Baby Steps for You, O Lord!

Every year I look forward to Lent. More than any other time of year, this is the season to yearn and strive and crave to be near to our Lord.

But Lent also usually makes me nervous. What should I give up? How can I make Lent really meaningful, and not just a sort of diet? What if I can't stay the course with my sacrifices? And what about these sacrifices, anyway...when I was Protestant, I didn't really give up anything, and it's still hard for me to get my head around what it's all about.

But this year, I'm feeling ready. Lent is a time to separate ourselves from the world, and sacrificing some of our worldly attachments helps us to realize that we are not, as the saying goes, human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience. It is a time when we embrace sacrifice in solidarity with our fellow men who suffer from human needs greater than ours--indeed, greater than we can even imagine. And our puny little sacrifices are even, in a holy and mystical way, united with the eternal sacrifice of our Lord.

And the Lord, in His most amazingly infinite goodness, uses our sacrifices and self-denials to bestow us with blessings. Really, truly--blessings we can only imagine. Actually, the Holy Father fully explains it here much better than I can, of course. Here's an excerpt:

The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. ... Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God.

So this year, without hesitation, I'm giving up the hardest physical thing for me: Diet Coke. Don't laugh--I'm serious! I even told the kids, so I really can't cheat. Looks like we're also going vegetarian as a family for Lent, too, since Bill's giving up meat. That should be pretty good.

I am also giving up candy, chocolate, and...here's the kicker... "recreational computer use." That's right, friends: I'm giving up blogging. It's nothin' but minimal email for me, until Easter. My new laptop has definitely been MUCH too much of a connection with The World, and one from which I really must separate myself for a while! So it's off to the desert for me...I'll keep up with putting up homeschool posts--and OF COURSE MPD's first birthday which is fast approaching now--but I'm thinking to actually publish the posts after Easter.

In addition to sacrificing these worldly attachments, I've been saving some special books for me and for the kids for Lent--I'll put them on our bookshelf over on the sidebar if you want to take a look. Also, for pragmatic as well as very spiritual reasons, I'm planning a home organization-fest and spring cleaning for Lent..."getting the house ready for Easter," as I told the kids. I'm also planning to make weekly Confessions during Lent (usually I go about once a month), just because I (greedily) want the blessings that I know will ensue!

See you at Easter, and may you have a very blessed Lenten season!

Homeschool Speedbump

...or maybe Homeschool Sabbatical, I'm not sure yet. As you may recall, for several weeks now I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed. There is a little Catholic school within reasonable driving distance of our house--sometimes we go over there for Mass, when we feel like it. I haven't been able to get this little school out of my mind, so finally I just called them up and last week the kids and I went for a tour.

We all liked it. A lot. And it turns out that they are on a trimester schedule and would welcome us (meaning the kids, not me!) for the last third of the school year, which starts March 9.

We haven't decided for sure--I actually have a little meeting scheduled tomorrow with a very wise priest who can help me sort this out--but it is certainly looking like the three oldest kids will be going to school for the next 12 weeks. The thing is, I do believe this is God's will, for now, and I really have that peace about it. I'm hoping Fr. will help me to be sure of this tomorrow.

I am only thinking of this as a break, and we'll be back to homeschooling in the fall. "Like going to day camp," I told the kids, and I was honest about my plans with the school, too.

I'm only a teeny bit afraid that this is a colossal mistake. Actually, surprisingly, I think it's kinda perfect. This is good for each of them, each for his/her own reason, and it's very good for me, for many reasons. It will be good for JPD and MPD, and probably best of all for my dear Bill, who needs more of my energy than he's been getting.

If you find this shocking, well, so do I. I'm not one to make rash decisions like this. But I guess I can do it when necessary! I do love homeschooling so and I will miss having everyone home so much! I really just need to breathe, just for a while, if that makes sense. I'm most looking forward to taking the baby for long walks in the stroller this spring, just the two of us. I have always done that with every child, and I do love it, and I desperately need the exercise, and long stroller walks have been an impossibility while homeschooling. I am also looking forward to a massive spring cleaning and organization for our home, which is sorely in need of it.

Of course I'm scared that we will all like this school so much that we will want to continue there. I'm also scared that only some of us will like it, so that there will be a lack of consensus about whether to homeschool again--ugh. But I'm hoping that it will make us all realize that although school is nice, we miss homeschooling and will more fully appreciate the wonderful opportunity it gives us to be together all day every day!

I can always hope, right?!

Thy Will Be Done!!!

Just Thinkin'

Lately JPD has developed a frequent custom of pacing along the border of the rectangular oriental rug in our foyer.  He does this for long periods at a time, quietly, looking at his feet.

"JPD," asks his mom, "what are you doing there?"

"I'm having a Think," says JPD.

"Oh, a Think," says Mom.  "What about?"

"About Superman flying around the world and if he could turn into the Magic School Bus."  Or something like that. 

It's similar, but different, each time; he's imagining some                 story full of action, drama, and, usually, science. 

Oh, to be four years old again!  JPD is so full of curiosity and imagination! 

"Can I have a kiss?" says Mom.

"Sure," says JPD, and plants one on me.  "Now, Mom, I have to finish my Think."

The Countdown to Lent Continues...

"What I do is live. How I pray is breathe."

~ Thomas Merton

Our Top Ten Favorite Things About Babies

The kids and I have come up with our ten favorite things about babies.  Here's what we love:

10) How they look when they're asleep (LOVE those little fists!);

9)  Baby talk/baby noises;

8)  How they fit so perfectly in the crook of your elbow and how it is SO cozy when you're falling asleep with them (not the perfect picture for this, but such a cute one I had to put it in);

7)  Their chubby cheeks; 

 

6)  Their soft round head and fuzzy hair (we have mostly baldy babies around here!);

 

5)  Their pudgy arms;

4)  Their baby feet, and especially how they hold their little feet straight out at a 90 degree angle when they're sitting in their high chair (this yummy picture gives a good shot of #5 and #2 also!);     

3)  Baby laughs;

2)  Their soft baby tummy;

and what I think is my absolute favorite thing about babies, although it is so hard to rank all these wonderful favorites...

1)  Baby LEGS!

MPD, we love you so!!

Now she's a budding Picasso

Here's MRD's entry for the American Girl anti-bullying poster contest:

From Mother Teresa

I am nothing. He is all.
I do nothing of my own. He does it.
I am God's pencil.
A tiny bit of pencil with which He writes what He likes.
God writes through us,
and however imperfect instruments we may be,
He writes beautifully.

"The Mythology of Overpopulation"

Wouldn't you know it, just when I've been thinking about overpopulation, and how sad it is that some people think there could possibly be such a thing as too many precious human souls, George Weigel comes to my rescue. He's a genius.

Here's some good info from his recent article on how, in fact, our future global problem is actually underpopulation (a long quote, but so full of good stuff that I found it hard to find bits to leave out!):

In the 1980s, the median age was 34 in western Europe and 35 in Japan. Absent an unanticipated and dramatic change in birth rates, the median age in western Europe in 2020 will be 47 and in Japan, 52.

In the 2020s, half the adult populations of Italy, Spain, and Japan will be above the official retirement age.

By 2030, China will be an older country than the U.S. 'Imagine Chinese workforce growth slowing to zero while tens of millions of elders sink into indigence without pensions, without health care, and without children to support them. China could careen toward social collapse--or, in reaction, toward an authoritarian clampdown.'...

Russia will almost certainly be in demographic free fall by 2050, if not sooner...Forty years out, Russia will have fallen in the world population tables from fourth place (in 1950) to 20th place.

Ever since the 1968 publication of Paul Ehrlich's intellectually fraudulent bestseller, The Population Bomb, enlightened opinion has held that "overpopulation" is the problem. It isn't, and never was. Now, thanks in part to the triumph of a contraceptive mentality in societies that have lost any religious sense of obligation toward the future, the grim truth is revealing itself: the problem is too few people.

Of course, there was always something instinctively counterintuitive about the anti-natalist cast of mind, which thinks of a newborn calf as a "resource" or an "asset" and a newborn child as a "burden" or "problem." [Hmm...Does this remind you of anyone...like our new president?] Now that implausibility turns out to have, not only the gravest moral consequences, but the most severe economic, social, and political results.

Yet the mythology of overpopulation is so deeply embedded in American elite opinion that even realistic observers...can still write that contemporary sub-Saharan Africa is "afflicted" with "the world's highest fertility rates." No, sub-Saharan Africa is "afflicted" with vast governmental corruption and ineptitude, ethnic and tribal madnesses, jihadism, and diseases ancient and modern. But it is not "afflicted" with people.

The false idea of "overpopulation" has helped make it very likely that our children and grandchildren will live in a far less stable world than ours--which has not exactly been placid.

So there. By having big families, we're just unselfishly doing our part to ensure that there is a next generation around at all!

Cheesy Science

This week we learned that while minerals consist of one, pure substance, rocks combine more than one ingredient. Who knew geology could be so tasty?

Happy Birthday JPD -- at Preschool

JPD shared a special paint-with-water set as his birthday treat to each of his preschool friends. Since they're studying rainforests, and the painting was Diego with a bunch of rainforest animals, it worked out great! I planned this, of course (yeah, right...).
We love JPD's sweet little preschool!

Preparing for Lent

"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing."

~ St. John of the Cross

The Family Chef

Today MRD made dinner for us from her new American Girl cookbook. She made slow-cooker ham and potatoes--a huge hit. Thanks, MRD!

Eagle Watching

Friday we took a field trip with Grandma out to an area along the Wisconsin River where bald eagles spend the winter. We saw several eagles in the wild, which was great! They spend most of their time snuggled into their roosting spots, conserving energy for the cold. although it was hard to get a good photo, we got a good view of this one, who was quite near the road.

Look Who Else Had a Big Day Yesterday...

MPD is 11 months old!!

Happy Birthday JPD!!!

I can't believe you are no longer my sweet 3 year old!!
Now we'll have to call you Fantastic 4...


We all went to Chuck-E-Cheese's for our traditional JPD family birthday dinner..."where a kid can be a kid," as he says. :)

He is very proud of being 4, but would not acknowledge that it actually really was his birthday until after he blew out his candles at Chuck-E-Cheese's.

Celebrating St. Valentinus!

Valentine was a physician in 3rd century Rome. He was also a Christian priest, administering the sacraments in secret during the times of Christian persecution under Emperor Claudius II Gothicus.

One day a jailer from the emperor's prison appeared at Valentine's door with his small child, a girl who was blind. Knowing the difficulty of curing blindness, Valentine vowed to do his best, and over the weeks of treatment and prayer the three became fast friends. But even his friendship with the jailer could not save Valentine when the Roman soldiers came to imprison him.

Valentine was martyred on February 14, 270, and in 496, Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as the feast day of St. Valentine. On the day of Valentine's martyrdom, the jailer's little girl was able to see for the first time--and her first sight was of a crocus, which is the traditional flower of St. Valentine.

Small Successes Thursday

Okay, so I have to confess that knowing I had to write this post actually made me get #3 done this week! That's a good thing, right? Here they are...

1) I had a great week w/lots of JPD time, reading to just him before bed and other things. He's such a sweetie! I even did a "Music Together" class at home just for JPD and MPD (MRD helped--KLD and WWD were out at activities) with our CD and instruments. They loved it! We should do that more often...

2) When faced with an extreme bout of irrational whining, sobbing, and hypersensitivity to sibling problems by one of my darling children (who shall, of course, remain nameless), I responded with patience and kindness rather than frustration and anger. It worked. Even though I'm a slow learner, hopefully I'll remember that for next time!

3) I changed several random light bulbs in our home that have needed changing, in one case, for more than a year. (Actually that particular one was waaaaay more than a year!) I also went outside and pulled the last of our Christmas lights down. For that I should add a disclaimer for those of you from Texas: up here in the frozen arctic north, it's perfectly acceptable to get the lights down around Valentine's Day, or even St. Pat's. They were actually frozen to the tree until this week's unseasonable warm snap.

That's all, folks! See ya next week, for Small Success Thursday! :)

Journey to the Center of the Earth

I promise, in our homeschool we do plenty of workbooks--spelling, math, grammar, you name it. But science always seems to give the best photo ops!

Today we learned about the composition of the inside of the earth by making individual pizzas with different ingredients for the inner core, outer core, mantle, and, uh--crust.

I am Horrified

...by this article from The New York Times. The article itself is merely annoying; it's the comments following the article that are enough to make you doubt whether there is, in fact, any intelligent life on our planet. (You gotta read these comments; otherwise you wouldn't possibly understand why I am so very MAD.)

Apparently some people out there don't approve of big families--defined as more than the two kids required to replace the two parents. I know, I know..."WHAT?" It's the zero population growth nonsense, this idea that there will just be too many people on the planet and we must take unnatural measures to prevent more births. Somehow this will finally enable the end of poverty and, probably, global warming, or something. And there's even the accusation that having more than one's allotment of children is...get this...selfish!?!

Well, trust me, having a handful of kids doesn't feel selfish. I must say that the idea of having lots of kids as something selfish has truly never occurred to me. Quite the opposite--to me, the opposite path seems a bit selfish, but I'm not one to assume I know the whole story behind anyone's family size or composition. That being said, I must also say that it seems to me that many people who choose not to have a large family mostly do so because of the--well, unglamorous lifestyle associated with traipsing around with a nursing baby and a handful of wee ones. It's hard to drop everything and fly off somewhere cool for the weekend. It's hard to afford fancy vacations. It's hard to drive a BMW--they just don't make 'em big enough, even if you could afford it! It's hard to find time to exercise and go for mani-pedis. You never get enough sleep. You eat too much pizza, and far too little pate de fois gras. There are certainly far, far too few tropical drinks associated with the large-family lifestyle.

Obviously, in my family we think the tradeoffs are worth it, to say the least. (And I must note that we have no plans or expectations for the U.S. government to support our basic needs any time soon--unless you count, say, homeland security. We're cheerfully paying taxes for schools we don't use, as a matter of fact. As for people who have more kids than they can afford, well, I'm not one to tell others how big their family should be, see?) For me, having more than two children isn't about being selfish. It's about being called--no kidding--to participate in the miracle of creation.

See, these little people are precious, unique, eternal human souls. To suggest that we should limit the numbers of souls in future generations surely requires a fundamental misjudgment of the value of human life. "How can there be too many children?" said Mother Teresa, "That is like saying there are too many flowers." We should love them all--biological, adopted, orphaned, hungry, every color of the rainbow--all.

Overpopulation is not the problem. Didn't I read recently and write in this very blog about the fact that Americans spend more each year on pet food than would be needed to feed everyone starving in Africa? We've got, like, 5% of the world's population consuming around 30% of the world's resources, here. If we stop the madness of American consumerism and materialism, it would go a long way towards ensuring sufficient resources and opportunities for all the precious little eternal beings.

C.S. Lewis says something on this that always sticks in my mind: Your neighbor is the closest thing you will ever encounter in this life to Eternity. People are not animals, to be counted and fed and controlled and euthanized. People are much closer to angels. In fact, people are much more precious than angels, as evidenced by the fact that our Creator actually became human.

I would love to hear from some of you on this. Am I missing something, here? Is the big family a luxury from a bygone agrarian society? Is it actually selfish to give birth to one's own biological children instead of driving the Prius over to get a couple from the adoption agency, because that's somehow nobler than going through pregnancy and childbirth? Is it actually admirable to artificially, unnaturally inhibit one's own fertility? Am I just blinded by religious fanaticism or something?

These lunatic New York Times commenters have gotten me just fit to be tied.

Our Budding Author Strikes Again

Time for another American Girl story contest submission!

Here's a very sweet story by MRD. The requirements were an autumn setting (for publication next fall) and the title: "A Dress Disaster."

This precious little story is enough to bring tears to her mom's eyes, for sure!

So does this mean it's too late for me to go back to work?

Just one question: What's an exabyte??

On Doing It All

We read in the Acts of the Apostles that when Saint Paul and his fellow-laborers had traveled through certain countries they made up their minds to go further, and preach the Gospel in Asia... 'and when they had passed through Phrygia and the country of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.'

St. Paul was eager to spread the name of Christ everywhere, and just as he was on the threshold of a new country he was stopped by the Holy Spirit himself, telling him not to go that way, that way was not for him.

Not every man is expected to do all things. Paul is not to preach in Asia; however holy a work that might be, it is forbidden to him. You might say: were there no souls there waiting for the Gospel? That is not the concern of the individual. The concern of the individual is to know what the Holy Spirit asks of him, and, whether it be in a higher or a lower plane, to do that thing with all his might.

~ Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B.

Lord, Thy Will Be Done! Make Your priorities my priorities!! +JMJ+

So This is What Homeschool P.E. Class Looks Like

Yesterday, JPD went to his first ski class. Of course, he had a great time! It was supposedly a really freezing day--single digit temps, below zero windchills and all that--but at the base of the hill, with the sun shining, we couldn't have been better. Even MPD wanted to get in on the action. And it turns out they have an amazing price deal for homeschool skiers too!! Life is good! :)

Small Successes Thursday

To tell you the truth, some of the successes I had this week would actually fit into the "big" category. Our homeschool really rocked; I am so pleased! And as I suspected, it is all about Mom just getting up really early. But that's another story; here are my small successes:

1. Each night this week, I set the breakfast table before going to bed.

2. We were on time to everything this week. Everything. (Come to think of it, that may actually be a big success also...)

3. I made real live actual food for our dinners every night this week--no restaurants, nothing from a box. Frozen, steam-in-bag vegetables do count as real food in my house, though!

New Physics Discovery

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalysed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Hooray Miss K!!!

Today KLD finished reading all the books in her phonics reading program! It's been a long, tough road, and I am so proud of her!! Congratulations my little reader!

New Month's Resolution

Well, I kind of missed my annual New Year's organization and strategic planning thing this year, with our trip to Texas smack dab over New Year's. I think I'm finally coming up for air after the trip and getting back into school, and I've had a teeny little chance to reflect. (Bill, if you're reading this, DO NOT ask me if I've missed the annual organization project for the past, like, 20 years!)

Our schedule is going really well, with a few tweaks now that we're several weeks into it. The thing is to actually be able to do it, though, without any extracurricular interruptions (doctor appointments, outings with Grandma, miscellaneous field trips, etc.).

I also realized that for the first time ever, I am finally homeschooling while not pregnant or caring for a young infant (a nursing almost-toddler infant, yes, but still). This is HUGE, of course!! No wonder we've been getting so much done!

But...I'm not happy. Winter doldrums, or whatever, I am just so freaking frustrated that I am eternally buried in piles of to-do's, both literally and figuratively (you should see my dining room table, and no, I'm not posting a picture of it!). Seriously! Keeping this crew fed, keeping their clothing clean and where it belongs, keeping my chin above the piles of mail and paperwork that find their way into our home, and keeping a path from room to room in which we can actually walk without tripping on toys (okay, so it's not quite that bad...yet...) is just...well, to put it in my old lingo, it's more than one FTE can handle (FTE=full-time equivalent, for those of you not fluent in project-speak--that means ME)! And that's not to mention homeschooling everyone to a level enabling each of them to earn a spot at Princeton, of course (JPD really needs to get with it on those practice SATs, doncha think?). And--oh, yeah--exercise and nutrition for myself, so I can be around to see some Grandkids in my golden age. I'm starting to think I'm never, ever, in my whole life, going to feel like I'm actually on top of my game in more than one area of my life at a time.

So my "New Month Resolution" is to get my act together and be more amazing, I suppose. Is it really all about waking up a couple of hours before everyone else in the family? I'm afraid so. But also, of course, it's that whole loaves and fishes thing...the more I return "my" time to the Lord (after all, it's really His in the first place), the more He multiplies it and the more fruitful I become.

Regarding 1 Corinthians 7:32-35...
Saint Paul questions our focus. Is it our everyday relationships and responsibilities, or is it Christ? To focus on Christ is not to neglect the everyday but to see it in right proportion. This insight frees us from undue anxiety about what is of lesser importance. Anxiety is one of the contemporary demons driven out by listening attentively to Christ's words of power.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 4:4-7

Lord, help me to turn my focus away from things of this world that pass away, and to keep my eyes on You, my God!

Follow-up: Well will you look at this! Oh, thank you, wise homeschooling veteran! Apparently this is just a normal homeschooling phase I'm having here. So I guess this means I should drop the plans to stick them in Catholic school for a month so I can clean the house?