Outside my window… the weather has been so interesting this past week. Snow, Rain, Sun, Sleet – we have had it all! Yesterday it was so warm and sunny, and today is is back to freezing and even snowing at the moment. Here is the picture I took from the couch the other morning. Our children were so excited that the snow stuck around for a few hours.
I am listening to… Teaching Textbooks. It’s Rascal’s turn on the lap top. . . Usually the boys wear the ear buds while they are doing their math, but for some reason he isn’t today. Teaching Textbooks has been my favorite change in curriculum this past year!
I am thinking… about my remaining Little Flowers meetings for the year and planning out the notebook pages, crafts and snacks. I still haven’t decided on a craft for patience (perhaps an embroidery project?) or fortitude. Any ideas?
I am thankful for… Four day weekends! Hubby had Friday-Monday off and was able to paint the doors and some of the trim in our remodel and I was able to clean and organize a couple of my “hot spots.”
I am hoping and praying… for my Father-in-law. The recovery from his operation has been very challenging for him, and he will be needing radiation after all. Please remember him in your prayers!
From the kitchen… Edible Chairs for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter! I still haven’t made plans for dinner, but since we are heading to town this afternoon, I think I will just pick up a Baked Chicken and Salad mix while we are at Costco.
From the learning rooms… These pictures were from a couple weeks ago – you can tell, since my boys still needed haircuts badly! The kids had so much fun “Pollinating Donuts” as an extra activity for Botany
Living the Liturgical Year at Home… Last week we really enjoyed celebrating St. Valentine’s Day and attending the Valentine’s Day Brunch following Mass at our parish. I brought a Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake to share and even remembered to bring a wedding photo! It was so fun to see all the wedding pictures and Father even gave a blessing to all of the married couples, Hubby & I included.
I am creating… a compilation of all my past Lenten Posts. I started working on updating my Feast Day Plans and Celebrations post, but decided to break it up into monthly posts (with the additions of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter) like I’ve done over at Catholic Cuisine. I’m hoping that it will make it a little easier to keep updated this way. . . I guess we will see.
I am Snuggles is wearing… new Buzz and Woody underwear! Yesterday he finally had his very first potty training success, thanks to Buzz and Woody and the promise of a M&M for each successful attempt. I learned with my older boys that it just isn’t worth the fight and they will potty train easily when they are ready, but I was starting to think that Rose might be potty trained before Snuggles! He had two successes (It was so cute when he said “I’m doing it!!!!”), followed by a couple accidents, and today isn’t going that great, but at least it is a start!
I am reading… the same stack of books is still sitting on my nightstand, with the addition of The Gift of Summer Snow: A Tale from the Garden of Mysteries
On my iTouch… Words with Friends. I think it has become an addiction. . . Not really, but it sure is fun! My brother just added it to his iPhone as well, so I have another new opponent. Yay!
Pondering these words… from Chapter 15 of The Cure Of Ars
Noticing that… I am not “expecting another child”, but that 42 day cycle sure made me start thinking otherwise and spend way too much money on tests. 😉
Towards personal care… I haven’t decided yet, but I am thinking about joining Lena’s team for a Nun Run on March 12th.
Around the house… lots of little projects that need to be completed in the next week. Father will be coming over this Friday for dinner and then next Tuesday we are having a little get together, so I am hoping to finish them soon!
One of my favorite things.. Celebrating my children’s birthdays! Our children just love having themed birthday parties, regardless of whether it is celebrated with friends (certain years) or with just our family. They are already talking about which “theme” will be next. 🙂 We also just celebrated my brother Scott’s 21st birthday and my Dad’s 56th birthday this past week. Happy birthday to you both!!
A few plans for the week:
Monday :: President’s Day
Tuesday :: Birthday Party and Errands
Friday :: Mass, Little Flowers and Father coming over for Dinner
Saturday :: Baseball Evaluations
A Picture thought I am sharing:
Oh, that last picture is beautiful! +JMJ+
I always love your daybook, but todays especially touched me. The Cure' of Ars quote was something I needed to read.
Dear, Jessica, we will continue to pray for your father in-law.
just stopping in to say "hello" and as always I love hearing what other mommies are doing!
Hi Jessica!!
We (tried) made the "chairs" today. Thank you for the great idea! We had fun.
Also, I ran the Nun Run last year in Florida. I believe it is the same Nun run for the nuns in Arizona? I want to encourage you! It was great fun and for a good cause.
Take Care!
Kirsten
Nice work with the Feast Day Plans and Celebrations! I'll be checking in often! =)
Hey…maybe you could drop by my blog to see our latest themed birthday party (last weekend)…especially if you have any boy-knights!
I love your blog and you inspire me greatly! Thank you for sharing your homeschooling life with us. I get so many ideas from you. For our LF "Patience" project, we painted terracota flower pots, wrote "Patience" on the pot, and then had the seed packets go home with the girls to plant….from seed to flower requires "patience"….
I love the Cure of Ars quote….wow!
Glad the book arrived and is waiting in your to be read pile! I was beginning to think I'd never leave my driveway with all the snow to mail it.
Patience? For you Little Flowers group have you thought of doing a Mary Garden activity? Waiting for flowers takes a LOT of patience!
Always love your pictures and your blog blesses my day – even the not so great ones.
I will add your fil to my prayers – praying for my friend, Vicki, In New Zealand – haven't heard from her since the earthquake.
Thank you all for the comments, as well as LF craft suggestions! It is always so nice to hear from you all!
Kirsten ~ I signed up!! It will be a first for me – I signed up for the 5k Run/Walk – so hopefully it doesn't kill me! 😉
Donna ~ Thank you so much!! I am really looking forward to reading your book. It looks great! I will say a prayer for your friend, Vicki. I don't generally check the news (we only have the internet) and your comment was the first I had heard of the earthquake. We will be praying. . .
I love that quote from the Cure of Ars.
How does your husband manage to fit in reading and eating at dinnertime? Does he read every evening? That's such a nice routine to have.
Katie
Katie ~ We usually all sit down for dinner and say prayers. Then my husband will read either the short saint story for the day or a chapter from our current book, while the children and I start eating. (We just finished St. Therese and now we are reading a book about Blessed Miguel Pro.) It generally only takes him about 5 minutes or so to read a chapter. And yes, he usually does read a little bit every night, unless we have company for dinner. It is a nice routine. 🙂
Jessica,
I love reading your daybooks. Thanks for sharing too about your husband reading aloud at dinner. What a blessing for your family!
The Cure de Ars quote is thought provoking for sure – love it!
I was wondering about TT for math. Didn't you use RS Math before switching? Did you switch mainly for the time factor? What are you using for the younger ones? I like the RS program, but having a hard time imagining individual lessons for all my kids (only 3 schooling right now, but we have 6 like you, roughly the same ages but about a year behind you).
Hope your week is blessed!
Karina ~ Yes, I was using Right Start before switching to TT. I loved RS, I just couldn't keep up with it… I wasn't being able to combine levels anymore, and teaching RS to 4 different children, with everything else, was just too much. My oldest two boys are doing TT (Grades 3 & 4) and the girls are doing Saxon's Math 1 Workbook and MCP Math K, since I already had them on my shelves. My oldest still struggles with memorizing his multiplication facts (due to his dyslexia) but I think he would have that problem regaurdless of which program we are using and both boys really enjoy TT. In fact, quite often they have their Math lessons completed before breakfast without me even needing to ask them to get started. 🙂