Our Advent Mantel

Cool Creation

Alex's new Kapla Blocks creation... with youtube as a source of inspiration.

Could it Be?!

Could it be? Could it be? that we have finally found a good rhythm to our school day. Could it be? that the adjustment period has finished? Could it be that we are going to settle into a comfortable routine? Do I dare hope? Do I dare believe it? I am not sure, but we have had a good week; and without further analyzing, I am going to settle and enjoy it. Next week will let me now if this was just a fluke. In the mean time I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Almost Jealous

Last night we ate dinner around the computer listening to Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. We missed it the night before. It was an odd sight. We crowded around our Imac eating black bean quesadillas and listening to her. I have never payed much attention to politics. Heck!I can't even vote.But there is something in her that kept our attention. Even the kids sat there listening. I don't know what caught their attention. It could've been that she is a woman. It could've been that she is pretty. Maybe it was how natural and unaffected her delivery was. Maybe all of these but I think what really made them pay attention, I suspect, is their father's enthusiastic response.

Never,never ever, have I seen Mark being so excited about a politician. He is completely taken by her. I won't attempt here to go into why he likes her but let me say something, by the end of the speech, I was almost jealous!

I Was all Ready

I really was. Mostly. I was all set and ready to go with our school year. We had our firs day of Classical Conversations. We had one normal day of school after that and then Gustav started to loom in the horizon. I was asked to head the "Evacuee Relocation Committee" for our community and all normality went away. Time was spent with phone calls and emails. Then there was the Labor Day picnic and welcoming the family that was going to be with us. When things like this happen school takes a backseat. Thank the Lord nothing major happened and next week our lives should be back to normal. Then I will know if all the planning paid off and the rhythm of our school days will resume.

Cross-posted from Día a Día

Building Bridges of Love

I love that phrase. I actually read it in Spanish: Puentes de Amor.I love the imagery it evokes of connections, communication, friendship, company, togetherness.
Usually bridges are built to make access easier. They connect places that would otherwise be incommunicated, inaccesible, unapproachable. They overcome obstacles (rivers, lakes,etc). Bridges have to be strong, solid, well built.And they can be frightening: once you start on it, you can't go back.There is no other way but forward.The majority of us though, are not afraid because we trust that the bridges have been well built.

We are called to build strong, solid Bridges of Love with one another. We are called to approach the unapproachable, connect with the inaccessible, repair the broken, and give maintenance to those relationships we have already established.
Building Bridges of Love, is about taking risks. It is about forgetting ourselves and thinking of others. It is about "loving your neighbor as yourself" and "dying to self". It is a call to love radically and totally with no turning back.
How do we build bridges? The author the article I was reading in La Palabra Entre Nosotros reminds us that prayer is an indispensable building material. After all, he says, God is the architect and engineer of our lives.
It is impossible not to feel connected to those with whom we pray. When we pray together we share an awareness of God's presence ("where two or more...")and we realize, in a tangible way, that we are children of the same Father. It is also impossible to stay uninvolved in the lives of those for whom we pray. When we pray for others we share their hopes, fears, wishes,needs and their joy when their prayers are answered. Prayer unites us.Prayer build Bridges.
There are many other ways I can think of building those bridges:

-Make time for those we love: This is basic maintenance.If we want to stay connected we need to find the time to be with our spouse, children and friends.
-Give them our undivided attention.
-Establishing eye contact.
-Offering a smile.
-Anticipate needs.
-Little acts of love and service.
-Visits
-Hugs

All of these sound so simple.And they are. It is a matter of cultivating a deliberate attitude.This purposeful living and reaching out will be an antidote to the isolation and loneliness that we see all around us.After all that is what bridges are for.

What God is Telling me Today on the Feast of St. Thomas

He is addressing me directly: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe."

It is a direct command to stop a behavior (unbelieving) and do something different (believe). Several days ago I was telling the Lord that I don't have what it takes to live the radical life he has called me to. "Look at my life Lord," I said, "I am overwhelmed. I feel paralyzed by what I have to do and can't do. I am plagued by doubts and indecisions. I can't even make my mind about how I want to educate my children! and you are asking me to live a radical live, a live of dedication and single mindedness? I am wishy-washy. I can't commit with all my heart to the work you have asked me to do. I am always questioning. I am so AFRAID. Yes, with capital letters. I don't even have the mind to know what I am afraid of. I CAN'T!"

But today, as He did with St. Thomas, He looks at me in the eye and tells me: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe". He tells me to believe that what the did for St. Thomas, He can do for me. St. Thomas was transformed. I can also be transformed. St. Thomas was flooded with the gift of divine faith but, I believe that there was a moment, when he looked at Jesus' face, that he had to make a decision to accept the gift or not. In a split second, he had to make the decision to believe. And it is this decision Jesus is asking me to make today. He is asking me to stop the struggle and surrunder.

And he tells me more. In today's reading He is trying to build my confidence "You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone." And He tells me even more:" Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord, and you too , in him, are being built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

St. Thomas, pray for me!

Just Nico and I

I have an only child this week. My oldest two are at camp. It is just Nico and I most of the day. Mark comes in at night and relieves me from my duties as playmate, entertainment director, activities coordinator, question answerer, conversation partner, reader, cook, snack provider and sole companion.

Actually, it has been a perfect week in many ways. In the mornings Nico has been going to Vacation Bible School in our parish. This has given me an uninterrupted couple of hours to dedicate to a marathon planning session for next year (material for another post).

Normally, when I am in one of those planning session, it is difficult for me to tear myself off what I am doing and pay attention to my surroundings. My mind seems to be on another galaxy where catalogs, websites, books, calendars are the inhabitants.

Knowing myself and my tendencies, I promised myself that I wasn't going to let the opportunity to spend some precious time with Nicolas go by. I don't know if I feel guilty because I don't have as much time to spend with him one on one as I had with the other two. Or maybe as the years pass me by, I realized that the moments spent with our children are just to precious to waste. Or maybe the irony of working hard in planning school for those children that I so love while at the same time yelling at them for needing my attention didn't escape me this time. Or maybe Nicolas is just lucky that his mom is a little wiser this time around.

I have been presently surprised. I have really enjoyed my little guy. I have enjoyed getting into his world. I have loved to share his passions. He is passionately, totally, madly, absolutely in love with baseball. You can see it in his eyes. I spent a good hour on the computer looking for baseball books on our library's website. His face was a poem when next day we went to pick up our stack. We spent a good hour and a half reading baseball books. It was great. After each story I felt my love for baseball, that was dormant, re-awaken. As we read about rules, about kids who love the game, about great ball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, the struggles of Jackie Robinson, the courage of Pee Wee Russ, I felt my love for the game soar. There is nothing like rediscovering something afresh through the eyes of a child.

I have loved Nico's company, his incessant conversation, his thoughtful questions, the songs constantly on his lips. The week is not over and we have already gone to the movies, eaten ice cream, tried to weave, made peach preserves,eaten the warm preserves with crackers, listened to music, read some picture books (different from the baseball ones), gone dancing. We have some more plans: some crafts, blueberry picking, a barbecue... The best part, though, are the kisses and hugs with which I have been rewarded this week.

Encouragement: Dealing with Problems God's Way

There are some problems in life that just don't go away. You have tried different approaches.You have tried ignoring the problem. You have tried facing them head on. But nothing seems to work. Then, there are personal and spiritual goals that, no matter how hard you try, they never seem to be any closer. If you let your mind go out of control, you start to think that these problems are unsurmountable. You feel trapped, betrayed, even angry. Anger lead the way to hopelessness and an incredible amount of sadness. You are sad for the opportunities you have lost, for the efforts you haven't made, for the efforts that weren't enough, for the things you didn't try long enough, for your shortcomings, for your faults, your selfishness, and the least could go on and on. You can almost physically feel the battle going on for your soul. You grab for any sense of hope and then you happen to read something that lifts you up.

You find yourself picking up a book you started months ago-one of those never finished attempts- Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow. She was talking to wives about becoming more like the woman in Proverbs 31. She talked about two approaches to self improvement: the I-Do-All-Myself approach and the I-Let-God-Do-Everything approach. Neither of these approaches will help us to succeed. The approach that will work, she said, is for God to put in his 100% (which of course He always does) and for us to put in our 100%. It is kind of an equation: 100%+100%= Personal and Spiritual growth.

It occurs to you that this is the way of dealing with problems. It reminds you of that saying from a saint "Pray as if everything depends on God, act as if everything depends on you". Then doubts come: "How do I know that God would do his part, his 100%?" Because", you answered yourself, "who He is. Because He is faithful and trustworthy (which means he is worthy of MY trust, right). Because there is no falsehood in Him. Because He does what He said He was going to do. Because He delivers. Because His Word is true. Because He does what He promised He was going to do."

And what is that?
He promised to make you a new creation.
He promised that He shall not fail or desert you (Heb 13:5)
He promised that "God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turn everything for their good". (Rom 8:28)

And because He encourages us:

"... let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance, and perseverance develops character, something that gives us hope, and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us". (Rom. 5"3-5)

So when you fail in love, you can love with the love of God. What a great hope that is!

And because he invites you to unload your burdens:

"Bow down, then before the power of God now, so that He may raise you up in due time, unload all your burdens unto him, since he is concerned about you (He Cares!)

And because he warns:

"keep sober and alert, because your enemy the devil is on the prowl, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand up to him, strong in faith..."

And more than anything because many years ago you made the decision to not only believe in him but to believe HIM.

When you face love so strong, so faithful, so whole, so healing, you can't but respond with all you've got. You make a decision right now, right here to renew your hope, renew your trust and renew your obedience, knowing that this journey to holiness is a lifelong journey. And you know without a shadow of a doubt that this is not going to be the last time you will be in need of encouragement. How blessed you are that you know where to get the encouragement you need!

What Do You Do With A Clear Dinning Room Table?

Well, lay on it of course! (or is it lie on it?-I guess my English grammar still needs brushing up-)

Eventful Week

This has been one of those weeks. It started with a bang. Monday was a day lived at a high speed with activities since 7:30 until about 9:00. That is not counting the it was Mark's birthday. Poor thing he didn't even get a cake this year. His made-from-scratch-with-his-mom-special recipe German Chocolate Cake would have to wait until next year.

Then ... came the flood. Really there was a flood in our town. All of the sudden Tuesday night the gates of heaven opened and water just poured down, 6 to 8 inches in two hours, lots of high winds, cars stranded, cars flooded, people stuck. Thank the Lord we were all nearby. Our house didn't flood, just some minor leaks in a window and three inches of water in the garage. BUT our phone line hasn't worked since then. AND getting a real person to talk to in the phone company is as difficult as finding some dry land under our house. And, since this is isn't enough, our cellphones have been acting out, making it difficult to communicate with the phone company. The stupid thing just keep dropping calls. It has been extremely frustrating.

Then last night another big bang, literally : the garbage disposal made a huge noise and it just quit. Just like that. Now cleaning dishes is just so much fun! Since this is still not enough, get this, my car was in the shop for two days and I just found out that our tub is not draining well.

So I think I am just going to find a good book, climb into be and maybe, just maybe, when I poke out my head again, all would be magically fixed.

Simple Woman Daybook

Outside My Window~ the sun is peaking through the clouds trying to come out.

I am thinking~ about different ways of knowing. How do I know God? How does He know me?

I am thankful~ that yesterday busy day went without a glitch.

From the Kitchen~ peanut butter banana cupcakes came out of the oven this morning in an effort to feed the kids a good breakfast before heading out for standardized testing.

I am creating ~a blog that will help me express all the thoughts buzzing around in my head.

I going to~sit down and read aloud to my kids and reconnect after a busy morning.

I am wearing ~ a green top from Dress Barn and khaki pants.

I am reading ~Hold On to your Kids (the name of the author escapes me- great book though)

I am hoping~ that the addition to our house would materialize this time.

I am hearing~ HGTV in the background.

Around the House~ some things brought from Sam's need to be put away, several hot-spots need to be cleared.

One of my favorite things is the smell of bread baking in the oven.

A few plans for the rest of the week~return to our school routine after testing, go on a field trip to a dairy farm, concentrate in getting the house back in order after a busy week.


More entries at Simple Woman

Unusual Mother's Day

How can you tell your boys (from the biggest to the littlest) that they can't go to see the annual Air Show? It doesn't matter if it is mother's day, the Air Show only comes once a year and the Blue Angels only come every other year. What is a mother to do? Thank the Lord that she has a daughter that does not like Air Shows, and quickly start planning a mother-daughter day. Being the good mother I am, I took my daughter to Blockbusters and rented some movies.

It made for an unusual but fun Mother's Day. We all went to Mass in the morning (this gives you the measure of the interest on the air show: we went to the 8:00 mass with no problems). After a good pancake breakfast the boys headed to the show. Gabi and I settled to our first movie, Meet the Parents (Note to self: remember that what is funny when your kids are not around might not be as funny when they are with you). When we got hungry we went to the drive through of a local Greek restaurant, brought the food home and enjoyed our second movie, Step Up.

Step Up is Gabi's favorite movie. I was glad she suggested this movie. The movie is fun to watch. There are some parts I would've liked to discuss with her but, not wanting to turn this fun day into a "teachable moment", I let it pass. Maybe some other day I would talk to her about it.

After a break to make some blueberry pie and start some rice for supper, we watched Dan in Real Life. I had watched that in the theater and really liked it. This time around, and maybe because I was with my child, I was more critical about it. I still enjoyed it. It was a fun movie.

When the boys came we had our Mother's Day dinner, which also doubles as Mark's birthday dinner. His birthday is today and this is going to be such a hectic week that I decided to just cook a nice dinner and just celebrate. Who cares if I had to prepare dinner on Mother's Day? what is important is that we had lots to celebrate and that, after a fun day for all, we gathered around the table to do it together.




This is a picture of Alex's creation, a beautiful centerpiece for our table.

Having Some Fun

What Have We Been Up To?

Lately we have been so busy. It seems that we are constantly on the go. Lots of things to interrupt that Unschooling Experiment. I have been distracted with a zillion things: garage sale, physical therapy for my neck, runs to and from ballet and choir, planning a vacation, upcoming testing, upcoming field trip... I don't remember ever having such a busy month of May.

It is difficult to continue school in the midst of such much distraction. I wish I could stop school now and just enjoy the nice weather, go outside, go on nature walks, learn to draw, do art, and then school more formally later in the summer, when it is miserably hot outside. I had a friend who did that. But I know my kids won't go for that. They would like to be out and done in the summer like all their friends. It is difficult to swim against the current!

Of course, you would say, isn't that what the unschooling experiment was all about? less formality, more delight directed learning? Well, I have discovered that

• my kids are not self motivated. If I directed to something new then they can take off with it.
• that to homeschool this way the mother has to be really present and in tune with her kids.
• this mother, with half her brain in other stuff, doesn't do a good job at motivating her kids.
• going into "unschooling" half way doesn't really work. You either do it or don't. Having to do certain things (like non-negotiables like math and religion) ruins the atmosphere.
• I have to be the one making the big changes. I have to be involved. I either get involved with what they want to do or get them involved in what I want to do. I have opted, in most instances, for the second option. No fair. I need to be willing to play what Nicolas wants to play, listen to what Alex wants to say,etc.
  
• with me, it is an issue of control. It is difficult to let go and let them be in charge.
  
• it is also an issue of trust. I don't trust that they can self regulate. I don't trust that they would choose good things to spend the time with. I fear that they are going to choose the easiest thing to do: watch tv and play on the computer, talk to friends, chat...
• it is funny how you enter into something for your kids and you end up learning a lot about yourself.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that we are not having fun. Nicolas and I have sat every day for about an hour and just read. I haven't done that for a while. We are reading about plants, bees, butterflies. We are reading fiction and non fiction. Then we are going outside and doing some plant related "stuff". We have planted, weeded, watered, looked at seeds, drawn seeds... I have a mind of making use of some free lapbooks I have found here and here. Nicolas likes to work with his hands.

Other things we are doing:

• Reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• Reading Amy Welborn's Prove It! Church.
• Studying decimals.
• Reading Introduction to Scripture the Scott Hahn textbook.
• We just picked up again Story of the World vol. 4. We read yesterday about South Africa and Apartheid.
• Alex is reading The Breadwinner a book that takes place in Afghanistan. ( I just discovered this have a sequel)
  
• Gabi is reading Murder in the Orient Express.
• I am reading Hold On to your Kids, subtitled Why Parents Need to Matter more than Peers.
• Alex and Nicolas have spent some time playing together.
• Alex is fascinated with the Toreador Song from Carmen.
• Nicolas just thinks about baseball.
• Gabi is trying to plan how she would remodel our bathroom (it needs it badly- believe me!)
• Alex and Nicolas have watched some segments on plants from the LPB Cyberchannel.
• Alex is drawing downtown Meratain, a city he has created in his imagination.
• Gabi is busy preparing for her dance recital.
  
• Alex is practicing his violin and his choir concert.

I guess learning is happening more than I realized.

Ligers, Tigons and Leopons

Liger Mane
Originally uploaded by Batian_Lion

Did you know that in captivity lions and tigers can breed? I sure didn't. Here is a Liger: a cross between a male lion and tigress. Cool!

Can you tell we have been reading about Wild Cats?

Coming to Terms

Yesterday we gave away our baby things. The whole bit: crib, bassinet, swing, car seat, stroller, comforter, etc. We gave away the things but not the memories.

That is what I remind myself. I was surprised that it was hard to give the things away. After leaving my country and leaving things behind, I have never been attached to things. But parting with these baby articles was harder than I thought.

I don't think is the things. It is coming to terms with where we are in life. We are not the young ones, starting out our families. We are not the ones expecting joyfully and anxiously for the arrival of that little baby. No. We are the ones that been there and done that. We are the ones looking back and remembering. We are the ones in the middle of this journey we call life, trying hard to raised those kids we joyfully and anxiously expected. We are the ones in the trenches.

It is coming to terms with our kids growing up and we growing older. They are not the babies they once were and we are not the young couple we once were. It is like being in the middle of a trip and looking back to where you came from. But it is also looking ahead and seeing the part that you haven't yet trudged. It is trying hard not to be afraid at what is still ahead of us. It is holding tight to the promises of Jesus that he will always be with those who love them. It is coming to terms with what we haven't accomplished and being thankful for what we have achieved. It is, I tell myself, not about regrets. It is about embracing what there is to come. Joyfully, confidently, unafraid, expectantly waiting for the marvels God is going to do with what we have offered him: our lives and the lives of our children.

"Unschooling Experiment" - Day 1

After Gabi left for her last Classical Conversations session of the year, the ones left at home embarked in our "unschooling experiment". If I want to be honest with myself, this is not true unschooling. It is MY version. The only version I can feel comfortable at the moment.
Alex did his alloted section of math. In the meantime I read to Nicolas. He picked several books from a stack of library books. We didn't get to read them all. We read:

• The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
• Henry Builds a Cabin by D. B. Johnson

Alex joined us after he finished and we started reading about Wild Cats. This trail was inspired by a friend of Nicolas who came to play yesterday. She wanted to play "Wild Cats".
Seizing the opportunity ( you know how homeschool moms are always looking for teachable moments :-) )I went to the library and came with a stack of Wild Cats books. So far we have read two:

• Really Big Cats by Allan Fowler
• Scary Creatures: Big Cats by Penny Clarke and Terry Riley

After reading we moved to the computer and found this The kids had a good time watching the clips. My tenderhearted son was mad at a lion for killings some cubs. "Lions are mean," he said. We talked about the violence of the animal world, the survival of the strongest and how animals can't help themselves. They can't reflect on their behavior.

After lunch we went to the nursery to buy some plants. The seasons offer such and opportunity for learning. We are going to be talking about all things botany in the next few days. When we got back home we (all mostly I) planted.

Some got planted.
Some are still waiting...

Hard at Work

Adding Some Color

Unschooling Experiment

Every single time I read a post on unschooling my heart ticks faster. I so want to try this. I so want to see my kids own their own learning life. I want them to follow their passions and discover new ones. I want them to learn how to think for themselves. I want them to think out of the box.

The thing is that I don't think I can do it. I don't know how to go about it. We are at a perfect place to try an experiment. We just finished our first year with Classical Conversations
It has been a great year. Now we have about a month before the "official" school year is over. We got a lot done this year. Now I feel I could try my hand at something more relaxed. I would like to pursue some art, some gardening, some nature walks. Or I could try letting my kids, especially A., to be the one leading the way. Honestly, I don't know how to do that. I don't fill comfortable just letting him be. I think that for us "flexibility within structure" would work better. Tons of ideas flow through my mind:

• I could re-implement some of Bravewriter ideas. We used to do teatime and read poetry and freewrites. The kids loved them.
  
• I could do make sure we read poetry every day. One poem a day. I have several Spring poetry books on hold at the library. I could combine those with the teatime.
  
• I could do some art. I have discovered some interesting blogs on art lately here and here. They both look interesting, and they seem to have lots of resources for me to explore. I am creating a list of projects for the summer.
• I could try our hands at some architecture, one of A.' passions. They have some cool links to explore.
• I could do more science. We discovered this videos from Youtube. We can explore these more and see where it would take us.
• I could let him work on a project from the Dangerous Book for Boys.
  

I guess I can present this list to A. and let him choose. I could also take him to the library and let the pick some books. The thing that makes me hesitate is this: I want to have something to show for our efforts. I would like to have a lapbook or a narration or something that would say loud and clear:"You have accomplished something!"

This brings me to a complete new thought: Why do I feel as if I have to have something to show or as if the accomplishment has to be measurable? Whose accomplishment should it be mine or my children's? Do I need to prove myself to someone? Why I feel so scared to try this?

Trying this Again

This is my second attempt at blogging. I have been thinking about pros and cons:

Pros:

• It would give me a place to organize my thoughts.
• My in-laws would love to have a place to follow the kids and our family .
  
• It would serve as a record of our learning.
• It would give me some practice in writing.
• It would give Mark a chance to peek in on our days. If I can write what I think, it would give him a chance to read what I am thinking. We don't always have time to talk and hash out my thoughts on the kids education and day to day endeavors

Cons:

• It can take time.
• It can feed my tendency to accumulate information without really putting it into practice.
• It makes me feel vulnerable to actually share what I am doing and thinking (not that very many people would read it but the possibility is there)

Let's see how it goes this time!