Totus Tuus School

Day 1: Chick Observation

2011-04-18T23:46:00.003-04:00

Several months ago, a local homeschooler put out a feeler to see if anyone would be interested in watching new chicks grow for two weeks. We said, an exuberant, "Yes."

And so today 3 week old chicks arrived. The kids have named them. Joan (of Arc) she is a Cherry Egger, Bahkita she is a Black Australorp, and Henrietta who is a White Wyandotte.

As the woman who brought them to us let us know, they change rapidly. Their down changes to feathers in stages. 1st the wings. They came that way (to us). But in last several hours you can see the beginnings of tail feathers. Everyone here is super excited and even wants to hold them.

RA's Birthday

2011-04-10T19:12:00.005-04:00

Well it is time to blog again. I have missed KJ's 1st birthday, spring break, a trip to Denver aquarium (not tom mention Christmas)... Those blogs later.

For now it is RA's 7th Birthday. Yes, I wrote that right. Boy how time flies. Usually we have my family over and do a family party, however schedules didn't work that way this time, so...

The kids and Blake and I celebrated on her birthday at... wait for it... Chucky Cheese. But mid-week before 12 it was quiet. We all had fun. We finished the celebration by opening presents and eating her Madeline's Hat cake.

Next she got go to dinner and build a bear with Nanna and Blue Truck. Fun was had by all.

Today was the big day, 12 of her friends came over for a tea in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of her favorite saints.

The menu included:

Tepeyac Hill Spanish Rice

Crowned with Stars Candy

Supported by Angels Cookies

Tilma of Roses Ham and Tortilla Sandwiches

Praying Hands Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Sombreros Cheese and Crackers

Clothed with the Sun Chips and Dip

Volcano Sacrifices Tea & Sugar cubes

Roses from Heaven Fruit Punch

And Chocolate Rose Lolly pops

Games included:

How high can you stack the sugar cubes?

Sugar cube and spoon relay

Teapot Bingo

The girls looked beautiful and were very well mannered.

It was a very nice party and the girls (even the big ones) seemed to have fun.

Recent Homeschool Events

2010-11-19T00:22:00.005-05:00

Two of the bigger highlights from last month are: The SHARE Fair and the All Saints Day Party.

The Share Fair was really fun. SHARE stands for Science, History, Art, Rhythm, and Elocution. This year RA recited Windy Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson and entered a drawing in the Art category. DG recited The Flag Goes By by Henry Holcomb Bennet and entered his Courage Project that many of you may remember from last spring. It was entered in the History category. PG liked looking at all the Lego exhibits and the armor exhibit. My favorite was the teenager who taught himself to play the hammer dulcimer.

Daddy/photographer said he was so engrossed in listening to RA, he forgot to get a picture of her. Oops!

The All Saints Party was very fun. DG was St. George. PG was his dragon. RA was Our Lady of Guadeloupe. KJ was Blessed Kateri and Mommy was St. Gianna. Mommy and Daddy ran the Doctors of the Church Quiz booth.

Dg's 8th Birthday

2010-11-01T19:24:00.005-04:00

Somehow I missed posting about DG's birthday. For the kids birthdays' this year both sets of grandparents went into together and got them a backyard play set.

This year, just like last year, DG asked to go to the North Pole. Aunt Katie and Papa (my paternal grandpa) were here in early August so we all got to go. Unfortunately we had an afternoon rain storm and had to leave early. A word of advice, avoid the teacups with Blue Truck!!!!

On DG's actual birthday we had a small family celebration. My papa was still in town so he was here too. DG asked for a star wars cake. So with the aid of Twinkies and ice cream cones:

Squeak

2010-09-23T19:49:00.004-04:00

DG is selling cub scout popcorn. I am not searching for more sales (although if you need any let us know). As a prize for the first week's top seller, he got a gift certificate to a local soda shop, Squeak. It was amazing. They had a wall of candy, 69 flavors of soda, ice cream, a wii, and plenty of board games to keep the kids happy. They would make your soda any color you wanted it. So DG got a red Grandma's Apple Pie soda, PG got a purple marshmallow soda, mommy got a pink pina colada soda, and RA got a cake batter ice cream cone.

SUPRISE

2010-08-15T22:25:00.005-04:00

My mom or Nana -- depending on who you ask had a birthday recently. Her sister decided it would be fun to have a surprise party. Now you have to know my mom to realize what a funny idea that is. She is not into parties and she does not like surprises but my aunt wanted to do it, so we did. This had been in the works for quite a while when my husband's uncle passed away (different post). So now my in-laws would be in town for the funeral (at the same time as the party) and as usual staying with my parents. Did I mention my paternal grandfather was also staying with my parents? And my sister is in town for the entire month (although gone the weekend of the party). So... it wasn't easy to keep this thing on the down low. I tried not to mention too much to the kids so they wouldn't blow the suprise. Oh btw, we had the party at my mom's house (the only one big enough to hold all the guest comfortably). So some of the funny bits were the Schwans man, dinner plans, heat stroke and "come over and have dinner". My aunt and mom live about 5 minutes from each other and my mom introduced my aunt to the Schwans man. About 2 weeks before the party, the Schwans man goes to my aunt's house. She buys my mom's favorite ice cream for the party. Then the Schwans man goes to my mom's house. My mom asks if she could get some ice cream. He say, "I just sold my last one to your sister for a birthday party." My mom thinks, he must not remember who my sister is -- she doesn't throw birthday parties. Whew.

Then about three or four days before the party, the kids and I were at my mom's. She gets a phone call gets off and says, "My parents, and siblings are taking me out for my birthday. Would you mind celebrating a different time?" I was just waiting for PG to say, "We are already having a party for you Nana." But no he didn't even notice. Whew!

My mother and father in-law took my mom golfing the morning of the party, so we could get things ready. Only one problem, my mother in-law who knew all the plans got heat stroke and had to rest while the others finished golf. Then my mom wouldn't let her leave the club house until she felt better. My mom said, " You sit here and rest. We have no plans and no reason to rush home." Little did she know there were about 20 people waiting for her at her house.

The night before the party. My mom calls, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Not much."

"Why don't you come over for dinner. I making a pork shoulder, I have plenty of food. Your aunt and uncle are coming over too."

"Ok, thanks."

I get off the phone and call my aunt. She says, "I know. I tried to get her to get pizza and she thought I was crazy.'

Despite all these things the party was fun and my mom had a GREAT time.

RA made the cake (just a bit of help from mom...and dad)My paternal and maternal Grandpas! :)
The boys

The girlsMy Aunts and an Uncle

Bubbles = Fun!

Happy Birthday Nana!

KJ

2010-07-29T09:35:00.006-04:00

July 4th - Independence Day, A birthday, and A feast day

2010-07-15T01:14:00.004-04:00

Ok so it is Bastille Day and not Independence Day but since I skipped the latter - here we go.

Blake was up to be at the church at 4:30 to flip pancakes for the pancake breakfast. He thinks he made about 400. At least he didn't have to do the dishes! RA and some other girls in her scout troop helped bus tables.

There is this great parade (an hour long) in the little town we live in. This year the girls, (RA, KJ, and yours truly) got to march with her scout troop. Ok, RA got to ride and so did KJ (Mommy pushed). RA did get to hand out candy for part of the route. The pancake breakfast and parade were on the third.

The next day we went to Nana and Blue Truck's for the real celebration. It is my dad's birthday (appropriate fireworks for the firecracker) and PG's feast day. It is the feast of Pier Giorgio Frassati (if you are not familiar check out: http://www.3op.org/frassati.phpWe had lots of fun with family. Then we stayed at Nana and Blue Trucks to watch the fireworks. Before they came we all played on the wii. Blake and I even played some golf. It rained -- that is Colorado for you but for sure by the time the fireworks start it would clear. It did clear but it must have been in the 50s by then. So we are all bundled up for the second year in a row. They were nice but the company was much better.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T22:45:00.014-04:00

Due to my parents leaving for the Holy Land today, we celebrated yesterday with my parents and my mom's family. RA wanted to work on her first badge for scouts -- cake decorating. So she learned how to make a box *gasp* cake, butter cream frosting, and use a star tip to decorate all in one day.For those of you still trying to figure it out it is a shirt, sweater vest and tie.
Yesterday was also my Grandma's birthday. So after party and cake what should we do for Father's Day... I know, go to the Renaissance Fair! The day included archery and elephant riding,jousting, inventing (Leonardo Da Vinci style), a meeting with the queen, more animals rides (llamas and ponies), a little juggling,

and of course more JOUSTING!

What does dad have to say about today, "The most under impressive thing I did all day was ride an elephant."

My Scouts

2010-06-13T00:11:00.001-04:00

Bridging up

2010-06-03T08:44:00.004-04:00

It has been a big year for scouts here. DG has been a cub scout with a very active Pack. RA started American Heritage Girls last fall. If you have never heard of it, you should check it out http://www.ahgonline.org/

Tuesday was her last meeting for the year. She was a pathfinder and spent the year learning what it means to be an American Heritage Girl. There was a great ceremony. DG was in the color guard.

Now she is a Tenderfoot and now she gets to earn badges. She is so excited.

What could be better than tea with Grandpa?

2010-05-29T12:21:00.003-04:00

The Here and Now

2010-05-14T22:04:00.005-04:00

So many things have happened since April 25th and I haven't even posted pics from DG's First Holy Communion.

The week after the sacraments was busy. Grandma and Grandpa left on Tuesday morning and my parents took the kids on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday the kids had co-op in the morning. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was wondering where my week had gone. Friday, we went over to KJ's Godparents' house to watch their kids while they went to an OB appointment. The first week of May we spent mostly at their house (and we started back to school) as our new Godson was born on Tuesday, May 4th. Welcome Daniel! I can't wait to hold him more.

This week has been busy too. Monday -- just school, Tuesday Blake's birthday (cook-out at my parents'), Wednesday KJ's 2 month appointment (stats below) and lunch with my college roommate who I haven't seen in 15 years (I wish I had taken my camera but we will do it again), Thursday--school and Cub scouts, and today school and May Crowning (and who had the honor of Crowning Mary -- RA of course).

So KJ is 9 lbs. 15 oz (I predicted 10 lbs.) which puts her at 14%. She is 22.5 inches long so that would be the 35% and her head is a mere 15.25 inches at 32%. She is little for a Helgoth!

The homeschool group for the diocese hosted a May Crowning at a local parish (the one my parent's were married at, Blake was baptized at and my Grandparents live a block from). They drew names for who would crown Mary. RA got the honor. So after many nights of "How many days till Friday?" We drove down to Holy Trinity practicing Marian hymns all the way. Below are some pics.

KJ is a Christian!!!

2010-04-26T09:43:00.009-04:00

What a beautiful weekend. KJ was baptized and DJ received his First Holy Communion (more to follow). The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the baptism were attended by: both sets of grandparents, Great Grandma Lawless, Great Uncle Billy Lawless, Great Aunt Margaret Lawless, Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Eddy Cantino, Great Aunt Connie Helgoth, Cousins Darren and Cindy Lombardi and their kids, and our good friends the Talafuses. Mari and David Talafuse are KJ's Godparents. We met them through the homeschool co-op here in Colorado. They are a wonderful couple with 4 beautiful children and one due very soon. It was such a blessing to have so many family members celebrate with us on this special day.

A year and a half ago when we were here for Christmas, we met the Deacon at St. Peter's parish in Monument. He also was a field agent with the KofC. Blake spoke with him while we were here and found out that he was planning to retire soon. It was that conversation that made us start to think about moving to Colorado. Dcn. Mike has been such a great support to Blake and our family since we moved here, so we decided to ask him to baptize KJ. (Their you have the cast of characters. Now for the main event!)

The Godparents

The Godparents and Mommy and Daddy

Getting Dressed

The Kids

The Gospel

My favorite pic of DG from the day

Dry her off

BIC or Blessed in Christ (David went to light the candle from the Easter candle. Dcn Mike says, "It's not on." So we used the BIC.

Easter

2010-04-09T18:05:00.006-04:00

Since it is still the octave I am not late posting for Easter. Right?

DG, RA, and Blake went to the Vigil Mass. PG, KJ and I stayed home. They said it was beautiful. They met up with Nana and Blue Truck, who said the kids did the best they have ever seen them at Mass. Maybe I should send them to a 3 hour Mass every Sunday. The deacon (who is baptizing KJ in a few weeks) sang the Exsultet. We had no idea he could sing! Apparently the cantor did a beautiful job as well. Everyone was very excited (and tired) when they came home.

After 7 hours of sleep, they "hopped" (no we don't do the Easter bunny - but I couldn't resist the pun) out of bed to find their baskets. we don't hid eggs - we hide baskets.

Then DG and RA went to Nana and Blue Truck's while PG, KJ, Blake and I went to Mass. Father gave a wonderful homily and actually Confirmed 5 people at mass. KJ and I went about an hour early to get a seat and PG and Blake were able to walk in 10 minutes before Mass, which for PG is 10 minutes too early. Although without having to deal with his brother he did much better.

After Mass we all headed to Nana and Blue Trucks to have dinner with my mom's whole family. 15 of us is a bigger Easter than I have ever experienced. It is so nice to live around family. Have I said that before? :)

My mom took our family Easter pics so I will post those later. (Mom if you are reading this -- I need those pics.)

I will post RA's b-day later as well!

The babies

2010-03-21T14:49:00.004-04:00

I keep reading (in emails), "Oh she looks like..." So compare your memory to the pics. Now who does she look like?

From top to bottom lft to rt: DG, RA, PG, & KJ

Milestones

2010-03-18T23:01:00.003-04:00

KJ is one week old today. She is a beautiful baby but I am biased. She does have her days and nights a bit backwards and she is a little yellow. But this first week has been wonderful. PG wakes up each morning, runs in our room and says, "It's morning." Then he wants to kiss his sister and reminds us he is a "big brother".

RA wants to hold her all day long. She will even change her diapers. She will get me anything as long as it is for KJ.

And sometimes I find DG just staring at her.

It is amazing what new babies do for families. They remind us (or at least me and my kids) what family is all about and how when you strip it all down, you would do anything for your family. Thank you God for our little blessing!

Some videos of KJ's first day and coming home

2010-03-15T13:03:00.002-04:00

Big sister is a big help. Praise God. However, sometimes I think I might have to pry KJ out of her arms.

She is here

2010-03-12T16:26:00.003-05:00

KJ was born at 3:43 on March 11th. She weighed 7.3 lbs and is 19.5 inches. Her brothers and sister are very glad she is here. We will be going home tomorrow.

New Update

2010-03-04T20:36:00.001-05:00

Well, I am full term!!!! So if she decides to come now all is well. Based on all the issues if she doesn't come in the next two weeks they will induce. We are all doing ok. Thanks for all the prayers.

News? -- Updated

2010-02-26T10:16:00.002-05:00

I am going to my 36 week appointment in a couple of hours. I will post more later.

Well my cervix is the same but she did drop a little. Everything else looks good. Next Thursday I will be full term. My dr. gave me some thing to help me sleep better. I hope we can get control of these contractions or at least sleep through them.

Hope

2010-02-24T22:28:00.002-05:00

What has Lent taught me so far? There seems to be a theme running through it for me... hope! God uses all things for good and I think for me it was not some accident that my grandmother past away at the beginning of Lent. I have been praying daily Divine Mercy chaplets for the repose of her soul. I have been praying evening prayer after the kid(s) go to bed each night. I have been reading St. Louis de Monfort's Friends of the Cross. And the theme through them all is hope. And it is not some human desire for something good to happen -- it is more than that. I love what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says paragraph 1821: "We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven."
On a personal note, I saw my papa (grandpa) today for the first time in about five years. He has come to CO indefinitely to stay with my parents. I am thrilled and feel completely blessed to have him here. God is so good, I am surrounded by the people I love, living in a beautiful place, and awaiting the birth of another gift from God as I contemplate the love of God in His plan of salvation for us. I hope your Lent leads you to the great peace He is giving me.

Update -- Prayers please

2010-02-20T14:08:00.002-05:00

My grandma: Clarisse Bowen past away yesterday. DG, RA, and my mom are heading out to the funeral and to see/meet the family tomorrow. RA has never met my dad's family. And the last time DG saw them he was twoish. It will be a good trip for everyone. I get to stay home and contract. Please pray for my family and the repose of Mama's soul.

Glasses

2010-02-19T14:28:00.003-05:00

He can see...

It is funny, he use to sit in the car and not look around much. On the way home today he was looking out every window and pointing things out.

Prayers please...

2010-02-18T23:18:00.002-05:00

I am truly spoiled at age 36, I still have 4 living grandparents. I type that with a sad heart as my paternal grandmother is inching closer and closer towards death. My dad is able to be in NC with her right now. For my Catholic friends, I am asking that you would pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet for her. It is a beautiful prayer to say for the dying. Thank you for your prayers!

Lent and other people

2010-02-16T22:38:00.002-05:00

So here is my Lent to do/not to do. I am posting this to hold myself accountable and to give others motivation and support in their endeavors. And maybe a little catechises for those who read my blog and don't "get" Lent.
DG (my 7 yr. old) is a perfect example of why we as Catholics (and other Christian faiths) give things up for Lent. He is on a streak of, "If I don't want to or it isn't fun then I WILL NOT do it!" We need to train our wills. We need to be able to tell ourselves no. We need to be able to make sacra fices for others, ourselves, and God.
This leads me into what I have decided to do and why. I seriously thought about giving up Internet contact for Lent. I knew that was biting of more than I could chew. But I spend A LOT of my evenings on FB. And I haven't been good about taking personal prayer time. So now in place of FB during Lent, I will pray. I will continue to blog and email and read the news but no more countless hours of chatting and looking at pics and ...
However, this won't be hard for me. And sometimes we/I need a challenge. So DG comes by his struggle honestly. He gets it from me (and Adam). I have a very weak will in the things I perceive others telling me I can't or shouldn't do or even in the little things in my day. So, I have decided that I am going to do a GUS and TOM jar just like the kids. GUS and TOM= give something up and take on more - thanks Gayle at http://mom3crazygirls.blogspot.com/
This will force me to do the harder things for me -- the little ones. No soda today, no drive thru next time you get in the car, do a chore Blake would usually do before he would do it, take an extra 15 minutes in prayer, play whatever the kids want you to for 30 minutes...
Now before I publish this, I have one more question to ask. Why when I suggest someone give something up (when they ask for advice not unsolicited) or when I ask what people are giving up or I state what I am doing, do those around me get so defensive. Why is what I am doing in my faith life an affront to those who aren't doing it? Is it a guilt thing? I am confused by this.
I hope and pray my friends and family have a blessed Lent that leads them to a beautiful Easter Resurrection!

Why we have lots of kids and homeschool

2010-02-16T18:11:00.001-05:00

This is a great answer and of course there are more reasons but I love this.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/why_big_families_might_be_easier/

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T22:56:00.002-05:00

Well, I have never been a big one for secular holidays and Valentine's day has to be one of the biggest. So being on (modified) bed rest right now didn't really change my plans today except for one major change.
I was unable to attend Mass this morning. So as my family pulled out of the garage, I pulled up EWTN and watched Mass. What a blessing!!!!
My mom met Blake and the kids at Mass and took them to breakfast afterwards.
Before they all left for Mass, DG gave RA a stuffed bear that she named Poolly. The kids got cards from Grandma & Grandpa Helgoth. RA got a tin with M&Ms from Daddy. And Mommy got chocolate covered strawberries.
But the best part of my day was when all 6 of us (and I say all six as the baby is definitely taking up room) got into our bed and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory from Netflix on the computer.
So much for yucky secular holidays. Hope you all had a great one. I think I'll go find a strawberry.

Scouting

2010-02-10T23:41:00.003-05:00

Well this year we dove in with both feet to the world of scouting. RA is part of American Heritage Girls. If you have never heard of it before, you should check it out. http://www.ahgonline.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=18722
As they say they are dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country. RA is in the youngest part of the troop: Pathfinders. I help the older girls who are in jr/sr high: Pioneers and Patriots. We are a small troop about 15 families (all Catholic and most home schooled -- at least right now). We have so much fun and are learning so much.
DG became a cub scout this year. He is a wolf. And a couple of months ago they got their second wolf. Blake is a den leader for wolves. Again a smaller pack (they just started this year) but a great group of families. There is a lot of the same families in both cubs and AHG.
So we are busy.
One of the great things DG has done this year was to earn his religious award. He and I (primarily) worked on it in conjunction with school. It was a great process and this weekend he received it at Mass.
If you have kids and they aren't in scouts, think about it, pray about it, and if you want ask a scouting family. It is worth it.

Toothless

2010-02-10T17:43:00.004-05:00

So a week ago, I mentioned that DG had a dentist appointment this past Monday. We went and Dr. V said, "I think we need to slip a couple of those out." So today we went in and they pulled a tooth. He did really well.
The bottom two teeth (below the upper hole) are adult teeth. The one on the right is the one that didn't push the tooth out.At this rate, we'll be eating soup and milkshakes for a while. Needless to say we aren't having steaks tonight.

Picture update

2010-02-02T22:27:00.008-05:00

The Helgoth's prep for the egg dropThe egg droppers (Cub scouts, American Heritage girls and some parents) "Bombs away" This is the highest drop. Where RA's broke. DG's broke on the first drop. (Fantastic idea, bad mechanics -- we needed to tie it tighter.)CertificatesEgg Drop? I thought we got to play.Me (yes a picture of me) handing out badges and awards to the Pioneer/Patriots (the level I lead for Jr/Sr high girls. Imagine we working with that age level)

RA receiving her necklace for attendance, completion of different sections, and bible memorization.

RA's American Heritage Girl troop at an awards day.

DG and Daddy went to see the Harlem Globetrotters with the Cub Scouts. The kids got to sit court side during warm ups.

I wish you could see this better. It is a snowy owl. It was at a barn about 40 minutes from us. Usually (oosually as PG would say) they don't come any farther south than Canada. This is also an adult male which is very rare to see.

Teeth or lack there of

2010-02-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

The fun thing happening here these days has to do with teeth. My oldest DG (7) got his teeth later than most and so we knew the first loose tooth would take a while. We were a shade concerned when his bottom tooth started growing in behind his baby tooth. Then he lost baby tooth next to it. About two weeks later, the tooth above came out. Despite the lack of tooth fairies around, the kid is getting more quarters then he knows what to do with. The back to back teeth are both still there. But we see the dentist on Monday.
The funny thing happened when his sister (5) about a week ago began complaining of a sore tooth. A day later, no tooth!
I keep telling them to stop soon all we will be able to eat around here is soup and ice cream!
Pictures to follow!

Adding to the Curriculum -- and long term lesson plans

2010-01-18T22:07:00.004-05:00

We started second semester at Totus Tuus last week. Although we had a month for break, did I sit down once and lesson plan for 2nd semester? Of course not! So two days before we began, I did a week of lesson plans. A little short sighted. The problems:
1. DG reads too fast -- no books in the house for him to read (unless you count rereads)
2. 1st semester DG was prepping for 1st Confession and then working on his religious medal award for scouts along with reading through The Secret of Mary explained to Children, but he finished all of this during 1st semester.
3. He know all his states and capitals (doesn't sound like a problem does it?), but it was suppose to take him all year.
4. A mouse ate his bean plants that we were suppose to be charting the growth of and running other experiments on.
5. I tweaked the music curriculum for the year but knew I needed to look more in depth at it over break. I didn't.
6. RA memorized a year's worth of poems in a semester.
7. PG wants to start "school".

So conclusions and solutions:
I decided tonight was the night to solve the problems.
1. Go through book lists and reserve books at the library. Done!
2. DG is making his 1st Communion in April. Last year he studied the 1st Communion catechism. So we will re-start St. Patrick's Summer (we have never gotten past chapter 3 and the content is so meaty there is enough in two pages sometimes to last us all class). Do vocab provided my the parish. And use the section on the Eucharist from www.familycatechism.com to prepare for the sacrament.
3. At the end of the 1st semester, we made a list of the 50 states in order of their becoming a state and posted them. We also made a list of the state's in order of their "birthdays" by month. The idea being each month we would learn a little about each state. When we had moved, a dear friend (thanks Debbie) gave us the Colorado and Indiana books of state alphabets. We love them. Our library carries each state. I decided to check them out. Then I went to the publisher's website and found a teacher's guide for each book that is fabulous!!!! http://www.gale.cengage.com/DiscoverAmerica/guides/
I showed DG. We are really excited.
4. I still need to buy more potting soil to replant and we need to catch the mouse!
5. I reviewed the music curriculum and we should be fine!
6. I went through the two anthologies I have at the house and found some appropriate poems.
7. I pulled out the old faithfuls -- Slow and Steady and Before Five In a Row. Poor 3rd child, they get so neglected. DG did all the Slow and Steady activities and RA was read all the Before Five in a row books. But I am back on track and planning to move a third desk into the school room in the morning (why not tonight -- the light bulbs are burned out in the schoolroom and I don't have replacements!)
I feel somewhat accomplished. I'll let you know later how it all works out!

Enjoying my kids

2010-01-10T22:57:00.005-05:00

I love seeing my kids have so much fun with their new gifts.
DG is so into his new Lego's. But then how could you not be when, the houses have gutters, doors leading from inside the garage to the inside of the house, a working garage door, lights, a covered patio... These are not your father's legos.
RA loves coloring her new butterfly books and making anyone who will wear them necklaces and bracelets. I have two that say I heart Mommy (one is turquoise and yellow and the other purple and green). And she just glows when she gets to wear her new dress that matches the doll dress.

PG loves his table and all the playmobil stuff, especially DG's pirate set.

And looking at pictures of "me" what could be better than that? Thanks Nana and Aunt Katie for the wonderful scrap books of each kid. What great memories they will be able to keep and make more of.

Loved this post

2010-01-08T23:17:00.003-05:00

Thanks Sarah Mae and keep them coming: http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/index.php/2010/do-you-have-a-homemaking-intern/

And just as a side note, my little RA needs no training. She would rather help me make meals, sweep, vacuum, fold clothes, sort clothes... than play. She carries her babies around bouncing them on her hip all day. I hope this lasts.

Videos from Epiphany

2010-01-03T21:57:00.006-05:00

As my husband said, most people have video and pictures of the kids opening presents in their pjs. Us, we have kids in coats and ties. Would you expect anything else?

Sledding in pictures

2010-01-01T23:28:00.001-05:00

What will the neighbors think?

2009-12-30T22:43:00.008-05:00

So we went looking for Christmas light displays and look what we found. The first two are at the same house and there was a third song I somehow missed. My videography isn't the best sorry.
When you pull up to the house there are signs directing you to tune your FM radio to a certain station. Then there is a 2 minute blurb about only watching the three songs and coming back later, respecting neighbors, and how the display was made. Pretty impressive, but I'm still glad I don't live next door. (And as a special bonus you get to hear me shush my children!)

Now if you really like your neighbors you can decorate with them: (Oh and the music and commentary here is provided by us).

Merry Christmas and to all a good night

2009-12-24T23:23:00.005-05:00

Well, I am getting ready in about half an hour to wake the little ones to prepare for Midnight Mass (the moment we look forward to every year). But we started the evening with the best Christmas presents -- Nana and Aunt Katie put together photo albums for each child and Nana says she wants each one to come over at the end of the year and do another page with her. Then we had Chinese food with Nana, Katie, Blue Truck, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle Ed. We returned home and put everyone to bed. Then I decided to decorate Jesus' Birthday cake as I really don't like to do those while the kids are hovering. And guess what I backed up the sink rinsing RED icing off of dishes. (I am very grateful for a loving and understanding husband -- although at that point I was just glad I had a husband.) So some pictures to remember the evening by:

Christmas Tree Decorating

2009-12-23T21:59:00.005-05:00

If I don't post tomorrow,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Living by family

2009-12-14T18:11:00.005-05:00

This past May we moved back home to Colorado. One of the biggest reasons was to be by family. My parents bought a home here last year but my mom's family lived here as well. This past Oct. her last sister moved back to Colorado. So now we are all here (except my sister -- someday).

Saturday was my aunt Nancy/Godmother's birthday. The whole family went to our favorite pizza place, Fargo's.

My Grandpa Bill (Mom's dad) who turned 90 in Oct.

My Uncle Billy (he prefers Bill and I prefer Jenni but am Jennifer to him-- it goes both ways), my mom's brother.

My aunt Margaret, my cousin--her son Patrick (behind her), and Uncle Ed (Aunt Nancy's husband)

My Aunt Nancy (the birthday girl, she nor Aunt Margaret like to be in pics) and Grandpa.

Uncle Billy and DG! Uncle Billy doesn't mind pics.

Grandma Ethel, Grandpa Bill, and Uncle Billy.

My mom, dad, husband and kids all went but somehow remained out of pictures!

The Feast of St. Nicholas

2009-12-10T20:00:00.001-05:00

So RA asks on the feast of St. Nicholas, how come you don't see St. Nicholas in purple, or green, or white? He was a bishop after all.

For the feast, we fill the kids stockings. It is a great way to celebrate the feast and spread the traditions of the season all throughout, instead of overwhelming them on Christmas day.

I was able to find two really good books from the library about St. Nicholas: The real Santa Claus / Mayer, Marianna and A gift from Saint Nicholas / Kismaric, Carole.

So before we went downstairs, to investigate the stockings we read about the real Santa Claus.

In each stocking, they get candy and one "big" gift. In past years at Christmas, Nana has given them snow globes. This year they got their snow globes with their stockings.

Before they got to their stockings

Sorting

This is good stuff, Mom

"A chocolate penguin?"

So I mentioned before that PG's Godparents gave him this really neat Advent calendar. If you can find one on sale, they are really amazing. But one word of advice. After attending a party with an hour and a half drive both ways, returning home at 10:30, putting excited and exhausted children to bed and then filling stockings might not be the time to assemble 24 small boxes and fill them with tiny toys.

PG got a Veggie Tale movie in his stocking. For you VG fans and for those who have small children. Run out and get St. Nicholas. It is fantastic and other than not making him a bishop is really spot on. I am so impressed. There is even a religious sister in the movie. A few years back they did a bit on St. Patrick in one of their movies (Summo of the Opera) and DG now has a huge devotion to St. Patrick. They have their saints down and do them with a great message for kids.

For those of you who are curious, RA got a VG Christmas CD. Which by the way was poor planning on my part as we don't start listening to Christmas music until the third Sunday of Advent. Opps!

DG got an Altar Gang CD about Advent. Yet another plug -- I really like the Altar Gang. This was my first experience with the CDs!

And the snow globes: PG and DG got Veggie Tales ones, they are so cute. RA got a Nutcracker one as the girls (my mom, grandma, aunt, sister, RA and I are going on the 4th Sunday of Advent to see the ballet).

Advent and Some Great Feasts

2009-12-09T21:53:00.004-05:00

Ok for those of you who know me, you know why I haven't been blogging. It is Advent -- my favorite time of year and I have been so busy creating the perfect Advent that I haven't been blogging.

So here is the update.

On November 29th, the day after PG's b-day, we put up the tree. Thanks to Target we added the purple lights, snowflakes, and ribbon. The ribbon and I had a big fight this year. It is so nice to have a big window to put the tree in front of finally. But I couldn't take a picture that night because we didn't have any Jesse Tree ornaments on. I thought, "Ok somewhere in week 2 of Advent, I'll take a picture." Two nights ago, the middle section of purple lights went out. So still no pic. I looked at Wal-Mart. They had purple lights (on WHITE wire) so still no picture. As far as the Jesse Tree ornaments, here is a big shout out to the Mothers for Children at OLMC in Carmel. Thanks for the years of ornament trading. My ornaments are so pretty and I think of each one of you as the kids hang them on the tree.

November 30th was the feast of St. Andrew. It made me a little sad. I was thinking of our Andrew and how we are so blessed to have little ones in heaven.

On December 5th, we headed out to Byers CO (an hour and a half away) for Mass the Knights of Columbus Party. We left ourselves plenty of time. Dressed in our Sunday best, we stopped for gas. It has been pretty cold here so Blake waited in the car with us while the gas pumped. When he heard the click, he got out and took the hose out of the car. It started spraying all over him. It soaked him through, so home we went to change. We got to the parking lot of the church at the gospel. We would have been ok except there was no music at Mass.

At the party, there was a special guest (Santa Claus). We had prepped the kids. For those of you who don't know, we don't "do" Santa Claus. On the feast of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th next post) the kids get there stockings in honor of St. Nicholas. So we decided to remind the kids that some kids think Santa is real and please don't say anything if someone asks you about Santa. Well RA was so taken by him, she didn't leave his side the whole time. Then he starts into this 5 minute speech about, who believes in Santa Claus. Asking kids individually and telling them to raise their hands. I was holding my breath. I could just here DG going on some soliloquy about how Santa was not real and telling the whole story of St. Nicholas. Luckily, he followed directions. Phew.

More about the feast of St. Nicholas later. Here are some pics:

And thanks Mrs. Wrobel for the really cool Playmobile Advent calendar!

Peter's Birthday

2009-11-28T20:33:00.010-05:00

Well another great thing about living around family is they all join you for celebrations. We had a lasagna dinner and dragon cake and ice cream for dessert. Great Aunt Nancy, Great Uncle Ed, Great Uncle Billy, Cousin Patrick, Aunt Katie, Nanna, and Blue Truck all joined us.

My dad (Blue Truck) recminising about Fruit Roll ups. The ones that say "lick here".

Aunt Katie, Uncle Billy, Nanna, Blue Truck, Aunt Nancy and Cousin Patrick chipped in on various aspects of the western costume.

One of the realitives asked if it was ok to get him a rifle. I said, "Why not? He turns every other toy in the house into a gun."

Reflections for the week/month

2009-11-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

Outside my window::
::it is technically Monday morning. It is dark but I know there is a blanket of snow (and ice) covering everything.
I am listening to::
::my husband breathing hard as he sleeps. And the heater running.
I am wearing

::The same clothes I wore to Mass today. That is almost as lazy as still being in PJs at noon.

To be Fit and Happy::
:: RA wants more exercise in her day. She actually asked for it. So... I rented a exercise video. The kids love it. Now, do I buy one or do I get productive and make my own exercise plan for them. I get right on that one!
I am thankful for::
::this is going to sound wierd. But I actually found myself thanking God tonight for the entertainment of football and the Colts. On more profound things, I am thankful for the realization of the fragility of life and in particular of pregnancy.
I am pondering ::
::the importance of the priesthood in relationship to the sacraments. I was reminded of this when our priest cancelled Mass today. What if we didn't even have a priest?!
I am reading ::
::blogs can't seem to keep my attention much longer than that these days. Oh and the daily meditations for the 40 day Consecration.
In the Kitchen

:: my oven is broken. I can't use it for several more days. I didn't know this before I went grocery shopping for the week. Praise God that only two meals this week were going to be cooked in the oven.
I'm thinking::
:: I need to go to bed earlier.

I am working on
::programs for the AHG award ceremony on Tuesday.

On my iPod::
:: Nothing new really except some old Dolly Parton
Towards a real eduction::
::We decorated the school room last week thanks to my Grandma. This is a blog in it self. Remind me to post it.

Towards rhythm and beauty
::I am working to have a life that truely exemplfies this. It isn't happening.

To Live the Liturgy::
::Can I just say, I am so excited for Advent. I know those of you who know me aren't suprised.
I am hoping and praying::
::for KJ. So far so good but with all the sad and challenging baby news these days (from others) I get worried sometimes.
In the Garden::
::the closest thing to a garden we have is DG's jar with kidney beans that he is growing for a science experiment.
Around the House::
::I am thinking I shouldn't touch anything. The oven is broken, the van is making noise, and the vaccum didn't like me the other night.

On Keeping Home::
::I can't get a handle on laundry. Everytime, I think I might it just doesn't happen. I really need to re-intro my rule.

One of my favorite things::
::snow storms that seem to cover the world with silence.
the kids this week
::RA finding out we are having a girl and singing her name for several days.

DG fecieving his first Reconcilliation and being soooooo excited.

PG thinking about (and I stress thinking about) potty training.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week::
:: Finish the programs, figure out how to get caught up on laudry with out loosing the order in the house, make sure I am physically prepared for Advent, so we can spiritually prepare, take care of my mom during her surgery and recovery.
A Picture Thought I'm Sharing

:: It is time to take back the culture and make it Christian/Catholic again. I am getting tired of having to explain why my children dress as Saints on All Hallows Eve, why I don't celebrate Christmas before the 25th of December and why I celebrate it until Epiphany, that Easter is a 50 day season... We need as a Church to live our faith day to day and not be afraid to be different. Praise God my kids remind me and help me live this daily.

Baby Helgoth

2009-11-16T00:52:00.004-05:00

Ok so I know you all already know and have seen the pics but for posterity sake...

Its a girl!

Here are the first pics of KJ. Profile

Face

Ok, so this is the girl shot. The tech told me, "Pretend you are looking at her from under a glass top table that she is sitting on. See the three white line, those are girl parts." Ok!

Carved Pumpkins today

2009-10-29T21:08:00.004-04:00

So DG had really no interest in cleaning or carving his pumpkin, so it became Daddy's. RA however almost cleaned her whole pumpkin by herself. She wanted to carve it to but her design she really wanted was too detailed and we weren't excited about her using a knife. PG is waiting till tomorrow to do his. We still need candles and place to put the pumpkins. If we put them outside right now, they would be covered by snow in the morning.
.

Two Weeks with Grandma and Grandpa H -- in pictures

2009-10-20T22:07:00.005-04:00

Mommy and Daddy alone in a picture? Has that happened since the wedding?
Garden of the Gods -- she loves rocks

Her digs after shopping trip with Grandma

the only picture with a grandparent in it and PG made him look silly (and Grandma took the picture) :-)

Bishop's Castle: One man in southern CO is building this castle. It is near a cabin (we got to spend the weekend at) that Blake's aunt and cousins built and own.

More Castle -- this guy Jim Bishop was a rod iron artisan in Pueblo

DG and his cousin -- ok well it is Blake's cousin's son (but I don't know what that makes him to DG so we just call him his cousin)

DG, RA (superstar), N, and H (two out of the three cousins)

So what else did we do? Shopping, Cave exploring, hiking at the Garden of the Gods, playing lots of board and card games, ate lots of good food, spent a weekend at the cabin... Had so much fun. Wish Grandma and Grandpa lived closer. They are gone for a week to visit more grand kids. They will be back for 5 days (Halloween included)!

It's Official...

2009-10-08T01:17:00.003-04:00

We are pregnant! That's right. Baby Helgoth is due March 25th. For those of you who know our history of miscarriages, so far everything is looking great. Healthy heartbeat and growing baby. He/She was kicking the doppler last week when we were listening for the heartbeat. It was cute. I have a fantastic Catholic, truly pro-life doctor who has been amazing in helping me through how to handle all our medical background. In fact, when he saw the due date he didn't say, "You are due on March 25th." He said, "Oh the Feast of the Annunciation!" And I thought, "Praise God, a real Catholic doctor." Anyway, I have to say we have been cautiously optimistic around here with the cautiousness melting away and the excitement building. We have picked out names. We are "discussing" whether to find out gender. And PG is so excited to find this baby (where IS the baby, Mommy) and to be a big brother.

Great tips for homeschooling moms and just mom's in general!!

2009-09-29T23:05:00.002-04:00

http://theten0clockscholar.blogspot.com/2009/09/8-habits-of-happy-homeschool-mama.html

RA's feast Day

2009-09-08T17:00:00.004-04:00

This had to be one of the busiest feast days yet. We let RA pick all the food for the day. So we started at QDoba for lunch. Then we met my parents (Nana & Blue Truck) at a beautiful and very creative park in downtown C-Springs call America the Beautiful Park. It was a 90 degree day so we took drinks and got ice cream. We think Blue Truck liked the park as much as the kids. We didn't take pictures but here is one I found. They have very creative ideas.
After the park, our dentist (whose kids are in the homeschool co-op with us) had an open house and one of the priests from the Community of St. Jean came to do the blessing. He gave RA a blessing on her feast and gave our family a blessing as well. They had a teenager doing face painting at the open house so the kids had a blast. Blake asked her, "How did you learn this?" She said, "I just picked it up." I'm impressed.

As I said RA chose the food for the day, so it was home to ice a cake and make dinner - breakfast burritos.

A fun and tiring day was had by all, especially the feast day girl!

Our Lady Queen of the Angels, Pray for us!

DG's 7th Birthday and celebration - in pictures

2009-09-08T00:00:00.002-04:00

Did we pick the right present or what? LotR Risk, what could be better? Even RA looks excited!
Thanks G& G Helgoth

"It's my best cake yet, mom!" Boy he knows how to lay it on thick.

Mom isn't so sure, but if it makes the birthday boy happy.

Next day, The North Pole with cousins

Now this is hard to see, Blake and kids in back, Blake's cousin Cindy next, the boys next, Blake's Aunt Connie after, and first Cindy's husband Darrin. I'm not sure which cars Cindy and Darrin's girls are in but I think RA is with Blake. PG and I sat this one out.

Blake, RA and PG on a tilt a whirl!

Aunt Connie and the boys on the Tilt-A-Whirl

PG is flying

Cindy's daughter with a bird in the magic show. She dressed especially for the North Pole! What a doll!

Time to blog again

2009-09-07T21:08:00.004-04:00

I have not felt very wordy as of late. School got off too a good start and then week three and we are all sick. Ok, RA didn't get sick, but the rest of us did. Blake is doing well but on steroids and fighting hard, at home. That is the best! I guess this time of year is rough. He was sick last year around this time too.
Updates:
DG - Still reading up a storm - later post on his birthday. He did receive some books as presents and polished them off promptly. He is starting cub scouts and seems excited. I think dad may be more excited than him. He has had a rough week with no schedule. Those of you who know DG aren't surprised. I am surprised that it surprised me. I am looking forward to a school week this week to get us back in order.
RA - She starts American Heritage Girls tomorrow and is SOOOOOOOOOO excited. The week before we got sick, we went on a field trip for her Five In A Row book - The Glorious Flight (another blog). She also had a feast day (another blog). (Boy I have more to write than I thought!) She is really enjoying co-op and Little Flowers, which makes me happy since I am teaching it.
PG - Is quite the talker. Wonder where he learned that?! He has enjoyed all of our various day trips and other adventures around Colorado Springs. We see my parents most mornings at daily Mass and he is always excited to see "Blue Truck". My mom got him a block puzzle with a picture on each side of the cubes. He has really been enjoying that.

On another note, my dad's dad (my Papa) had a heart attack last week. He is improving but they have to put in a pacemaker and clean out blocks in his stints. My dad went out to see him this weekend and he and his brother (who is an anesthesiologist and my dad and orthopedist) think their mom may be having some heart issues as well. They need lots of prayers.
That is the news here.

Happy (belated) Birthday

2009-08-25T08:38:00.003-04:00

Well, I missed it. Last Thursday the blog turned one. Last week was fantastic. The first week of school. We had a great week but it was not really a blogging week.
A year. A lot has changed, new address, new house, bigger kids, new friends! We are blessed. Thank you all for joining us on this journey!
Totus Tuus!

So what about Kindergarden?

2009-08-15T00:46:00.003-04:00

(The picture is just for fun!)

Ok, so a couple a days ago I posted the detailed outline of 2nd grade. Lest anyone thought I forgot what about RA and Kindergarten? I didn't forget; she won't let me. She is counting down the days. T-2 and counting!

So Monday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Art, Literature, Math and Music.

Tuesday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, and Music.

Wednesday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, Art and Music.

Thursday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, and Music.

Poetry: She will (just like DG) listen to, repeat, memorize, and recite her poems. Then she will dictate them to me to put in a book. Then she will illustrate them. The poems she is to learn this year include: Rain, Bed in Summer, The Cow, The Moon, At the Seaside, My Shadow which are all by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Turtle by Vachel Lindsey.

Phonics: We have decided to use the same phonics program we are using with DG. She will use the Little Angel Readers for reading time but this way we can do phonics together at least to begin with. If this doesn't work, we will return to using the Little Angel readers with the teacher's guides. Handwriting is covered in the Phonics program. She loves to write and is so meticulous this is fun for her.

Religion in Kindergarten in great. One day I will read her part of a children's Bible. The next day, she retells the story (dictates it) and then illustrates it. At the end of the year, she will have written "her own" Bible. She will also join DG in continuing to learn the Bible timeline and listening to St. Patrick's Summer.

This year, like her brother RA is doing first grade math. No DG is not doing 1st grade math. They are both skipping a year. Why you ask? Quite simply because she has already met the objectives for Kindergarten math. They are Motor Control, Number recognition and writing, number value, counting, number sequencing, and simple addition. So on to first grade math.

Art for RA is really interesting. She will be using pairs of paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Fra Angelico, Degas and O'Keefe. These pairs are the same painting for matching skills. The she will have pairs of different paintings with the same artists to match style. The artists she will use are Van Gogh landscapes, Michealangelo busts, Picasso children, Renoir dancing couples, Monet gardens, and Cezanne still life. The last set are 4 different artists with 4 similar subjects to again match artists. The artists here are Giotto, Bougereau (she has one of his paintings in her room), Degas (all girls love ballerinas), and Di Vinci. She will also be using the art book DG is using to make her own art with styles of famous artists and art types.

Music: RA will attempt music appreciation this year that never worked for DG. But she loves to sing and learn songs so I think she will like this. The book is called 36 Traditional Catholic Hymns. It comes with a CD and the book is sheet music. So she listens to the song, learns the words and then sings with the music. They are wonderful hymns that are often forgotten.

Literature is read aloud time every day. But for this we are going to use the Five In A Row program. This is where you read the same (usually award winning) picture book 5 days in a row and do projects that go with it. This year, we will also incorporate saint books and other books that match the liturgical year or books/stories of virtue.

It should be a fantastic Kindergarten year!

Another Suprise Blessing

2009-08-12T19:29:00.003-04:00

At the beginning of June, our homeschool co-op here in the Colorado Springs diocese hosted their first Childrens' Holy Hour with the promise of more to come. As a side note, the holy hours are being done at my grandmother's parish, the parish my parents were married in, and the parish Blake was baptized in. It is really neat as DG has asked me all about the stain glass windows there and I remember as little girl when I would come to my grandma's house and go to mass that I would be fixated on those same windows.

Anyway, they cancelled July because the first friday of the month was 4th of July week-end. So we were looking forward to August. Well sometime in July we got an email that Fr. Antoine Thomas of the Community of St. Jean was coming to host a holy hour for children. He is the one who began doing this across the country. He cam today and had a family retreat for all the homeschool families and anyone else in the community who wanted to come. It was fantastic. We had Mass and a holy hour and then went to the Garden of the Gods for a picnic lunch. On the way home, we saw a herd of (20ish) big horn sheep very close to the road. When we moved to Monument, I was so excited to be coming home to Colorado though I must admit, I probably wouldn't have choosen the diocese or the parish that we live in. That having been said, we have been truely blessed here and it just proves, God's ways are not ours. Thanks to Fr. Antoine and all who planned the day for such a beautiful way to start a school year.

It is time... Curriculum

2009-08-09T23:09:00.003-04:00

The uniforms and the books are here. The kids are counting down the days and well I have had several people ask me recently what Curriculum I am using. The short answer: Mother of Divine Grace with some adjustments. Well really Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum with MoDG's Syllabi. But what does that mean what does that look like. Tonight I think I will answer that question for DG.
This year, every Mon, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Music, History and Geography and 30 minutes of reading a day. Tuesday, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, 30 minutes of reading and Art. Wednesday is Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Science, Music, History and Geography, and 30 minutes of reading. Thursday consists of Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, Music, and 30 minutes of reading. Friday is just Math and Reading.
What are we doing in these subjects.
Well, we have decided for Math, there is just no need to do such an extended review as 2nd grade math seems to be so he will be doing 3rd grade math. That includes addition and subtraction of multi-column numbers, multiplication tables, division short and long and many other concepts.
Poetry: He learns (memorizes) poems line by line. When he is finished he writes them in a book and illustrates them. The poems this year include: The Owl and The Pussycat, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Psalm 100, The Duel, The Land of Storybooks, and The Song of Mr. Toad.
Phonics: Although DG is a fantastic reader, he just finished the Hobbit, he has not learned all of his phonograms. So this year we are going to learn phonograms and spend a good deal of time working on spelling. He can't spell to save his life. Wonder where he gets that.
Handwriting: Will be included in his phonics lessons and depending on how his printing improves, we may start cursive this year.
Religion: We use the Baltimore Catechism, where he will learn questions and answers about his faith. We also will continue learning the Bible Timeline. We also will continue reading St. Patrick's Summer. In the BC, it suggests each section a prayer to learn and most are parts of the Mass. So on off weeks, we will be making a mass book with the prayers he is learning and he will decorate it.
Art: This year, DG will be studying VanGogh landscapes, Angels by 6 different artists, and 4 portraits by 6 different artists. We will study the method, the type of tools used, the color contrast, the subject, etc. Then for art projects, both DG and RA will learn a specific trait of a specific artist, a little bio about the artist and then attempt to make their own art using the trait they learned about.
Music: DG will start by learning some basic music theory and then begin to learn the recorder and hopefully by 2nd semester the piano.
History and Geography: In geography, we will continue states and capitals. I am hoping to use the H is for Hoosier series to reinforce that concept. In History, he will learn about maps and then begin a family tree, where he will interview his family member and keep a journal. He will also be reading bios of famous Americans.
Science is learning about the seasons and what happen to plants, animals, and weather during each season. He will also be doing experiments about plants.
His 30 minutes of reading will include his history bios, lives of saints, stories of virtue, and good literature.
Kindergarten is next!

Some good thoughts for a new school year!

2009-08-06T23:50:00.002-04:00

From the website: http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/a003rp.htm

Special Devotions

Sedes Sapientiae: Seat of Wisdom Marian Therese Horvat, Ph.D.
A recent article in the LA Times quotes a Labor Council leader as saying “Everybody is a knowledge worker in the new economy. Knowledge is the basis for wealth (Oct. 10, 1999). The Internet Revolution has drowned modern man in facts and knowledge in order to achieve wealth. It is the century of books, facts, science, and information. It is an age sadly in lack of Wisdom.

Statue of Sedes SapientiaeHow many sincere Catholics have been fooled into thinking that the best education can be gained at a prep school, which strives to impress parents with how much information can be crammed into a head in the shortest amount of time. A child who is a classroom eight hours of the day and then studies three to four hours at night has no time for the marvelous. St John Bosco, the wise educator said, “To cultivate only the intellect, abandoning all the other human faculties, is to deform man.” Pouring over equations and computers till midnight, he has no time to contemplate the stars. Man needs to contemplate the bonum, pulchrum and verum of the universe around him, so that he might form an idea of the goodness, beauty and truth of God, so that he can come to love God with his whole heart, soul and mind. It is wisdom that allows man to know and love the Universe created by God. Therefore, the truly intelligent man is the man who seeks Wisdom. Whoever wishes to acquire the great treasure of Wisdom, must, after the example of Solomon seek for that treasure: “I have loved and sought out Wisdom from my youth, and have desired to take her for my spouse.”
In his magnificent book The Love of Eternal Wisdom, St. Louis de Montfort says: “If we really wish to obtain life everlasting let us acquire knowledge of Divine Wisdom; if we wish to reach perfect sanctity on earth, let us know Eternal Wisdom. If we wish to possess the root of immortality in our heart, let us have in our mind knowledge of Eternal Wisdom. To know Jesus Christ, Eternal Wisdom, is to know enough; to know everything and not to know him is to know nothing?” He defines its marvelous fruits and effects in man:
1. Wisdom gives man light to know the truth but a wonderful capacity to make truth known to others.2. Wisdom gives man a relish for things of God. 3. Wisdom pours into his heart ineffable joy, sweetness and peace even in midst of hardest trials and tribulations.4. Wisdom sets men on fire and makes them do great things for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. St. Louis de Montfort then gives the means to attain divine wisdom:
1. Ardent desire, fostered by keeping of the Commandments;2. Persevering prayer; 3. Universal mortification; 4. The last and greatest means of all, the most wonderful of all secrets for obtaining and keeping of Divine Wisdom, a tender and true devotion to the Blessed Mary. Our Lady is the Seat of Wisdom because She was the creature who knew and loved God most, contemplating Him in the universe. The Gospel tells us: She observed all things and kept them in Her Heart. Our Lady is the Seat of Wisdom because She is the Universal Mediatrix that God established between Himself and men in order to be known and loved. Here, then, is the admirable secret to possess Divine Wisdom: “Mary is,” St. Louis says, “the secret magnet.
“Wherever she is, she draws Eternal Wisdom so powerfully that He cannot resist. …Once we possess Mary we shall easily and in a short time possess Divine Wisdom through her intercession. Of all the means to possess Jesus Christ, Mary is the surest, the easiest, the shortest way and the holiest. “And the best way to belong entirely to Mary is, so to speak, to take Mary into our house by consecrating ourselves unreservedly to her as her servants and slaves. To surrender into her hands all we possess. And then, this good Mistress, who never allows herself to be outdone in liberality, will give herself to us, in an incomprehensible but real manner, and then Eternal Wisdom will come to dwell in her as in His glorious throne room.”For the only creature found worthy to conceive and give birth to Eternal Wisdom was Our Lady. And when we go to her, justly called the Seat of Wisdom, she will lead us to this Treasure. As an antidote to the false worship of knowledge so prevalent in our days, it would be an admirable practice to include this invocation often in our daily routine:
Sedes Sapientiae, Ora Pro Nobis.Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.

Jumping 'Gina'

2009-08-02T01:23:00.004-04:00

We went to an amazing Renaissance Fair a couple of weekends ago. I have been waiting to post about it because my dad took all the still pictures but here is a video I have to post.

My fishermen

2009-08-01T14:47:00.002-04:00

Something to Ponder

2009-07-30T18:06:00.003-04:00

I have had A LOT of conversations with a lot of people of many ages about modesty in dress. Someone just emailed me this regarding an upcoming homeschool dance.

Standards of Modesty in Dress
Imprimatur dated Sept. 24, 1956
"A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat; which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows; and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent materials are improper."
The Cardinal Vicar of Pius XII

Just so you know -- I can't think of a single summer dress I own that covers the arms to the elbows.

Small Success

2009-07-16T18:19:00.003-04:00

My Small Success

(caveat: I was sick from Sunday night to late Tuesday night)

I am teaching my children how to play in a backyard. They are almost 7, 5, and 2.5. Now this may not seem like much but only the oldest has ever had a yard before and he was just two when we left it. So it is a very new thing and they are enjoying every moment.

I communicated well enough with my husband to help him understand I needed him to go with me to a doctor's appointment. This is totally me and not meant to sound sarcastic. Apparently, I assume he hears me when I think. I am thinking really loud; what is his problem? ;-)

My little girl is finally talking to me about the things she wants and needs. Instead of looking and smiling or frowning at me and making me guess by the yells or smiles what she means. This is huge not small.

I am on my way (with my doctors and husband) to finding out why all the miscarriages. It is a long haul but progress, is finally, being made.

Thanks tot he wonderful co-op here our school books are ordered. All I had to do was make the list from 7 different vendors, decide who was the cheapest and what books I wanted to use. Now I wait for the bill. Books are cheaper than tuition though.

I feel a caveat is necessary! All these successes are God's; I'm just along for the ride. All Glory to Him!

Thanks to Elizabeth Foss at In the Heart of My Home (http://ebeth.typepad.com/reallearning/) for this wonderful idea. It is a great way to remember that we are good wives and mothers and daughters of God.

In the mind and home of Jenni

2009-07-08T22:35:00.002-04:00

Outside my window...

Dusk is upon us and just the edge of the moutain tops can be seen in the horizon. What a glorious day it has been.

I am listening to...

Silence. My kids are in bed and my husband is not home. Although you can hear the laughter of children out the window.

To Live the Liturgy...

We have been eating our way through the Liturgy. Italian sausages on Monday night for the feast of Maria Gorretti. The feast of St. Benedict is this week. We have a little one in heaven named Benedict so our prayers will be with him in a special way this week.

To be Fit and Happy...

Walks on the local trails with the kids and going up and down stairs is all my exercise entails these days. I need to work on this one.

I am thankful for ...

good friends who help me make through difficult times.

I am pondering this quote...

No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary. -Bishop Hugh Doyle

From the kitchen...

Well this week I haven't done as well at meal planning. I am feeling very uninspired. I am praying to St. Zita.

I am wearing...

My favorite Pro-Life T-shirt, "She smiles, hears, kicks, & feels pain. ABORTION KILLS KIDS." and a pair of really comfy jeans.

I am creating...

Next year's syllabi. Bigger project than I had imagined. Good thing I am not starting from scratch.

On my Ipod...

Well it's an mp3 and the latest addition is Martin Doman singing Press On and I think I may break down and buy Selah singing Gentle Healer. I wish Dan Sloan had a recording.

Towards a real education...

I am reading the historical books of the bible again. I think I just skimmed them last time.

I am thinking...

That people don't realize who God is. They think Micheal Jackson is God. Twelve people as of yesterday had ended their life because he died?

Kids this week...

We were getting out of the car today to play in the park and I said, "Leave the toys in the car so they don't get lost" and DG (6 almost 7) says "My brain is my toy. I have been playing with for the whole car ride here." To which I responded "Well certainly don't leave that behind."

I am reading...

2nd Kings, Raise Happy Children teach them Virtue, And Church documents on the Theological and Cardinal Virtues

I am hoping and praying...

That my husband arrives home safely and healthy.

On Keeping home...

We are going to attack the playroom again tomorrow. This has been my most successful week of laundry. It actually goes from hamper to drawer with all the steps in between in the same day. Wow!

One of my favorite things...

I have spent a great deal of time this week sitting on porches with family, talking and looking at the moutains.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

projects with the kids and the Bible timeline, watching my fence get finished, grocery shopping, going to my husband's aunt and cousins' cabin for the burial of his uncle/Godfather, and time with my parents.

Picture thoughts...

Other peoples' bad days can still make me smile.

Jump on the Bandwagon - MJ

2009-07-08T03:20:00.003-04:00

Here is a twist: I didn't watch any of the coverage of Micheal Jackson's memorial today. I saw some news articles. I feel terrible for his kids - though I worried about them before his death more. But tonight I prayed evening prayer and it included Psalm 49. Go read the whole thing! But here is the part that I found interesting:
"Then do not fear when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases. He takes nothing with him when he dies, his glory does not follow him below. Though he flattered himself while he lived: 'Men will praise me for all my success,' yet he will go to join his fathers, who will never see the light anymore."

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

Forth of July fun

2009-07-02T21:48:00.002-04:00

I know it is early, but this is my attempt at 4th baking creativity. Last year (or the year before) I did flag cupcakes. The disclaimer is it is my Dad's b-day.

Is this normal?

2009-06-30T22:26:00.003-04:00

Sometimes my kids make me wonder. Yesterday, they came up from the basement and said, "PG is a superhero and we are supervilian." PG said he was Larry Boy (ok). DG was Powerman. But RA was Flake????????????????

A quick change in a phonebooth and we have Cowboy man.

Quote of the Day

2009-06-25T21:49:00.004-04:00

Tonight as I put RA to bed, I read her the story of Our Lady of Fatima. It went into detail about each of the children's lives after the apparitions. When we got to Lucia, it mentioned nothing of her death since it was written before her death. So I pointed out that she had died a few years ago.
RA asks, "Did she die of age?"

Oh What A Day!!!!

2009-06-15T00:07:00.003-04:00

So... my wonderful husband works with some parishes in Pueblo (about an hour away). And today on the feast of Corpus Christi there was a Eucharistic Procession. So we decided to go. It was at 2pm and the details we received said Mass and procession. So we got up this morning, had a nice breakfast, went for a walk, came home, got ready and drove. We arrived 30 minutes early to the church, looked around, did the obligatory introductions and grabbed a "worship aid". The cover of the worship aid said, "Vespers, Procession, and Benediction". No mass!!!!!
So we went to Vespers, Procession and Benediction. Now it is about 3:30, it takes an hour to get home so lets get food before we drive. There is a 5:30 mass at our parish. At 4:30 still sitting in the restaurant, ok now what? Well, we can't go to the 5:00 mass locally because we just ate. We could go late to our home parish but when will the check come. The entire ride north, I called Catholic parishes between where we were and home to check on evening masses. I found 3. One 15 minutes from our house at 4:30. One downtown (20 minutes from home) at 7, and one 35 minutes from home at 7. Well, I guess we are going at 7. And the one closer to home makes sense. Now what to do until 7. I know drive around in a deluge of rain, stop at a closed toy store and stay under the awning until the hail stops. Now go to Mass. Being the optimist I am, the kids will be awful, the Mass will be crazy and this will be "one of those nights".
Here is my grace for the day, it was the most beautiful liturgy I have been to in a while and "the big kids" did the best they have in Mass in a long time. (PG and Daddy were in the back.) When we got home the kids went right to bed with no fuss. AND, we got to go to 2 different beautiful cathedrals in the same day. Can I just say, architecture can make or break a liturgy?!
Praise God for all His ways. They aren't mine. I would never have suggested today, but what a blessing.

Virtue or bust

2009-06-10T13:02:00.004-04:00

I have been keeping up, with great interest, lately with the blog Like A Warm Cup of Coffee. And in God's providence Sarah decided to do a series on Training and Discipling Techniques for Discipling Your Kiddos. Today's post should be read (http://likeawarmcupofcoffee.blogspot.com/2009/06/burdens-or-blessings-dealing-with.html)

I read it last night and it inspired me to go back to a book I had taken a lot of notes with but not implemented much of. So I am now re-reading Mary Ann Budnik's Raise Happy Children...Teach them Virtue. And I am beginning to implement the section on temperments. She suggests keeping a notebook for each child and writing in it their virtues and the plan of attack and their vices and the plan of attack and how it is going along the way.
Would you believe that one of my children has the same temperment as me and the other the same as Blake? :-)
Anyway, this can't come too soon as the move has set us back a little at being productive in our regular routine and those of you who know me and DG know we NEED our regular routine. :-) I'll keep you "posted".

Newly found resources

2009-06-09T23:45:00.004-04:00

So with the school year wrapping up (the move put us behind), I found some awesome resources and ideas I just have to share.
At Christmas my mom got DG a book called Logic links for 1st and 2nd graders. It is published my MindWare. I love MindWare. Anyway, it comes with colored chips. Then it gives the colors you use and clues and the kids have to figure out the solution. For example, "Use 2 White chips, 2 green chips, and 1 blue. Clue 1: Both green chips touch the blue chip. Clue 2: The white chips don't touch." There are 100 puzzles like this. Anyway, RG just finished the book (that's right the pre-schooler). She loved it and begged me to "do logic" every day.
DG is really good at memorizing so it was time for states and capitals. There are some really good online quizzes and he loves to use the computer. We also, finally, subscribed to Enchanted Learning.com. So I printed all the state flags and the kids are painting them. We hope to use them to decorate the school room and play room. I also found in my old books, a book titled USA fact book. It has all the states, their capitals, birds, trees... and interesting facts. So DG is using that for reading time.
We just ordered the Great Adventure Bible Study for kids to do over the summer. We are so excited.
So that is what is new at Totus Tuus. Praise God for all the blessings He is bestowing on us.

Flags and stuff

2009-06-03T01:12:00.006-04:00

Thought I would post about school today since that is why I started the blog in the first place. Seeing how DG has always been into maps and has a stellar memory for facts, we began states and capitals last week. He knows all the Great Lakes, Mid-west, Mountain, and Pacific states and capitals now. He wanted to know about the flags, trees, birds... so I have added that to the lesson as well. Although he is not memorizing those. So today DG and RA painted a couple state flags. Can I just say when I decided to have them color and paint the state flags, I had no idea how detailed so many of them are. Seesh, it's a flag people!!!!

DG's (above)

RA's
PG's

Just as a fun thing, try an online states and capitals quiz. I guarantee it was easier when we were kids. Then the only cities we knew were the capitals. I mean really who knows the capital of Illinois, Florida, Nevada... unless you have DG's memory.

Ta Dah

2009-05-28T17:18:00.004-04:00

It's here. I finally have a piano!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now live in my dream home.

A house with a yard, a basement, room to grow and a piano!!!!

God is so good. And I am so richly blessed.

Cold Stone

2009-05-25T19:05:00.003-04:00

DG mixing Cake Batter ice cream with marshmallows

RA mixing strawberry with m&ms.

PG about to eat the Cotton Candy with M&Ms he mixed.

I did not pick any one's flavors or mix-ins.

New friends and good ice cream

New Furnishings

2009-05-20T11:43:00.003-04:00

Well we got a few new pieces for the house. And all at really good deals. The couch, sofa, and chair for $300 from a fellow homeschool family. The bench and desk at a consignment store for a really good (I don't even remember. To quote a smart man, "I've slept since then."). We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and amazing scenery the last few days (more to come) and we started school this week and are on our way to our first field trip with co-op in CO.

Mother's Day Poem

2009-05-10T19:32:00.004-04:00

Happy Mothers' Day
Thank you Deacon's Bench (http://deacbench.blogspot.com/)
Laundry Prayer
I find you so close to me right here, dear Lord.
Surrounded by the dirt and scattered clothing of my family, I find this an ideal spot to pray with you. No one comes near here so it is quiet, and it gives me a chance to reflect on the many blessings of my life. As I pick up their clothing and sort it, I ask you to give each of them what is needed most in their lives.
I fill the washer with my husband's shirts and socks, and ask that you bless him as he wears them to work each day. Give him the grace to see that his work is holy and open his eyes to see the sacredness of each moment of life.
As I sort the tiny socks or the overalls of the children, I smile and remember how blessed I am to have them in my life.
I sort the larger teenage clothing and wonder at how fast these clothes have become larger sizes - and how quickly children grow up. I ask your help as I guide them through each new phase of their lives.
Give me a love that is endless, a heart that forgives them and the humility to ask for their forgiveness when that is right. Help me keep them from danger, and help me to let go and trust you when it is time to do that.
I try so hard to be perfect but lead me to remember that it is here in the smudged, disorganized and disheveled part of life that I find you the nearest.
Thank you, dearest Lord, for so much grace in my life!
Amen.
-- Source: Creighton University.

How to meet your neighbors

2009-05-09T12:04:00.003-04:00

So the day after we arrived in Colorado, the movers came. I drove Blake's car from my mom's house to my house with DG. The 18 wheel moving truck followed me. Blake, RA, PG and Grandpa H drove in the van to pick up lunch. My mom came in her car after going to the bank.
Anyway, I parked Blake's car across the street from our house so the truck could get closer. DG and I went in the house while the moving truck parked. I put my purse on the counter and DG and I walked outside. All of the sudden Blake's car horn start blaring. Not the alarm sound mind you, it was just blaring. I ran into the house and grabbed the keys from my purse but nothing worked. So the mover unplugged our battery till later. In the meantime, two of our neighbors came out to introduce themselves. Needless to say, I don't remember their names because I was in shock about the car. But if you ever need a way to meet your neighbors, well...

The House - Phase Two

2009-05-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

We are mostly moved in now (my in-laws left yesterday - thanks Mom & Dad H! We couldn't have done it without you).Now for the somewhat minor details.

Leaves are in (need pictures - everywhere)

Still working on the school room -but got some carpet remnants yesterday. No more cold feet and drywall dust all over us.

It's a walk out!!!! Look the yard need to be mowed!

Thanks to Grandma H- the kitchen is done! Can I just say I have the coolest dishwasher ever. It even holds long stem wine glasses. Ooohh la la!

The Family/media room (look on the left my blogspot)

The Master - I love my new room.

The Other view

The Master Bath - a definite plus

Still needs a bed skirt - but look pink

The boys room and PG is sleeping in a big boy bed with the threat of the pack and play.

Ok, we still have a little to do.

We need to buy living room furniture, a shower curtain for the kids bathroom (thats ok they prefer baths), and hang a lot of pictures but we are getting there. Come visit and I'll get a shower curtain.

The House - Phase One

2009-05-06T17:38:00.004-04:00

Here it is - the house with boxes Storage
Playroom & school (my uncle drywalled the basement before we arrived)

More basement

Living room (we hope to buy furniture for this room soon)

dining room (need to put in leaves ane maybe move the crib sheets)

kitchen (Grandma H lining shelves - what would I do without her)

Family/media room

Update

2009-05-03T00:37:00.004-04:00

Dear friends,
I know I am sadly remiss in updating my blog. I'm sorry! We arrived Tuesday evening and stayed the night at my parents' house. The movers arrived at 9 the next morning and left our house around 3:30. Since then we have been unpacking boxes and taking trips to get food and other little things we need. Tonight we had a much needed reprieve and headed to Blake's aunt's house for his cousin's 40th surprise birthday party.
DG said something really funny yesterday. We went out for lunch and he said, "I'll be glad when we can just eat at home and don't have to go to any more restaurants or anyone else's house." I second that one.
More updates to come. Be patient. I am so tired before I even get to the computer and feel free to call my cell is still the same.

Overwhelmed

2009-04-19T20:30:00.003-04:00

Blogging seems overwhelming right now...
here's what has been happening: I went to the Indianapolis Catholic Women's' Conference yesterday. Then last night, Blake and I went to the church for a pot luck and a discussion and viewing of Fireproof. Today, friends from the parish threw us a going away open house. Tonight, we went to dinner with some good friends.

What is coming: Tomorrow - homeschool co-op, laundry, and cleaning
Tuesday - birthday, Mothers for Children, lunch with dear friends more cleaning
Wensday - any cleaning I haven't done yet
Thursday - movers box and MNO with homeschool co-op
Friday - movers load truck, stay at friends' house
Sat- last minute cleaning and stay at same friend's house
Sun - last Mass at OLMC and begin travels west

I will blog about all this later.

Special Prayer Requests

2009-04-15T20:57:00.004-04:00

two family members... my godmother/aunt who has to have medical tests that could have bad results and a cousin of DH who is having renal failure. St Peregrin and St. Marina pray for us

A friend named whose baby is being induced tomorrow. St. Gerard, pray for us

For the doctors and health care workers - St. Luke and Sts. Cosmas and Damian

RA 5th Birthday

2009-04-12T22:43:00.004-04:00

We had fun on her birthday but we celebrated the next day. Nana and "Blue Truck" came for a little party. And I think "Isabella" made out better than RA.

Someone needs to teach PG how to smile.

She has been asking for a robe for about a year now.Wilton's came release is mynew best friend and I love stripes ... but color mixing yuck and I am still trying to figure out how to make a true red with white icing.

Rejoice! Happy Easter

2009-04-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

Rejoice heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your King! Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory! The risen Savior shines upon you! Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God's people! It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices we should praise the unseen God, the all powerful Father, and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For Christ has ransomed us with his blood, and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our Passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain, whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers. This is the night when first you saved our fathers: you freed the people of Israel from their slavery and led them dry-shod through the sea. This is the night when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin! This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer? Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son. O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead! Of this night scripture says: "The night will be clear as day: it will become my light, my joy." The power of this holy night dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy; it casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God! Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church's solemn offering. Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Happy Birthday Pier Giorgio - Verso Alto!

2009-04-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

"The end for which we are created invites us to walk a road that is surely sown with a lot of thorns, but it is not sad; through even the sorrow, it is illuminated by joy."
“To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but existing.”

"You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be, so long as my trust in God gives me strength. We must always be cheerful. Sadness should be banished from all Christian souls. For suffering is a far different thing from sadness, which is the worst disease of all. It is almost always caused by lack of Faith. But the purpose for which we have been created shows us the path along which we should go, perhaps strewn with many thorns, but not a sad path. Even in the midst of intense suffering it is one of joy."

"With all the strength of my soul I urge you young people to approach the Communion table as often as you can. Feed on this bread of angels whence you will draw all the energy you need to fight inner battles. Because true happiness, dear friends, does not consist in the pleasures of the world or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we have only if we are pure in heart and mind."

~Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

Guess what

2009-03-30T21:57:00.002-04:00

They (verbally) accepted the offer. No counter offers even.

New House?

2009-03-29T09:36:00.005-04:00

We are putting an offer on a house. Please pray!

Fun Music Class today

2009-03-23T20:35:00.003-04:00

I was a substitute teacher today for about 10 5-8 year-olds at our homeschool co-op. I taught music. Before you laugh, I didn't sing much. We had a lot of fun. We found out some interesting facts about Johann Sebastian Bach. I never realized how funny the name Bach is until I told several 5 and 6 year-olds his name and had chicken noises for the rest of the class period. But anyway, we read a picture book (fantastic series) called Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Hardwell Celenza that comes with a CD. We then used the CD to play musical chairs which sounds mundane but was fun because, if you don't know about Bach's Goldberg Variations, it has 30 variations (thus the name) on it's first aria. There are dances, and difficult pieces, and gigs, and cannons and even a musical riddle. So for each round of musical chairs we listened to a different type of music. The kids were very excited and even shared their favorite variation. I love it when ideas come together.
If you want to parts of the piece check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldberg_Variations#Variatio_1._a_1_Clav.

Who Cares?

2009-03-22T13:59:00.002-04:00

“Too many Catholics just don’t really care. That’s the truth of it. If they cared, our political environment would be different. If 65 million Catholics really cared about their faith and cared about what it teaches, neither political party could ignore what we believe about justice for the poor, or the homeless, or immigrants, or the unborn child. If 65 million American Catholics really understood their faith, we wouldn’t need to waste each other’s time arguing about whether the legalized killing of an unborn child is somehow ‘balanced out’ or excused by three other good social policies.”
-- Archbishop Charles Chaput, March 21, 2009,delivering the keynote address at a conference marking the Year of St. Paul in Detroit.

Prayer on the Feast of St. Joseph

2009-03-19T10:28:00.005-04:00

Seven Sorrows and Joys
of St. Joseph Chaplet

1. Prayer
(All) Jesus and Mary, Saint Joseph loved you without
bounds. He achieved a union with you that no other soul
has been privileged to achieve. Use me as your earthly
instrument to honor St. Joseph. I am reciting these
prayers in union with You and the Holy Spirit.
2. Petition
(All) Glorious St. Joseph, accept this novena as our
seed of faith in your powerful intercession with Almighty
God and His Immaculate Mother.We are confident that
God will multiply this seed of faith by helping us to fulfill
the responsibilities we have taken upon ourselves.We
pray that all the members of our families and loved ones
will be spiritually and physically protected and guided to
fulfill the vocations that God has predestined for them.
We pray that all of our enterprises will be successful, and
that our parish, diocese, and be protected from error. And particularly we pray that
God will grant us the favor we now ask of you, or if it is
His will, one that is better for us.
(Pause and silently make your request.)
Pray the Apostles’ Creed, one Our Father,
three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be for the
Holy Father’s intentions.

First Sorrow and Joy — The Incarnation
(Leader) St. Joseph, chaste spouse of the Immaculate
Mother of God, by the deep SORROW which pierced your
heart at the thought of quietly leaving Mary so that she
would not be punished by the law when found to be with
child; by the deep JOY that you felt when the angel
revealed to you in a dream the mystery of the Incarnation
of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, and your
vital role as the guardian of the Holy Family,
(All) St. Joseph, obtain for me, my family from the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary, the grace for surmounting all anxiety
and the grace of total and absolute trust in God. Win for
us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus the indestructible
peace of which He is the eternal source.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Second Sorrow and Joy — The Birth of Jesus
(Leader) St. Joseph, faithful guardian of Jesus, by
the bitter SORROW which your heart experienced in
seeing the Child Jesus lying in a manger, and by the deep
JOY which you did feel at seeing the Wise Men recognize
and adore Him as their God,
(All) Grant through your prayers that my conscience
and the consciences of all the members of my family purified
by your protection, may become sinless cribs, where the
Savior of the world may be received with love and
respect.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Third Sorrow and Joy — The Circumcision
(Leader) St. Joseph, by the SORROW with which
your heart was pierced at the sight of the blood which
flowed from the infant Jesus in the circumcision, and by
the JOY that filled your soul at the privilege of bestowing
the sacred and mysterious Name of Jesus,
(All) Intercede for us, that the merits of this Precious
Blood, poured out as a Seed-Sacrifice offering for our salvation,
may be applied to my family and all the members
so that the Divine Name of Jesus may be engraved forever in our hearts.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Fourth Sorrow and Joy — The Presentation
(Leader) St. Joseph, by your deep SORROW when
Simeon declared that the heart of Mary would be pierced
with the sword of sorrow at the time that her Divine Son
generously sacrificed Himself for our sins, and by your
JOY when Simeon added that the Seed-Sacrifice offering
of Jesus was to bear an abundant harvest of redeemed
souls,
(All) Obtain for me, my family, the grace to unite ourselves
with the sorrows of Mary and to share in the
salvation which Jesus brought to the earth.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Fifth Sorrow and Joy — The Flight into Egypt
(Leader) St. Joseph, by your SORROW when told to
flee into the foreign and hostile land of Egypt, and by
your JOY in seeing their satanic idols fall to the ground
as the Living God passed by,
(All) Grant that I, the members of my family, will not fear
to do God’s will, which is distinct for each one of us, and
will always trust in Him as the total source of both our
spiritual and material security.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Sixth Sorrow and Joy – The Return from Egypt
(Leader) St. Joseph, by the SORROW of your heart
caused by the fear of the son of Herod after your obedient
return from Egypt, and by your JOY in sharing the company
of Jesus and Mary at Nazareth,
(All) Grant for us that, freed from all fear, we may
enjoy the peace of a good conscience, live securely in
union with Jesus and Mary, and experience your assistance
at the hour of our death.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
[We make a spiritual communion to discern and do God’s Will in each
present moment as we say:]
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.

Seventh Sorrow and Joy – The Finding in the Temple
(Leader) St. Joseph, by the bitter SORROW with
which the loss of the Child Jesus crushed your heart, and
by the holy JOY which filled your soul in recovering your
treasure when you re-entered the Temple,
(All) I beg you not to permit me, any member of my
family to lose our Savior Jesus through sin. Yet, should this misfortune
befall any of us, grant that we may share your eagerness
in seeking him, and obtain for us the grace of finding
Him, and never losing Him again.
Pray one Our Father, Seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
(All) O My Jesus, forgive us our sins; save us from
the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are in most need of Your mercy.
(All) All for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus, all through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart
of Mary, all in union with St. Joseph.
(Leader) Behold the faithful and prudent servant,
(All) Whom the Lord set over His house.

Glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate
Virgin, obtain for me and all the members of my family
and loved ones, a confident, sinless, generous, and patient
heart, and perfect resignation to the Divine Will.
Be our guide, father, and model throughout life, that
we may merit a death like yours, in the arms of Jesus and
Mary.
Help us, St. Joseph, in our earthly strife, to fulfill our
responsibilities and ever to lead a pure and blameless life.
Heavenly Father, please ask the Holy Spirit, Who
resides in the innermost recesses of my soul, to help me
to call to mind all of my sins and faults. Help me to
detach myself from these faults and sins so that I can be
a useful instrument in the hands of the Most Holy
Family, to achieve Your distinctive plan for my life.

Erin Go Braugh

2009-03-17T20:41:00.003-04:00

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness,

Through the confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the Judgment Day.
I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels,

In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs,

In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles,

In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.
I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of demons,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets,

Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics,

Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Lenten reflection

2009-03-17T14:44:00.004-04:00

This blog was started to keep friends and family updated on the kids and homeschooling and what the family is up to and it will continue to be that. However, I have found some help lately from reading the reflections of friends and sisters in Christ who have shared something on their blog. Someday, I might start might own blog that is just random thoughts by Jenni but for now here are my thoughts for today. So if you are following to find out how school went today read the next post I have something fun to share but...

Actually my refection for today is not really mine. every Lent I read the Sadness of Christ by St. Thomas Moore. I love it!!!! Here is what I just read during a 10 minute spiritual reading break. St. Thomas was talking about Judas taking the roman soldiers to the Garden and how he would have only taken them there if he was sure Jesus was going there which must have meant Jesus went there often in the night to pray because Judas was too much of a coward to do something like this if he wasn't sure. Then St. Thomas says, "He (Jesus) used to spend the night praying under the open sky while the hypocritical Pharisee was snoring away in his soft bed. How I wish that those of us who are prevented by our own laziness from imitating the illustrious example of our Savior might at least be willing to call to mind His all-night vigils when we turn over on the other side in our beds, half asleep, and that we might then, during the short time before we fall asleep again, offer Him thanks, condemn our slothfulness, and pray for an increase of grace."

Wow!!!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-03-12T23:42:00.006-04:00

The Simple Woman's Daybook http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

For Today...

Outside my window... Clear and Cold. I'll take sun any day though.

I am thinking... Occasionally (ok monthly) I don't like being a woman. Eve and I are definately having a chat some day.

From the learning rooms... School is going so well. RA reads like a pro for 4 and DG he impresses me daily. Praise God for kids who love to learn.

I am thankful for... my husband. He is jsut an amazing man and continues to blow me away.

From the kitchen... Chilli and this weather just go together.

I am wearing... A Frassati sweatshirt with a mispelled ROCK t-shirt underneath, new jeans and slippers. It is a comfy day.

I am reading... St. Patrick's Summer. It is a kids chapter book to teach catechesis. It is awesome!!!! I wish I had known about it before the talk I just gave.

I am hoping... that my husband doesn't stress too much about his job and the move.

I am creating... nothing. Not in a creative mode right now.

I am hearing... silence. I love my "me" time.

Around the house... My neighbors got burglarized today in broad daylight. Some neighbor I am. I am making sure everything is locked and hidden.

One of my favorite things... cuddling under a blanket and reading. I need to do more of this. If only I had a laptop.

A few plans for the rest of the week... working, laundry, having lunch with Gayle at mom of 3 crazy girls, laundry, spending time with the fam, laundry, a girls' afternoon, laundry, a fish fry, laundry, my husband working a lot, and... laundry!

Here is a picture though I am sharing with you...

Pikes Peak from the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs in December. I can't wait for views like this.

Happy Birthday

2009-03-10T23:16:00.005-04:00

In honor of my beautiful sister on her birthday!

Monday Motivate Me

2009-03-09T20:19:00.004-04:00

I have mentioned the blog Like A Warm Cup of Coffee now several times. http://likeawarmcupofcoffee.blogspot.com/
Every Monday she posts some amazing motivators. This week she shared a song and as lyrics often motivate me here is mine today. I often struggle with saying yes to God's will. That is why Mary plays such a big role in my life. This song was written about a miscarriage (and since I have had a few...) but I think it is appropriate for any trying time. Thy Will Be Done by Marie Bellet http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/mariebellet1-06.m3u
Lyrics:
It was an unexpected flood
That came to me today
Sometimed bad news follows good
And it's really hard to say
Thy will be done

So there’s been a change in plans
What am I supposed to do?
When it is out of my hands
And I can’t see my way through,
When I can’t say
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
I will go to the altar
And I’ll say, “Amen”
And I’ll open my mouth
And I’ll try again
Thy will be done…
Thy will be done…

Well, it scares me so to think
What you can take away…
But I know that if I ask
I will have the grace to say
Thy will be done…
Thy will be done…

Oh, the flesh and blood of life
are yours for the taking,
And my helpless human heart
is yours for the breaking
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

It was unexpected flood
that came to me today
Sometimes bad news follows good
And its really hard to say
Thy will be done…
Thy will be done…
Thy will be done

Legos at the Childrens Museum

2009-03-05T13:02:00.002-05:00

Silly PG and his example

2009-03-05T12:54:00.004-05:00

Ballet Class

2009-03-05T12:51:00.003-05:00

What?????

2009-02-26T21:44:00.001-05:00

Fasting this Lent? Try Taco Bell! :)

Activity

2009-02-26T19:50:00.003-05:00

I realized that I haven't been doing enough physical fitness with the kids. So I decided today to do some streching, crunches, an attempt at pushups, jumping jacks, running in place and a small cool down. All the kids joined me. PG was a hoot. At the end, they all wanted water. At which point, RG said, "I'm a little tired but that was good" and DG said, "I think I broke something." while holding his shoulder. Sheesh!

Gearing up for Lent

2009-02-22T19:57:00.005-05:00

There ought to be a liturgical season to prepare us to prepare. I know as a mother I am making my list. Our sacrafice jar was so successful for Advent, I think we will use it for Lent. DG has already said he thinks he should give up computer games (this was self determined and I am so proud of him). I ordered some station of the cross prints to put up in the school room. Hmmm... what else? I think I will check my resources. Let me know what you all are doing?