. It has been fun working with Gabe and seeing him try to make it all work out whether it is working to try and get the clumps out of the soil or answering my questions about what he thinks we should do about this and that since we are novice gardeners and trying to figure tings out. He hasn't shown an interest in gardening for a few years but now he seems to be enjoying it.
Gabe, the two little ones and myself have been driving out the "the garden" and it is fun to see the little ones want to imitate us big ones. Hoes and rakes for kids are sold at the hardware store and I think that I should have bought them (maybe Istill will) because the little kids really want to help and there is plenty of space for them to muck around on the part of the garden that hasn't been planted yet. The dirt is very clumpy it would truly be helpful for the to hack away at the clumps with us.
Anyway, it seems we were taking a break from our formal homeschooling and working in our garden has provided us with a place to get out of the house (and for Gabe to come up from the basement) and do some hands on learning. It's good for us.
Gabe, the two little ones and myself have been driving out the "the garden" and it is fun to see the little ones want to imitate us big ones. Hoes and rakes for kids are sold at the hardware store and I think that I should have bought them (maybe Istill will) because the little kids really want to help and there is plenty of space for them to muck around on the part of the garden that hasn't been planted yet. The dirt is very clumpy it would truly be helpful for the to hack away at the clumps with us.
Anyway, it seems we were taking a break from our formal homeschooling and working in our garden has provided us with a place to get out of the house (and for Gabe to come up from the basement) and do some hands on learning. It's good for us.
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