In the Heart of my Home

A Simple Woman's Daybook

~ Do stop by Peggy's for all the links entered in this week's Simple Woman's Daybook ~

***

Outside My Window ... I watch with joyful anticipation as the peonies are just about to bloom

***

I am thinking ... about all the work that is going undone lately while I nurture this tiny baby within

***

I am thankful for ... every single wave of nausea. They remind me I'm still pregnant.

***

From the kitchen ... there are brownies baking at 7 AM, the fulfillment of a promise made to Nicky yesterday.

***

I am wearing ... one of Mike's old rugby shirts and flannel pants.

***

I am creating ... a baby. My ticker tells me that today I'm working especially on bones.

***

I am going ... to go back to sleep just as soon as someone over thirteen is awake and able to take over.

***

I am reading ... A Civilization of Love.

***

I am hoping ... to put the garden books and the bird books into baskets today (and they'll be on the sidebars, too) and then to head outside to weed the garden (nice and soft after all that rain) and fill the feeders.

***

I am hearing ... Nicholas singing to Karoline. Karoline "singing" back.

***

Around the house ... sigh...I will try to get back on track with all those well-laid plans.

One of my favorite things ... very large stoneware mugs--the prettier, the better.

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: I'm hopeful for a visit from a bloggy buddy as her family returns home after visiting Williamsburg; I'm hoping to get to Bull Run to see how high the creek has risen; I'm hoping to plant tomatoes and peppers; my mother is coming to town.

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

 

HT: Dawn, who makes life simply beautiful everyday.

Oh, Ann!

Thank you for giving encouragement such a poetic voice.

Making Mama Happy the Day AFTER Mother's Day

A Mother's Day mug and a cup of perfect tea. I'm not much good for anything today.
We watched Dan in Real Life last night. I cried the whole way through and then I stayed up all night listening to the rain pound against the house. I'm still not sure why. I can't figure myself out. I will say we have a long-standing family rule against movies where the mother has died and the family has to go on without her. We've never watched Bambi or  Sleepless in Seattle. Still, I think I really liked this movie. I think.

The Weekend So Far...

• One heartbreaking State Cup loss
• One four hour trip south in order to sit on the bench,not play a single minute, and then drive home again
• One good game--a two-fer because two of our boys play on the same team
• One season-ending sprained ankle
• One game yet to be played an hour south of here. I'm pretty sure as soon as we get there, it will be called off due to heavy rain,  lightning, and the threat of tornadoes.

Somebody tell me again, why do we do this sports thing?

A Very Special Mother's Day

Four years ago, a seventeen-year-old mother grappled with the biggest decision of her life. Her high school graduation was around the corner. Her prom swished and swirled in front of her. Her sweet, curly-haired baby was a week old.  She had dreams--big, big dreams. But mostly, she had prayers. She begged God to show her what He wanted for her baby and for herself. She chose to keep the baby. And with the support of her family, she has given that baby a loving home. I've been privileged to watch them both grow. Today, Emily graduates from college. And with this graduation, she is for her daughter a living testimony to hard work,determination, self-discipline--and mostly, life-giving love. Congratulations, Emily! May God continue to bless you abundantly!

He's Home

He came home to a good dinner and crisp, sweet-smelling sheets. He came home to adoring little sisters and a whole crew of boys who consider him their hero. He came home to a comfortable, lived-in place that is always the same no matter how much we changed it while he was gone. He came home.

He came home proud of himself. He finished the semester with a 4.0. He played a whole lot of soccer, made some good friends, and lived his faith. He pierced his ears, tried being a vegetarian, and totaled his computer.

He went out and conquered the world. And then, he came home.

We all slept well last night.

According to Katie,

these are not weeds, they are "wishing flowers."

From Mohawk to "No-hawk"

Nicky took on the St. Baldrick's challenge yesterday, joining his friends Carter and Ronan to "shave to way to conquer kids cancer." Mary Chris got a picture of the mohawk before he went totally bald.

You gotta love Sally Clarkson!

Wise words from a seasoned mom with perspective:

I used to say to my children over and over again. “Daddy and I cannot make you into great people. You have the power to determine how strong you become by how you exercise your will. We can train you and teach you how to be good and how to be righteous, but you have to decide to obey and you have to decide that you want to become a person of godly character. God made you such a wonderful child, so I hope you will decide to do your best to become all that you can be. It is in your hands. It is yours to decide to respond, but I am praying and hoping that you will.”

When we appeal to our children’s hearts for excellence and choices of good behavior, then we are giving them the will and desire to be excellent all for themselves. Their desire comes from within and their motivation is from their heart. But if we train them behaviorally by always forcing them to do what we want them to do because they might get a spanking, or another kind of threatened discipline, then their motivation is to avoid spanking or harshness but not to please God or to please their parents, by having a good heart and responding in obedience.

This works itself out practically by helping them to train their wills to develop strength and self control. Our children always remember us saying all the time, “You have a choice to make. If you obey me, then you will be blessed. But if you choose to disobey me, then you are choosing disciplinary consequences that will be unpleasant.”

Don't miss her whole message.

 

Happy Birthday, Christian!

You fill our lives with sweetness and laughter!

New Life as we Know It

Many, many thanks for all your prayers and good wishes for our new baby. You asked about a due date (though some of you caught the ticker in the sidebar;-). Remember that novena my children prayed before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? The baby is due December 8. Of course, I have had only one baby on my due date. The rest are mostly late. But that one baby was my December baby. And there are oh so very many wonderful December feasts that I'm pretty much assured of festive little bundle.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum has set in with a vengeance. What's that mean? It's Greek and Latin for "Mommy is throwing up all the time. Please be quiet and good." It also means that I obsess about the the perfect food that I'm sure will make me feel perfectly well within minutes. And then I eat it and then--well, I never want to eat it again for the rest of my life. It means I can't eat any sugar or any fruit. If I eat a carb, I need twice as much protein to go with it. It means, in the words of someone who knows, "steak is my friend."  Hyperemesis is getting up at four o'clock every morning because my blood sugar bottoms out and I need to eat. The rest of the day hinges upon whether or not I can go back to sleep. It means that when my husband calls to ask if he can bring me anything on the way home from work, I wish for a fleeting moment that I had Sarah's husband and I ask if he could bring me an IV. I don't even know Sarah's husband; I just know he actually can bring her an IV. Ah...to get hydrated without having to swallow.

Hyperemesis means that my inbox is stuffed to full but it's really hard to put two words together on a consistent basis. I'm much better at reading than writing. So, if you've sent me an email in the last six weeks and I didn't answer, please don't take it personally. I read it, but then I had to leave the computer to throw up;-). And now you know why I didn't get to go see the Pope. I was too afraid of being sick on the Metro or in the crowds.

And what about all those housekeeping resolutions? Well, in all honesty, the major cleaning out was spurred along at break neck speed because I thought we might be looking at major house changes as of  June 1st. We're not. Another long story. For now, let's just say that St. Joseph and I are tight and all heaven had mercy on me. But I'm so glad I put so much effort into cleaning and creating calm. It's stood me in good stead. The house isn't quite what it was a couple of months ago, but it could be if I had, say, a second trimester reprieve. Oh, and the ironing? I haven't touched it in three weeks. The smell of ironing spray makes me gag. But my mom is coming in a couple of weeks and she likes to iron. There's hope.

Patrick has taken over all the cooking. He's a beast in the kitchen. At least that is what he tells me and he tells me that's a good thing. One of his soccer buddies has a chef for a dad. Paddy's taking notes. The kids assure me they're eating well. I'll take their word for it. The kitchen is to be avoided at all costs, save for desperate 4AM runs when I pray all the way down the stairs that the children cleaned up well after dinner and there will be no surprises in the sink.

And what about "school?" We're limping along. Marisa and Colleen are helping to write Serendipity and we are moving oh-so-slowly. Fortunately, it's beautiful outside and we usually spend lots of time outside this time of year anyway.Rebecca continues to keep us supplied with botany lessons. I've planned for it. We will buckle down again in the second trimester when it's 100 degrees outside with 95% humidity.

All in all, I'm grateful for nausea. It's a constant reminder that I'm still pregnant. And really, the view from the couch isn't all that bad.

Cinco de Mayo

A good night for Rebecca's Chalupas !

Major Envy

I live in a parby development, too. How I wish I'd spent the weekend the way Kimberlee did!

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

All That Glitters is NOT Gold!

Glad Suzannes!

The Suzanne with five girls has just posted pictures from the birth of her new pink bundle, Jacqueline Therese.

The Suzanne with five boys, now settled happily in a darling house somewhere south of here, has just announced that number six is on the way.

These are blessed and glad hours indeed! Hearty congratulations and many blessings to both families!

Today's the Day...

...to begin a Rosary Novena for a New Pentecost in America.

Michael on Gordon Bradley

Apparently, yesterday's link contributed to a crash at the Mason site. Michael's written a new piece on Gordon Bradley today. Don't miss it.

First Coach, Forever Friend

When Michael was a tiny boy, he dribbled a soccer ball up and down the hallways of the athletic department of George Mason University, where my husband was on staff. Tow-headed boys and soccer balls inevitably drew the attention of Gordon Bradley, an international soccer legend, and the Men's Soccer Coach at the time. From the time Michael could toddle, Gordon told him he'd play for Mason one day. He encouraged him and inspired him. And I'm pretty sure it was Gordon who first called Paddy a "brilliant wee 'un." Michael wears the green and gold proudly now and his one regret as he finished his first year was that Gordon never got to see him play on the home pitch at GMU. Gordon died yesterday of Alzheimer's Disease. Michael wrote the obituary for the  student newspaper.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

You are so missed, dear man, so missed.

Updated: Here's a personal piece written by Michael Wednesday night.

Words Worth Pondering this Morning

"When you live in holiness, when you really try to stop sinning, you become braver. You become more courageous, you become a man of your word. You become a man of conviction that you're not willing to sell out and you're really a true knight in shining armour." --Jim Caviezel
HT: Danielle