Pinewood Castle

Thankful Good Friday

Yes, it's Good Friday, not Thursday. Since there will be no time to prepare for school this weekend I am at the computer to update and print the plans for next week. Now that I am here I am remembering all the other things I need to do like: send an email reminder about the next buying club order date, print the next lapbook for my 2nd grader (Things I See in Church), write my Thankful Thursday post. Oops - I forgot or didn't have time to write my Thankful Thursday Post!

A quick week in review might do?

Today we accomplished a half day of school and dashed off to the Cities for the 2:00-4:00 Good Friday service. It took an hour and a half to get home with the weekend rush and the rain. We ate dinner by candlelight and put our paper Jesus in the paper tomb. With as little electric light as possible we cleaned up, prayed and got the kids to bed. Thursday we made the Sweet Unleavened Bread I found on Melissa's blog. All it need this morning was a piped icing cross and it doubled nicely as Hot Cross Buns. Tomorrow after cleaning the Easter decorations will come out, eggs will be dyed, the lamb cake made and the leg of lamb marinated. If all goes well I will get back to the Cities for the vigil with one or two children, though it might depend on the weather and the price of gas.

I am combining some ideas for an egg tree - we are going to use the Garden of the Good Shepherd sticker calendar again, this year with the menu Jessica and Charlotte jointly devised and generously shared. After seeing Melissa's egg tree (I got all kinds of ideas from her posts this year) I thought of putting the scripture verses that go with the Good Shepherd calendar in the eggs, (though surely everyone else has thought of this too and I am just behind on blog reading this lent). My 5th grader typed them up, cut them out, and both girls pitched in to string the eggs with ribbon and number the bottoms from 1-50. Now I just need to cut some lilac branches since a storm blew over our forsythia!

What else - it was a big week for music and culture. The kids loved the production of Annie we ventured in to see -

 

It took our minds off the weather that particular morning - isn't that a sad sight? The snow melted by noon and the daffodils did survive, thankfully.

 

The girls had their very first opportunity to present an oral report for the violin studio. These are the very first display boards I have ever had to buy as a mom.

 

 

Sunshine came up with the Handel puppet all on her own - he did the talking!

 

Both girls finished their 100 Day Practice Challenge -

 

And enjoyed their prizes -

 

 

Dino missed a day or two and had to start over. He'll get there.

Sunday we attended a Czech/Slovak festival. We enjoyed the music, food and dancing while learning a thing or two about their Czech heritage on the paternal side of the family. No photos of that I guess. Too busy holding the baby.

That's about it. Oh, except that I had the kids work independently this week so I could clean their rooms. Five trash bags, ten give-away bags, and lots of dusted dustbunnies later the rooms looked great, but I was exhausted, physically and emotionally. My kids are such pack rats and have trouble letting anything go. This purging required tough love but I am glad it's done after procrastinating so long. It feels good - all of us feel better. The best part is that my son made his bed this morning, neatly, without being reminded because he wants to keep his room looking nice!

So this week I am thankful for all of this and especially for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for love of us. Please pray for me and I will pray for you. This morning as I was putting some recipes in my spring notebook, I lamented (though I don't think I sighed - I really tried to give up sighing for lent, among other things), I lamented that I had not continued the cookbook project I started over a year ago. My son, hearing this said, "I get why you don't really like being a mom. It's a lot of hard work." Wow. I appreciate that he realizes that motherhood is hard work, but realize that I must not be pulling it off with joy and ease, in spite of prayer and all the mothering books and blogs I read. I still need lots of help. Heart help. God's love help.

Well, I really had better get next week's schedules done and get on with the Triduum. I wish you a happy and holy Easter!

Thankful Thursday

eating lunch on the sunny back steps

itsy bitsy spiders

chocolately faces

putting away snow pants and woolies

taking our babies for an afternoon walk

little bouts of the blues that are lifted

the springtime chorus of frogs coming from the ponds and marshes

feeling like a bear coming out of hibernation

French pressed coffee on the table every morning, lovingly made by my husband

the new sofa (and chair)

grand kids spending time with grandparents and great grandparents

 

a child's amazing capacity to memorize long poems like Paul Revere's Ride

baby's first time walking in the grass

family field trips after Sunday Mass

Catholic missionaries in Minnesota history whose stories are told in paintings hanging in the Governor's reception room

(Fr. Hennepin naming the these falls in the Mississippi River "St. Anthony". They were later used to power Minneapolis flour and lumber mills)

learning that our state motto is in French, not Latin: L’etoile du Nord (translation: “Star of the North”)

Family Life Today podcasts

these talks by Victoria Botkin

a refresher on how to be a cheerful servant (and how to encourage my children to help cheerfully too) in Large Family Logistics

 and this exquisite collection of Folk Songs of the British Isles arranged by Benjamin Britten and performed by vocalist Maria Jette and harpist Judith Kogan

Have a wonderful week filled with gratitude, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

fish stick fridays

new hoola hoops, clean and colorful

melting snow

the fifties - no. not the 1950's

first robin sighting!!!

returning geese

first bike ride of spring

daffodils forcing their way up through thawing earth

clean sheets

growing children

scrunchy preschool smiles

spring piano recitals

April Fool's Day tricks

babies who suddenly demand books be read to them

wide clear tape to repair ten year old board books

all-day princess, two or three days running

fields of deer as I drove home from choirboys at dusk

not hitting any deer as I drove home from choirboys at dusk

my above average Joe

my above average Joe who does the Costco shopping on his way home from work

children who are already hoping for another baby even though we are nowhere near ready for that yet

the first blossom

a spring that has finally arrived, even if little bursts of winter in April are to be expected

Thankful Thursday

for affordable Young People's Concerts

for directors of orchestra education who wisely include choreographed dance to Debussy's La Mer

for children who used good enough manners in a restaurant after the concert (even though they don't always use the best table manners at home) to garner a compliment from a little old lady at a nearby table who happened to be the founder of ECFE in Minnesota (Early Childhood Family Education)

for my husband who recognized that I was turning into a zombie with just a teacup of coffee and reinstated my big queen mug

for another opportunity to give a recital at the assisted living center, this time with two other students from the violin studio and for the talented Suzuki mom who can play all the piano accompaniment

that I finally finished my husband's scarf, just in time for spring

and that he let me buy five skeins of merino wool to get it long enough

for maple syruping days at the nature center

for one last trip to the nature center before they tear it down and build a new one

time with grandma & grandpa

for learning that egg-free cakes fall apart, to make the big decorated birthday cake with eggs for everyone else and serve egg-free cupcakes to the egg-free girl

for birthday packages from Oklahoma

for the opportunity to nurture another baby through the first year of life

for the smiles and tears and belly laughs this little boy brings to our family

Thankful Thursday

hearing Katie McMahon live after years of listening to her amazing celtic voice on CDs

perfectly ripe pears

40% off at Christopher & Banks and a new outfit to wear to the wedding

just a teacup of coffee being enough

celebrating the feasts of Saints Patrick and Joseph with friends

headaches that go away

a day of cold rain (Tuesday) instead of a blizzard

another eight inch blanket of snow (Wednesday)

a whole day at home since piano was cancelled

just a few dates being sweet enough for dessert

a new and zippy computer custom assembled by my techie husband

confirmation that red #40 is another tantrum-inducing ingredient for our 3yo

getting an appointment scheduled with an allergist

my thoughtful sister

inquisitive children

children who are in an unusually cheerful mood on a rainy day

viewing a hilarious and helpful DVD by Carol Barnier about allowing wider margins in life

the promise of summer and a new school year

so many wonderful curriculum options from which to choose

feeling like I am finally figuring out what to use and the confidence that I will have things finally figured out for the 4th child

baby's first steps (he keeps falling before I can get to the camera)

Thankful Thursday

Clean van interiors.

New watch batteries.

An unexpected copy of Life: Beautiful. I am not sure if this is a promo copy or if someone gifted me with a subscription, but it is appreciated none the less.

My new GHD. Vanity, I know. But it smoothes the new hairs growing in after so much post-partum hair loss.

A beautiful wedding invitation from my SIL.

Finding a sweet and affordable flower girl dress for the wedding.

Friends who think of us when selling their Hanna dresses.

My teething baby who can now whine, "Ma ma ma ma ma!"

Witnessing my children make loving sacrifices for one another.

For the one child in particular who has a bigger heart than the rest of us. None of us deserve her but God gave her to us anyway.

An unexpected afternoon off from group violin. I forgot how long, productive, and yet relaxing a weekday afternoon at home can be.

Having daddy along on our IMAX Hubble field trip. Outings are always more fun (and less stressful) with his help.

Looking through spring catalogs without the desire to purchase a single thing except needed children's clothing (but it's still fun to look).

55 degrees. Yes, FIFTY FIVE DEGREES!!!

St. Patrick's Day!

 

Thankful Thursday

Is it Thursday again? Already?

Lord Jesus, this week I am thankful for:

~ Periods of preparation. Not that we can force our own conversion just because it is Lent, but we can make use of all the known ways to foster a closer relationship with God. We can do our part and invite God to send the grace to do the rest.

~ Donut Sunday. After two years the parish included the 11:30 Mass attendees. What a treat to spend some fellowship time with other families indoors after Mass!

~ One last mint mocha decaf for a long, long, while.

~ That you didn't send us another foot of snow on Ash Wednesday so we could meet daddy for noon Mass.

~ Friends who trade off driving to choir boys and the one day of the week I do not have to leave the house for anything.

~ Little illnesses that disappear after a nap or a good night's sleep.

~ New carseats that you don't have to remove and re-thread the straps to adjust the shoulder height.

~ Children old enough to make their own snowmen - whole family of them!

~ Handmade spinning tops made by my mother's cousin. They are perfectly shaped, balanced and are little wonders. I wish I could remain so perfectly balanced and steady while my world spins around me.

~ Standing babies!

Thankful Thursday

It's that time of year again - everyone is doing their planning for next school year, ordering books and curriculum and running out of bookshelf space. Our little home school here at Pinewood Castle is no different. Because the shelves were getting crammed and too many little things are now within the baby's reach I am sure you can understand my appreciation for another tall bookshelf (our 4th) in our little learning room.

My dear husband put other extra expenses on hold, took the seats out of the van and drove to IKEA on his lunch hour for another Billy bookcase.  And get this - he even vacuumed the van before putting the seats back in, God bless him!

Grateful as I am for the new addition, I did give serious consideration to re-purposing the shelf as a baby play pen - 

But my little daddy's boy was brimming with excitement over the prospect of helping daddy build the new bookshelf. He made my husband promise not to put it together without him. So I let the guys have at the assembly project  and now my classroom is good to go - for at least another year!

Thankful Thursday

For the girls' dance class and their last recital of the year!

Thankful Thursday

For Book Club - a night out with good friends, good food and drink, and discussions that keep us up past our bedtime!