Outside my window…
it is still looking like a campground! The kids have all been having such a fun time camping in the backyard this week. We all slept out in the tent on Saturday night, which made me realize that I am now way too old to sleep on the ground… especially with a nursing baby. Ouch! I am still sore!
I am thinking…
about this morning’s (or I guess I should now say yesterday’s since it is after midnight) doctors appointment. I still don’t have an answer to what is causing my liver to be inflamed, and I will be going to see a specialist soon. I guess now they want to test for some autoimmune disorders. Don’t they know that I don’t have time for all of this? 😉
I am thankful…
that “when God closes a door, He opens a window!” I was recently reminded of that by my Dad’s cousin, after posting on facebook a few weeks ago that I had just found out that the great teacher we had coming to our home once a week this past year (as part of the homeschool charter school we were using) won’t be returning. I also said that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to stay enrolled without her and that I had some decisions to make… Well, within minutes of that reminder, I received an email from a friend letting me know that she had just been hired by our charter school as the department head for Math and Science and that perhaps she could be assigned to our family! I couldn’t have hand-picked a better person to help teach my children!! Not only is she incredibly smart and doing an amazing job of home educating her own children, she is Catholic, and also happens to be one of my Little Flower moms! (And she also reads my blog… Hi Kathleen!) This past Thursday I stopped by the school, and it’s official. She will be our new ES for this coming year. My husband is just as excited as I am, and we feel so very blessed. (Even though we will still dearly miss Cynthia!)
Learning all the time…
I just finished ordering most of our schoolbooks for this coming school year! I still need to make a few decisions for Snuggles, who will be starting Kindergarten, but other than that I am really happy with our plans. The four oldest also participated in their very first online class this past Thursday, learning all about Prizes and Penalties: The Ancient Olympics. It was the perfect way to kick off their Summer Olympics Unit Study! (Thanks for the suggestion, Charlotte!)
Celebrating the liturgical year…
today is the feast of St. James and the memorial of St. Christopher! I have some fun Transportation Themed Snacks, in honor of St. Christopher, patron of travelers, planned for the kids, which we will enjoy while reading The Legend of St. Christopher. Hubby is also planning to make a “Spanish Dinner” in honor of St. James, patron of Spain. I organized a much needed Mom’s Night Out at a local restaurant, but I should be home in time to make the Coupe St. Jacques for dessert. Then, tomorrow, we have the feast of St. Anne, who is one of my patron saints! I’m still trying to decide what I am going to make, but I’m leaning towards some sort of “dessert” with lots of red and green fruits (strawberries, raspberries, grapes, kiwis, etc) representing the colors she is traditionally shown wearing – red for Divine Love and green for immortality. It might be fun to create a whole dinner in red & green! Spaghetti (julienned zucchini for me) and Red Sauce, Garden Fresh Basil and Cherry Tomatoes, Green Salad, and maybe even some sparkling grape juices. Yum!
From the kitchen…
special meals in honor of the saints, as usual!
I am creating…
a list of ideas for Twinkle Toes’ birthday next month… She’s up next, and has requested a “Camp” themed birthday. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?
I am working on…
improving my health. I haven’t been exercising this past week, but I have been eating extra well and taking my supplements. I plan to get back on the treadmill soon today!
I am going…
to try and post a few more pictures from Captain’s birthday party in a {pretty, happy, funny, real} post, but just in case I don’t, here is one more that proves that Rose was indeed at the party! 🙂 I hadn’t realized that I didn’t include a picture of her in my original post. I just wasn’t able to get her to take a nap the day of the party and, sure enough, she fell asleep while eating her dinner and the slept right through the whole party! (Pictured from left to right: my brother Brian with Bud, my brother David with Rose, and my sister-in-law and niece)
I am hoping…
that Bud’s 2nd tooth breaks through soon. It is so close! The poor little guy has been miserable lately!
I am reading…
a new blog, after seeing Charlotte’s link. After just clicking over to get the links for this post, I laughed at Barbara’s comment… I too have recently “threatened” my children with giving away half (or more!) of what we own. I’m not sure I could go that far, but I sure wouldn’t mind some extra inspiration!
I am praying…
for Sam and her little Steven Thomas.
Pondering these words…
from an article I read weeks ago on “The Busy Trap”, after a friend emailed me the link. It has been on my mind since, and I have been re-evaluating all of our extracurricular activities for this coming year. Click on over and read the whole article… I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I am listening…
to the baby swing rock back and forth, the air conditioner, and one of my little ones coughing in their bed. I just gave him some cough syrup. It sounds like we have another virus making it’s way through our family. That always seems to happen after I take my kids to the doctors office for their annual well child checkups… sigh.
Around the house…
lots and lots of laundry. How does it pile up so quickly?
One of my favorite things…
the sacrament of Confession! We all went on Saturday evening, stayed for Mass, and then went out to dinner. It was great!!
A few plans for this week…
- Followup visit with my Doctor
- Mail a couple packages to friends
- Celebrate the feasts of St. James, St. Christopher, and St. Anne
- Mom’s Night Out
- Mass on Friday
- Opening Night of the Summer Olympics
A little peek at my day…
Beautiful pictures !!!
bisous de FRANCE
J+M+J
I have never left a comment before, but have been following your blog for quite awhile. 🙂 In your day book you mentioned that your liver was inflamed. I just felt the urge to share with you Beet Kvass can work wonders on your liver. I have seen results within my own family. I found a link online with a recipe from the cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. http://thenourishingcook.com/how-to-make-fermented-beet-kvass/ I hope this helps! You will be in my prayers. Thanks so much for all of your inspiring posts!
God Bless,
Ivy Caito
Jessica I have been praying for you! I read the article, I think idleness should be replaced with leisure. The ultimate form of leisure is our mass…worship of God on Sunday. He doesn't mention keeping Sunday as the great antidote for the busy life. I WILL however be careful not to answer that I'm "so busy" he does have a good point there. Makes me think of St Teresa of Avila how she was so preoccupied with being busy with doing huge works for the Church and she was waiting for Jesus to speak to her. He did. He said…Enjoy Me. So simple!!!!
I completely agree! The article is very definitely secular, but it really made me think about how many times I respond with how "crazy busy" we are… and yet it is completely in my power to change that. (i.e. cut back on sports, organizing clubs/parties for the kids, etc.) I really want to get back to where I had more time to go to daily Mass with the kids and still be able to get everything done at home, despite the time spent driving (we live a ways from town). I guess I just want to simplify things and re-focus on what is really important. Lately it has started feeling like we are constantly running from one thing to the next… Does that make any sense?
Interesting! I have been meaning to purchase a copy of Nourishing Traditions… Thanks for sharing the link, I'll be sure to check it out! And thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂 God bless!
Jessica, I completely understand. I feel like all I am ever saying is, "C'mon, we've got to go!" I realized the irony one day that I am a stay at home mom who homeschools yet I feel like I am never home. We actually skipped VBS this year simply because I was waking up in the middle of the night in a panic of how I was going to fit everything in—and it is summer!!! I decided that I have to simplify and am really thinking hard about activities and commitments for next year. My kids have come up with such creative play this summer, because I actually gave them time to just be. It was so refreshing.
I am praying for you, and hoping that you are feeling better.
I have enjoyed your blog for some time now. My daughter will be five next month and she too wants a camping theme party. Should be fun!
Hi Jessica! I have loved your blog for years..:):) I just love you and your precious family.
Could you tell me more about your home school charter school. How did you find it and is it like virtual school-where your public school system pay for it?
thank you
Last year was the first year we had ever used a charter school, and before that I had never even considered it an option… I hadn't even been looking, when both a friend and my mom told me that there was a new homeschool charter opening up in our little town. My husband and I saw it as an answer to our prayers… With another new baby on the way, and 4-5 children in "school", I had really wanted to look into a tutor to help out one day a week, but financially it is just wasn't a possibility. By enrolling in the charter I was able to have a teacher come to the house for 4 hours a week "to help make my job a little easier" plus an allowance to use towards the children's education! (It is funded through the public school system, which we pay taxes for anyways, and I am still able to choose all of my own curriculum.) Since I had most of our non-consumables already last year, I used our allowance on some of our various consumables, supplies, field trips, hockey and piano lessons – things that we would not have been able to afford otherwise. Even though we are "enrolled" in the school, I am still completely in charge of my children's education, and responsible for teaching them, as I always have. For us, the charter school has been a blessing, despite the few minor challenges (i.e. some extra testing, lots of paperwork, not being able to use the allotment for religious materials, etc). I don't feel like I need the help staying on track as badly this coming year (as I did last year with the new baby) but the help with our book purchases is a HUGE blessing (my husband hasn't had the OT he use to) and now that we have another great teacher (she will be so awesome to have tutor in Math, especially!) I think it's still an answer to our prayers! 🙂
We skipped VBS this year for the very same reason. Even the kids were happy to be staying home! They have had so much fun this week camping in the yard, building forts, helping in the kitchen, and creating all sorts of things. I love it!
Thank you for the prayers! I really appreciate them!
Thanks so much Jessica:) Is there a website I could look at to look into something like that in my area? I still feel a little lost trying to find one.
Thank you Jessica and everyone for your prayers! Update- First the good news…Steven is alive with a strong heartbeat!
I just came back from the doctors and the other news isn't too great.
My water is not replenishing and the little guy has no fluid…today's MIRACLE is for me to reseal which only God can heal! THY WILL BE DONE!!!
Oh, Sam! All of our prayers and sacrifices will be for you today! Praying for a Miracle!
Not that I know of… There are so many types of charter schools (I was only interested in a home based charter which allowed us to still choose our curriculum, and only if we were assigned an ES/tutor I trusted), but perhaps you can call your school district and see if they know of any in your area?
I did some searching and just found this website listing all the charters in each state: http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/select/year/2012
(Remember all charters are different. A friend of mine has her kids in a onsite Montessori charter school, for example. And I know some of the other charters in our area have set curriculums, or onsite only classes.)
Thanks so much for taking the time to help me jessica. You and your family are in my prayers+JMJ+ I don't know what i would have done all these years without your blog!