Meal Update

 

 

I am happy to report that "meal planning" appears to be helping things in the kitchen somewhat.  I change the menu fairly regularly, but it is helpful to have a visual of meals I like/usually cook/have ingredients for, and it is not difficult to just erase here and write in there.  This week I was able to do a lot of prep work on the weekend to make the week go more smoothly. This may not always be the case, but it is nice this week.  I had dinner for today prepped last night - just turned on the crockpot this morning.  I also had meat browned for lasagna.  This afternoon I will prep the sauce and noodles and throw it together so I can bake it tomorrow or Wednesday (depending on my mood).  Then a couple left-over days and a "frozen food" (aka chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, etc) day - since we don't want left-overs or kitchen mess because we are going out of town for a few days (hopefully).

So, in-short.  Yay for growing up finally.  It appears to suite me.  And I should add, that using less brain power on WHAT to cook (just focusing on what the menu says - assuming I'm not strongly opposed to it for whatever reason) is freeing up time and energy for me to do some other creative exploits (aka more yogurt, fun desserts or snacks I always wanted to try).  This week I hope to make some brownies and try a cherry cheesecake recipe.  Hooray for food!  Now, lets hope Miriam lets me get some exercise to counter-balance these yummies!

Homeschool Reflections, part 2

We have been at it "officially" for about a week total now and here is the scoop on our little homeschool.

1) Samuel is on Lesson 5.6 of a six chapter kindergarten math book.  Good thing I went ahead and got the first grade book as well.  Maybe I need to consider a more challenging math program and/or double-check we covered EVERYTHING and that he has MASTERED all the skills (rather than just done a page or two correctly).

2) Miriam is making this more challenging than it will be when she is just a little older.  But I imagine by the time she grows up a little (assuming we do not have more on the way by then) I will be an ABSOLUTE pro at this.

3) I fluctuate daily from one extreme to another.  Either "Eeek!! My kids are going to be SO FAR behind by the end of the year and social mis-fits to boot!" Or "Wow!  This is AMAZING.  We are covering so much so quickly and having so much fun! This is easy!"  On a given day I go from panic to chill several times.  I hope this phase passes soon.  Fortunately, despite my emotions I generally am able to put them aside and look at things reasonably and rationally.  And considering all the reasoning behind my decisions, I am on-track with what would reasonably work best for our family at this time.  (I think :)

4) Rebekah is surprisingly a little difficult to motivate at times.  I guess I knew she had this "mildly ADD" side, but butting my head against it is new. In any case, she is like me in that I can generally sit down and "talk" with her and get her to see what she needs to do.  Often we "compromise" or add something fun to the activity, or to do afterward.

5) Jacob and Paul are making life interesting.  I want to include them and do "lessons" with them as well, but sometimes they are just not interested in their own lessons - only in trying to distract everyone else.   I think they are just unsure of where they fit in to the big picture.  Hopefully time and routine will calm them down some.  Right now I let them come sit with us if they are interested, or I let them do free-play.

6) I have already adapted our schedule some and am liking it so far.  We don't really HAVE to start our day at any particular time (other than on Thursdays when I hope to go to daily Mass - starting next week).  However, just letting the kids wander upstairs whenever was making our mornings chaotic, so I now wake all the kids (except the baby) at 7:30am (if they are not up before) and we have breakfast together and do our "morning prayer."  This naturally leads into (and/or includes - depending on how you look at it and how the morning goes) Scripture and then if they are receptive, we move right into religion.  However, sometimes the "Littles" (Jacob and Paul) have trouble sitting still so we let them loose to play and move on to Reading (coming back to Religion and Scripture later).  I'm really enjoying starting our day together. (I actually eat breakfast with them at the table since Miriam is usually still sleeping - and this is BIG as normally I sit on "the comfy chairs" to nurse Miriam during meals, rather than eat at the table with the kids.)

7) Like a typical day at school or anywhere, we ebb and flow with ups and downs, stress, less stress, frustration, and then fun.  I'm trying to be sensitive to the rhythm of things and hopefully that will carry us through.

8) We went to the park yesterday morning for P.E. (and to be social!) and had a blast.

And now, for your viewing pleasure. . . We made crowns to celebrate the Queenship of Mary.  And then prayed the 5th Glorious Mystery (from My Scriptural Rosary), The Coronation of Mary.

Paul



Jacob



I could not get a decent group shot and could not "wait" for it as the baby was WAILING (seriously, someone must have pinched her) and Jacob was crying in this picture (something about his blocks he was playing with) and I could not get Paul to look up.  So this is a "keeping it real" shot here.  Sometimes the group shot just does not fly and that's how it goes.

Miriam needed a crown, too.

 

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. 

- Amen.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!

Jacob is four-years-old now!!!

*Jacob is really into turtles and ladybugs.  He likes his stuffed ones.  He likes the books we have about them.  He is especially into the "baby turtles."

*Jacob loves to build ships out of Lego blocks or various other toys or toy parts, and fly them around. 

*Jacob is a big talker.  He does not always get in so many words as everyone else in the family loves to talk as well, but if you give him half a chance, he will comment on almost anything.  He always has an opinion and loves for you to listen to him.

*Jacob really has a gentle nature. (This is especially good considering he is such a BIG boy!!  He was 11lbs, 15.4oz at birth and has been pretty-much off the charts since.  He has GIANT feet and is VERY strong.)  Although it still cracks me up when he collapses in tears every time Paul takes a toy from him.  Oh Paul, if you only knew what Jacob COULD do to you. . .

*Jacob's favorite movies right now are the Leap Frog ones.  (The Letter Factory, Code Word Caper, and Math Circus)

*Jacob seems very bright.  Since we homeschool, he often listens to Samuel sounding out words.  Samuel will be sounding out a word, sometimes it takes him a few times of saying all the sounds before he gets the word.  In the mean time, I have heard Jacob whispering the word from the floor where is playing with his trucks or what-not.  I have not tried "reading" with Jacob as he is kind of shy about it, but I imagine when the time comes he will be an amazing reader - if he is not already and just has not let on :)

*Jacob has a great smile.

May God bless you, dear Jacob, on your birthday and always my gentle, loving, joyful boy.  I pray your love for God and neighbor increase as you grow in virtue.

Homeschool Curriculum Update

Well, our school year will "officially" begin on Thursday, August 16 (in solidarity with the local schools - upon Rebekah's request).  That being said, we have a few more days to "goof off" so I'm taking a little time today to try and give you a quick review of what we have in store for this year. I've stock-piled a hodge-podge of resources I hope to use.  I think I'll break things down by subject.  (For the record, Rebekah is entering 2nd grade and Samuel is entering Kindergarten.)  Enjoy all the links!

READING

Samuel is doing little phonics books from Catholic Heritage Curricula (CHC) called Little Stories for Little Folks.  The program starts at the VERY beginning with alphabet cards and detailed instructions.  Fortunately, Samuel already knows all his letters and sounds from preschool last year, so we worked on blends a little bit and then jumped in with the little readers.  He is on his second book and so far we like it.  Tom saved his sister from the hot pot and Nan and Pat sat at Mass.  Good lessons so far :)

Also from CHC, Rebekah is reading Devotional Stories for Little Folks and both she and I really like it.  She reads a short selection each day and then I have her orally answer the questions.  As the title suggests, lots of good moral things go on in these stories.  There is a second book to this, Devotional Stories for Little Folks, Too, and then Bigger Stories for Little Folks, so we can enjoy these for a while.  I'm also having her read at least one other book (preferably a chapter book) per week.  I am also having her read a certain amount of younger-kid books out loud to her brothers.  I think this is very good practice and she seems to enjoy it.

RELIGION

A friend of mine had religion books from the Seton Home Study program.  Religion 1 for Young Catholics is for Samuel and Religion 2 for Young Catholics is for Rebekah.  They are not my favorite, but I cannot seem to find something I REALLY LIKE, so we are doing the Seton.  Pros to the Seton study are that it seems thorough, yet easy to understand and I like the review pages at the end of each lesson and how they use the question and answer format (and perhaps the exact same wording - if I'm not mistaken) of the Baltimore Catechism.  I wish there were some additional sheets for coloring or drawing or SOMETHING for them to interact with, but I'm supplementing with what I can find and it seems to be going ok.  There are A LOT of materials available at the blogs Catholic Icing and The Catholic Toolbox. I guess most of our subjects will have a "religious flair" as our faith colors everything else.  I'm also planning to do some extra study with Rebekah since it is her First Reconciliation and First Communion year.  We have lots of little books to go through several times so she can familiarize herself with the sacraments she will be receiving.  Some of the titles are The Mass Book for Children, Child's Guide to First Holy Communion, The Holy Eucharist, The Sacrament of Reconciliation,  Living the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes for Children, and  Little Acts of Grace.

SCRIPTURE

I really like A-Z Memory Verses from CHC.  The worksheets are perfect level for Rebekah and the verses are short enough that Samuel can get them, too.
I also found My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts and it looks promising.  Unfortunately I bought it originally on my kindle (what was I thinking?) and it is one of the older, more basic kindles - no color, smaller screen, etc, so I will have to make up some sort of work-sheets for the kids to see/color, or I will have to break down and purchase the actual book if I want to read it to them and just show them the pictures.  (My kids really dig books with pictures - even just simple little pictures like this one has.)

MATH

Math from the Catholic curriculum companies seemed pricey and while I believe God is in everything and all subjects should be taught in a Christian point of view, I think Math (at a basic level at least) might be the exception.  It is pretty straight-forward for a while.  So I read several reviews on Amazon and decided on some consumable books from Spectrum.  I went ahead and purchased the Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade levels. I feel fairly confident Samuel will make it into the 1st grade level before the year is out.  On suggestion from a friend, I tore the books apart (as the pages are made to tear out anyhow) and put them in page protectors in a 3-ring-binder.  I have the kids do them with dry erase markers.  Then, every page or two I "check them" and have them erase.  This way they can be used for multiple children.  And so far the kids seem to like them a lot.

SPELLING

I liked the spelling books from CHC, so I got My Catholic Speller, Level A for Rebekah (as that is the "second-grade" book), but we had to skip several chapters in before we got to words that challenged her.  I like the words and the worksheets that go with them.  I also pulled this book apart like the math books, so I can use it for the other kiddos, too.

ENGLISH

CHC's English book, Language of God, Level A, for Rebekah, looks good to me.  She has done some of it and seems to like it.  I like that it is of course, very Christian, and it has lots of writing practice (such as answering simple questions in complete sentences).  It seems the perfect level for Rebekah, too, so that is a bonus.

SCIENCE

I got CHC's suggested second-grade science book, Behold and See: More Science with Josh and Hannah, even though we did not do the previous "first-grade" science book.  If we like this one, we might get the previous one for Samuel to do next year.  But I'm not sure if I want to individualize science like this or try a topical, whole-family approach.  We shall see.

I wanted some easy science experiments to do with all the kids to keep science interesting.  After reading several reviews on Amazon, I picked Science is Simple.
I'm also hoping to work through My Body with all the kiddos.  I gleaned it from a fellow homeschool blog and it looks really cool.

A friend also lent me Science 1 for Young Catholics (from Seton Home Study) so I am reading that to Samuel (and often the whole family) but it is definitely older and quite basic.  It also has no interactive part to it.  I'm not overly impressed with it, but it is something!

SPANISH

I have heard that second grade is the ideal grad for introducing a second language, so Rebekah is following the program, Learn Spanish with Grace. So far it is a lot of fun.  It comes with a cd that is MOST helpful as I took some Spanish is high school, but I'm sure my pronunciation is far from "acceptable."  Grace is the daughter and her mother is the teacher.

HANDWRITING

Rebekah is beginning cursive, even though it might be a bit early.  She is interested.  So I just found a workbook for her on amazon.  Nothing too exciting, but it works.

I found great letter tracing pages at either The Catholic Toolbox or Catholic Icing.  Unfortunately I cannot find them now to give you a direct link.  Sorry :(  At the time I saved them to my computer and just recently printed the Alphabet ones out for Samuel.  There are also pages with Saint quotes, prayers, names for Jesus, the Sacraments, and more, even some in cursive, that I printed for Rebekah.

MUSIC

For music, we use a homemade cd the boys got at preschool last year.  It is really awesome as they are action songs and the boys know them well.  We also have some of the muisc cds from the Signing Time Series that allow us to sing and sign along.  I also have Wee Sing Bible Songs and some other Sunday School Song cds that I cannot find on amazon to link to at this time.

ART

I purchased the preschool curriculum from Catholic Icing last year and never really got to it.  I hope to use it for our "art projects" this year.  It looks promising.

We also have The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions and it has lots of crafty things to do that will follow the calendar and I am real excited about those.

IN ADDITION
We are getting ready to take a trip to Colorado for a family wedding.  I thought taking some special "activity books" along would be a good idea to help the kids keep busy.  I did not want to take our regular school books for fear they might be lost or damaged.  So I purchased some Kummon workbooks for the trip and I have to say the kids really like them!  Unfortunately, the Kummon books do not have tear out pages, so using them as consumables (which is what they are) is really the only option.  With that said, they are a fairly reasonable price, so I can't really complain.  So far we have My First Book of Mazes (for Samuel), Word Problems (for Rebekah), Easy Mazes (for Jacob),  My First Book of Upper Case Letters (for Jacob), and My First Book of Tracing (for Jacob).

I should point out that Jacob (who is turning four in about a week) is doing a "home-based" preschool.   The teacher comes to our house once a week for a little over an hour. The materials (which they provide) will all stay here at the house so I can do "the routine" with him on the other days of the week (I get to participate when she is here, also - it is a really great program). So I did not actively search for additional materials to work through with him. However, the other day he seemed a little left-out so I started his tracing book with him and HE LOVED IT! A lot of my friends have had good success with Kummon books, as well.

One final note.  As you may have noticed, a lot of my materials come from Catholic Heritage Curricula (CHC).  Mostly that is because I like them best, but it helps that they have a page on their website called The Book Nook and Bargain Basement.  It has books that are out-of-print or damaged or what-not and sells them cheaper.  I found several bargains there and they all were most acceptable to me, at much more affordable prices.

Well, there you have it!  I apologize in advance if one of my links is wrong.  There are A LOT of links in this post! I will try to check and update if I get a chance.  Now, all we have to do is get started!!  :)

Wisdom of Rebekah

Rebekah found this card of the Blessed Virgin, Mary.  It was most likely sent to me from some charity or other (as once you get on a list, EVERY charity in the world sends you "stuff" and begs for money).  In any case, I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but I had put it in with "Rebekah's mail."  Oddly enough, however (as we get "stuff" like this quite often) she got pretty excited over this particular picture and set it up on the table.  Then she proclaimed,
 "I should give this to Daddy so he can put it in his office and look at it during the day.  Then when he gets stressed he can look at it and remember to breathe and pray."

Thoughts on Homeschooling - 1st Edition

I have been wanting to post some on homeschooling.  Several people have asked about my curriculum and such and I really want to share but just have not had time! Well, I still don't "really" have time, but I'm stealing a few minutes here as I nurse Miriam to sleep, to share some updates and reflections I have had lately because if I don't shart sharing soon I am going to forget and then I will feel overwhelmed and not know where to begin!

But first off, let me say that I am prepared for this year to be INTENSELY humbling and yet HOPEFUL that it will be amazingly fulfilling.  So far it has been both and it really has not even begun! I know I am going to learn so much and I am preparing myself to be ready for anything and to change anything and everything at a moment's notice.  I'm praying like crazy and diving in as best I can.

So, on to the list. .  .

1) First off I just HAVE to tell you about my AWESOME calendar!  I got it from Amazon and if you have little kids and a little space to put it, I HIGHLY recommend getting it in general - not just if you plan to homeschool.  It has the season, month, year, days of the week, weather, and other fun cards (such as Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Birthdays, Holidays, etc).  The numbers are yellow on one side and white on the other.  (It appears that is for the weekends to be red and the weekdays yellow, but I have all turned yellow except for TODAY so it really draws attention to it - especially good for the young ones that can't quite read the "Today" card.)  This calendar just makes me SOOOO HAPPY every time I look at it.  I can point at it and SHOW the kids when things are happening.  Plus they can "follow along" so they know what it means when we are going to Grandma's the day after tomorrow.  Plus, Samuel has always said, "next time" when he means "tomorrow" and this really helps me get him to understand that what he means is "tomorrow."  As soon as I can find some time, I hope to rig up some way of marking feast days and such (maybe adding some velcro circles to the front of the number holders and then making velcro names for the feasts? - lots of work in the beginning, but it could pay off - or in the mean time I was thinking of taking some of Rebekah's hair clips and clipping them to the pockets of the days that are feasts - just to draw attention to them as special, then the kids could ask what special day it is) but for now it makes me very happy as it is - did I mention that yet?  :)

2) We have done "school days" here and there over the summer and I had hoped to just ease into the year that way, but suddenly I noticed Rebekah dragging her feet.  (She is my sounding board for things right now as she is old enough to have an opinion and be able to articulate it fairly well.)  After some discussion she made it clear she wanted to start "when everyone else" starts.  So we are taking a few more days to "prepare."  Although, I am still throwing "school work" in here and there because I just love it so much!

3) Did I mention I love teaching the kids?!?!  Oh my, it is such a rush!  May it always be so exciting and fresh and fun!!  I know, reality will kick in at some point and I imagine we will have trouble, but right now, wow, just wow!  It helps that I am a teacher by nature (and by degree) and I LOVE TEACHING anyhow.  Honestly, if I actually went out and got my dream job, it would be teaching. 

4) On the same vein as my joy in teaching the kids is how easily it fits into our day!  And I find that when we do more "structured" activities, then on days when I have other things to do and even in the evenings when I am trying to get dinner done, they are much more content to play on their own because they have already "filled up" on positive attention (and learning) from me during the day.  And oh, teaching them, loving them, all day, is so great!

5) I had planned our days to be loosely structured, but now I'm thinking of being even more fluid.  I got this handy schedule thingy.  It was not purchased with the soul intention of homeschooling, but rather just to be helpful.  The cards that come with the chart have school activities on them and there are a few blank, but you can purchase more blank ones.  Even just for summer, I could put our Rec Center classes on there or a store trip or going to see Grandma, or whatever up there.  I felt like it helped the kids to just have a general idea of what was going on so they were not caught off guard and knew what to expect.  Anyhow, I have our subjects up there and about an hour allotted for each.  An hour, by the way, is WAY TOO MUCH time, but I figure it will allow us to run behind schedule and fit in fun stuff along the way. (like impromptu art projects or dance parties :)  But with that said, thus far we have gotten started when we get started (often a half hour behind schedule - which might mean I need to adjust my expectations) and then just plowed through the list.  One day we had all but one subject done by lunch time (according to the chart, it should take all day).

6)  As for how much of each subject is covered. . . that is a fluid measure, as well.  Some days Samuel "feels like" doing Math and will sit down and do an entire chapter (between 6 and 10 worksheets).  Other days he will only do one or two.  I just let him guide.  I'm hoping soon to sit down and decide exactly "how far" I want to get and then break that into two or four parts so I can check to be sure we reach a certain point by a certain date.  But I'm not overly concerned as I figure we can always catch up in the summer and I may be naive here, but I'm expecting the kids to really excel.  They are BRIGHT kids.  Rebekah has gotten PERFECT grades - seriously - these past two years. Samuel is already on chapter five in his Math book and we have only done Math a handful of times!  Assuming I can keep them interested, the sky is really the limit.

7) One day a week I hope to take the entire family to daily Mass.   I am really praying on this one as Paul is at that age where is TROUBLE in church and it would be enough to wrangle him alone, but him and Miriam is going to be TOUGH.  And then there is the "where to sit" dilemma.  The cry room is great, but I do not want to sit in the cry room forever (and often the priest has his mic off or does not use a mic and then I cannot hear him at all!) and I really think the kids behave better when they are in the main body of the church, but I suppose I will just have to feel things out and pray that everyone ELSE has patience as the children learn what is expected of them.  They are not HORRIBLE on Sundays.  Now, this will be different - especially since Daddy won't be there to help, but I think it is important.  Rebekah has been to daily Mass twice a week for the past year and I have taken the other kids now and again, but this will be regular so I'm hoping we will fall into a good routine.

8) Twice a week I have planned "activity" days. These are mostly just to get out and get some exercise and social interaction.  I'm hoping to head to the Museum a lot and the library, plus visit Great Grandma and then there is a homeschool coop thing happening with our local group that looks VERY promising.  But I'm also hoping to be flexible enough to say I have errands to run today, so we will just do school in the afternoon or what-not as life happens.  I have also noticed that I don't need to "worry" about getting everything covered BY a certain time.  Gordie does not get off in time to join us for dinner, so dinner time is a great learning time for "listening lessons" (aka a lot of Samuel's books as he is really too young to write yet, his religion I mostly read to him and then verbally quiz him over it).  Plus, if I gave the kids a "break" while I cooked dinner, they are often refreshed and ready to focus again, rather than boring them and having to force them to pay attention.

9) Rebekah is already missing her friends from school so I am hoping at least once (maybe twice) a week to have one of her school friends over in the afternoon (from school out to dinner).  This way she can stay in touch with her friends and get some socialization.

10) We are also planning to do swim team (everyone except Miriam), Akkido (Rebekah only right now as it is expensive), soccer (Rebekah and Samuel), and possibly a few Rec Center classes (depending on what they have to offer).

Well, I have spent more time than I should on this post and need to put my little lady to bed, so I'm going to break my own rules and post without re-reading.  Be prepared for updates later I suppose :)

My path to adulthood. . .

As my title suggests, I have taken another step toward being an adult.  I am now doing a monthly food menu.  I have known I SHOULD be doing this for many many many years. Honestly, from the time I got married (8 years ago today!) and started cooking, I knew in my head that planning ahead would be a good idea for many reasons. It would help with shopping and supposedly it would help me know WHAT to cook on a given night.  The problem was that it just did not work for me.  I would make up elaborate menus and then not feel like making the selection for a given day.  However, I think most of my reason for failure was that I did not know a lot of recipes, so I would pick ones that "looked good."  But a new recipe is a BIG DEAL!  If the hubby did not happen to like it (as was often the case), my cooking self-esteem would plummet another 50 points. 

And to let you in on a little secret. . . .  I don't really like cooking all that much anyhow!!  I have finally developed a taste for home-cooked food (as in I would prefer it over eating at a restaurant. . . well, eating at most restaurants - definitely I prefer it over ANY fast-food place and it took A LONG TIME to reach this point!), but cooking in itself is not all that exciting to me.  Being the mildly obsessive-compulsive person that I am, I would dare say I sometimes enjoy cleaning up after dinner more than actually cooking it!!  However, cooking is not an option as we cannot afford to eat out (umm, at all) and it is much healthier to cook. So cooking I will do - and maybe some day I will get good enough to enjoy it.  For now, it is a labor of love.  The good news is that I do appear to be getting better at it, slowly but surely.  My meals are mostly all edible now (a big step for me! - ask my husband!!) and most even taste GOOD!  Plus I am finding more recipes I like (and the family will eat) and more importantly, I am learning how to "adjust" recipes to my family's particular tastes.  This final skill is essential for creative meals that are eaten and not just picked at.  In any case, I digress. 

When I was at Wal-mart picking up cheap school supplies (even homeschooling kids need supplies you know!) I saw a whiteboard calendar for a good price ($5 and change) and decided it MIGHT be time to try and grow up. . . a little.

Caution!  Mild Tangent Ahead:

Here is where I would like to dazzle you with a picture of said whiteboard calendar, but I have LOST MY CAMERA AGAIN.  /sigh. ..   I did not used to lose things. . . EVER. . . but perhaps I am turning into my mother in more ways than one!  The catch is that she has an excuse for losing things.  I'm not sure what my deal is.  But anyhow, here is a link to a whiteboard calendar that does not really look like mine at all, but that is really the best I can do.

I put the board on the fridge with some hefty magnets (not from this trip to Wal-mart, but left-over from something else) and immediately wrote in all my favorite meals.  I even put fun magnets on the days I am planning to reserve for left-overs (as cooking 3 or 4 times a week is usually enough for us to squeeze by).  So far I have mostly stuck to my "menu" and the fun part is that it is easy to change, too.

I have also written some of our "simpler" meals at the bottom (ones that are quick and we generally ALWAYS have the ingredients to) for a quick go-to in "emergencies" and such.  And I started a list of "things to buy" at the bottom also, so I would know what I NEED in order to stick to this menu. (Although I also have a regular "shopping list" on a pad of regular paper, of food items that might not particularly relate to my given "meal menu" if that make sense.  I try to combine the two before going to the store.)

That is all for now.  Perhaps I will have more to say about this later.  In the mean time, my back is available for "pats" as I am of course, so much more amazing now :)

Thankfulness Thursday

. . . with a heart of gratitude . . .

This week I am especially thankful for:

1)  A community of love (aka my family). 

I have come across some of my friends from high school and college lately (as in the past few months).  Some are married and have kids.  Some are still single.  It was in contemplating the single ones that I realized just how grateful I am that I no longer need to be alone.  Sometimes the single life seems so wonderful.  I drool over the thought of only having to cook and clean for myself - of being able to spend my money on myself - to do what I want to do when I want to do it!  I also find myself with very little empathy for single people who complain of being "so busy" and "not having time do do anything."  But then I think back to when I was single and remember that feeling of "being alone."  I know, God is always with us and often we have roommates, etc.  But there was much time I spent "being lonely."  Sure I did stuff, or maybe I could have worked harder to find people to be with, but when push came to shove, in the evenings, or early mornings, or just on days when I had no particular place to go, I remember being lonely.  Now, in the midst of chaos, I can appreciate always having someone around -whether it be the kids or my spouse, there is always someone here with me to love and just "be" with.

2)  Samuel. 

I love all my children and they are all blessings in their own way, but this week I am thankful for my second child and oldest son, Samuel.  I have been praying especially for him the past few weeks as I felt a little out-of-touch with him.  He is getting too "big" to cuddle and his main interests now are video games (x-box or the tank game on the Kindle).  I really want to find something I can do with him that we both enjoy (as I play x-box now and again, but it is really not my thing).  I believe teaching him is the perfect answer to my prayers.  I often fretted over teaching him as I feared I would not have patience and he would not have interest.  But as it turns out he is immensely interested and he catches on so quickly, I have no time to be impatient!  We have only done "school" a few days but sitting with him while he "learns to read" has truly been the highlight of my day.  He has such a wonderful personality and I am so grateful to be able to spend time with him and learn from him.

 

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." - Psalm 107:1