Anna

"You know what I want to be when I grow up?

A police man

An Aunt

A Mother

Or the girl who makes the bottoms of shoes. You know. The plastic part."

A Scrabble Poem

If I only had an E

Oh, how happy I would b

Everyone's Home!

Our morning Angelus got its bass back!

* We don't sing it... But our morning prayers all sounded so nice and "full bodied" this morning!

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

My little room...

I decided, after the fact, that I wanted to add this post to Works for Me Wednesday ~ and here's why...

No matter how many children you have, whether its two or ten, the demands of motherhood are epic, if not always in magnitude, definitely in scope. Our job description includes not only the physical welfare of our family, but their eternal souls. As all moms know, the work and worry are endless. There are so many details, and so much big-picture to keep in mind while we work out the details. It's a 24/7/365 job. It can drain the life force from us. But it's the most important work out there, bar none.

We're in charge of the future of the world.

Geeminny! And, how exactly, are we supposed to accomplish this 24/7/365-to infinity epic task without losing our minds?

Good question! And I'm here to tell you, that after working on it for twenty years with ten children, I have a couple suggestions that can help. This is what works for me:

* First ~ Know, love, and serve God. Understanding the higher purpose of all the little mundane, endless chores is the best boat to float on. Making time for prayer is the best investment you can make for yourself and your family.

* Second ~ Make a space for yourself somewhere. Anywhere. Actually or figuratively. Keep track of your own identity, your own interests, and loves outside of your homemaking and child-raising and husband-nurturing duties.

It's so important to find some "outlet" to plug ourselves into for your own good and for the good of our family. You are the one in charge of preventing your own burn out! Don't underestimate how important this is! And don't leave it to someone else to do it for you.

For some women, sports or physical activity of some kind fulfill that need. And, if that's you, for heaven's sake, join a softball league, have a bowling night, join Curves, whatever fills that need in you and gives you time to recharge your battery. This is the kind of space you may need!

Some just need time with girlfriends to unwind and renew. (This is in addition to a regular date night with your husband, mind you!)If that's you, set up a regular time to meet up with your friends, for a book club, tea or coffee night, movie night, whatever. Don't just think about it, and say you really should ~ Actually do it! Your husband will be glad to have a relaxed and peaceful wife in exchange for babysitting the kids once a week, or twice a month.

You might re-energize by reading a book, or by sewing, or knitting, or photography. And if this is true, make an organized space for yourself to do these things, by joining a club, or taking a class ~ or crafting a special space to do these things in.

My way to recharge is by creating ~ drawing, writing, crafting, blogging... It always amazes me how time flies when I'm immersed in any one of these activities. And, I'm always the better for the mental vacation I've had in that time. But, around here, with the teeming throngs, it's been a challenge (to say the least) to "play" in this way, without being interrupted by children who want to play along. =sigh= It's just not the relaxing "space away" when you're mediating squabbles over glue sticks and crayons amongst the children.

So, here's what worked for me: I did create my own space. A real, physical space. I took an unused room, like little Mary took a bit of unused earth in "The Secret Garden." I stole our seldom-used, eyesore of a mudroom and turned it into a secret garden of my own. In all my favorite colors. With all the storage I could ever need for my art and craft supplies. And a new craft table. And, most importantly, a door that I can shut!

And so now I have a quiet place to recharge. By myself. Alone. (Well, sorta. I do get the knocking on the door and all that...) But it was just a matter of deciding to do it. In point of fact, I asked my husband to give it to me for Mother's Day. It's only a little 8'x8' room, but it means the whole world to have it.

Here's the Before:

This was the idea collage:
Here's the After:

I'm just pleased as punch with it, I gotta say! Thanks to my wonderful husband, (He's that guy pictured above ~ and me, too ~ teehee!) for such a wonderful Mother's Day gift! We'll all be the better for it.

Make sure and run over to Rocks in My Drier to see the scads and scads of great tips posted over there!

Da Pacem and The Magnificat

Dominic arrived home with his Dad and a couple friends last night, and with them came the camera used to record the weekend's events at the children's school in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm so sorry I missed the School-end program, but glad they did record a good deal of it. Mostly, I'm glad all the children will be home soon.

The rest of the gang are on their way, apparently just having crossed the Colorado border at about 5 pm, mountain time.

We may get to have that spaghetti dinner all together tonight! Maybe I'll make 'em sing for their supper! Above: Good Friends, Tim and Carlos on the ends, with our boys, Dominic, Kevin and Jon in the middle, singing at the school program on Sunday. I'm not sure what they were singing here, but the sound quality of almost everything at the program was off. I need to go through it again to see what's post-worthy. (The boys would not be happy with me if I aired something they thought didn't turn out well!)

After the official "to-do," the choir members gathered in the choir loft at Church to sing for their own enjoyment. My husband snuck in and recorded them, of course. He also caught a couple hymns at the end of Mass. (I told him if he missed a thing, I'd kill him be so upset!)

Below are the same boys pictured above singing Da Pacem, and The Magnificat. I can't get enough of The Magnificat! I know I played a video of the boys singing it once before; I hope you don't mind hearing it again.

A Simple Woman Monday

It's been so much fun reading all the entries of this Daybook, I had to play along! This lovely idea originated at Peggy's place, The Simple Woman.

Outside my Window... Our son Dominic (14), who arrived with the first wave of our Omaha contingent playing on the slide and monkey bars with his little brothers and sisters, with Bella, the dog, running around with a big smile on her face, trying to join in on the fun.

Say "cheese," Bella!

I am thinking... I have work to do, but it can wait. I want to enjoy my children today.

I am thankful for... This gorgeous, cool, sunny morning; the start of summer because my children will all be home ~ every one of them, including our oldest son, Paul, and his girlfriend Nicole (who will be coming to spend time with us before Paul heads off to Marine's Officer Training School in Virginia for the summer); Dominic, who started off the morning by saying "When does the work begin?"

From the kitchen... Ramping up to feed the teenagers. Thinking casseroles, tacos, vats of Italian, pasta dishes... Spaghetti tonight.

I am creating... The finishing touches on my own little room/art studio!

I am going... to the bank ~ and now that wonderful Dominic is home, he can watch the Littles, so I don't have to load them all up and take them with me. WAHOO!!


I am wearing... a black tee, a long gypsy skirt in swirly, flowery patterns of black, brown, green and white, brown sandals...

I am reading... Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters, The Rosary, by Garry Willis (Though, I have some problems with this book, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for a couple more chapters...), bits and pieces of the June Reader's Digest, and I'm trying to work through Inkheart, by Cornelia Funk, to OK it for my twelve-year old to read. Has anyone out there read this one?

I am hoping... the second half of our Omaha contingent ~ Kevvy (19), Jon (17), and Michelle(12) ~ gets here safe and sound and before dinner tonight.

I am hearing... The radio left on in my little room... the grain elevators making some strange sound in the distance... Dominic telling Bella to behave herself... Gabe giggling...

Around the house... Laundry, laundry, laundry. And did I say laundry?

One of my favorite things... The feeling of an unhurried summer stretching out before me.

Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Take the children to see Prince Caspian, check out the suitability of Indiana Jones and the Kindgdom of the Crystal Skull with my husband before taking the children. (Isn't that a great excuse for a date night?) Get the garden going, finally!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you...

Here's the project Dominic decided to tackle: burying the recently repaired hydrant. Look at all the willing helpers! Now let's hope this gung-ho attitude survives the first week or two of summer...

Here's what Cathy got from the project. She and Anna have been on a bug-collection kick these days ~ and, let me tell you, there're plenty of bugs here to discover, label and observe! But worms seem to be the big prize, for some reason. Such dainty girls we have.

Has This Ever Happened to You?

You know ~ Cor unum et anima una... One heart and one soul ~ and one mind and one thought process... After a while, even our memories become one.

(Please forgive the blasphemies in this cartoon, but I just couldn't resist posting it for the subject matter. Doesn't this guy sound like Woody Allen?)

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday, dear CTM!

Happy Birthday to you!

A small, but heartfelt gift in honor of one year lighting up and enlightening the blogosphere!

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