December 21, 2011

A last-week-of-Advent Daybook

Outside my window...
beautiful weather. kids riding bikes and playing soccer in the backyard. a freshly mowed yard thanks to a surprise from our neighbor. It is so lovely to live on a block with older ladies who spy on your house (and come over when they mistake your dryer venting for smoke coming from the side of your house) and a retired man who randomly mowes your yard just to be nice.


I am thankful for...
everything. I, like so many people (women in particular), have tended to lean towards jealousies, desiring more (even despite good intentions), and not being satisfied with my lot in life. However, since this past summer, I have opened my heart in a deeper way to gratitude. I do not, ever, let myself think about what I "don't have." At times it is hard to do, and I make myself stop watching HGTV and going to the mall and comparing my life to other people's. Instead, I focus on the amazing blessings in front of me. As a result, my heart becomes overwhelmed at even the littlest things: a cartful of groceries, a parking spot at the gym, a husband who holds my hand at church, and any other little whisper of God in my day. For when we are grateful, God's whispers become much louder and they fill our soul with a fire that drives us towards happiness.


I am thinking about...
how much our kids are growing up and how quickly things change. Their maturing these past few weeks has caught me off guard and I am somewhat mourning the stages that are left behind. From little things to big, they are growing up. I am holding on to every precious moment and truly embracing the truth when people with older kids say that this time, when they are little, is the best time of your life. And they're right. Because when Max circles him arms around my neck, snuggles under my chin, and falls asleep, I really can't think of anything better.


Learning all the time...
After, like, a 3 week break we are back at doing some school. I simply had to get some sort of schedule back with the kids this week for my own sanity and for theirs. They have had tons of fun playing together and having playdates and going places, but their attitudes reflected the fact that they needed structure, once again. Not that a lot is super different with our days when we have "scheduled" time together, but what is different is the fact that I purposely pay attention to them more and give them more one-on-one time. During "school-days" I put aside anything other than pressing work around the house and our outings are also based around their structed time with me, and not the other way around. Max and I spent our time playing with his beloved nativity set and Avila and I did some Christmas bar-graphs and handwriting. And this little time set aside specifically for them is exactly what they needed from me. (And what I needed as well...)


From the kitchen...
starting to plan out meals to make for when baby is born. Hopefully I can bust out a baking day and a freezer meal day. But with the busy January schedule, we'll see when I can get that in.


I am creating...
nothing. I'm taking a break from cleaning, curriculum, house projects (well, except for the random morning I devoted to moving all the furniture around in what will be Max's room), going out of the house more than necessary, and any other time-stealer that takes away from preparing our hearts for Christmas.


I am working on...
patience. patience. patience. Patience and kindness were my New Year's Resolutions of 2011 and by God's grace I have come leaps and bounds. But I still have far to go. Simplifying life, homeschooling Avila, taking my husband's words about speaking with kindness to heart, and even waiting to find out the gender of our baby have all been key pieces in the growth of these virtues in my life. I am also embracing patience as we still have the final stretch (8 weeks!) to go before our little one arrives and I'm putting aside the desire that I want to hold him or her right now. That time will come soon enough. For now I am grateful for life just as it is.


I am hoping...
that Max's one-hour trip to the ER doesn't cost us an arm and a leg. He rolled off the couch and (ironically) onto a doctor's kit lid and despite the fact that he has gotten his fingers stuck in doors, fell down half a flight of stairs, and taken harder tumbles without flinching, this was the one incident that warrented a trip to the hospital. After grabbing his back, not wanting to walk, and crying for a half-hour, we loaded him up and got him checked out. He was pretty pale and super tired (although he didn't hit his head, thank goodness) which also gave us cause for concern. After a good once-over by the doc, we headed home with instructions to give him ibuprofen and take it easy. His 4-hour nap was just what he needed and by the afternoon Max was as good as new - getting into even more boy trouble. And, at the end of the day, Michael simply reminded me that, if Max is anything like he was, this won't be our first trip to the ER...


I am going...
to savor every last minute of Advent and spend more time in prayer in preparation for Christ's birth.


I am reading...
all my magazines. I love curling up on the couch with a magazine or book. Perhaps I should've been doing that instead of using all the kids' nap times to write this post!


I am praying for...
Michael's family and the loss they suffered this week. His uncle passed away from a sudden heart attack just yesterday and his mom and sister will be traveling back for a quick trip to see family and attend the funeral. We pray for their safe travels, for peace in their family's hearts, for the repose of his uncle's soul, and for Christ's consolation during what-should-be this joy-filled time.

I am hearing...
Max singing to his nativity set. Other than the Little People Nativity Set the kids have access to, I keep another plastic one out, at their level, and they can play with it as they wish as long as all the pieces are returned by nighttime. Max has adopted it as his own and, for the past two days, has not gone anywhere without it. He eats with it, attempts to sleep with it, and screams if you take it away. Of course it has all the peeps - Mary, Joseph, Wise-Men, Shepherd - and it's too frustrating for him to carry them all at once, so I gave him a mini-Nordstrom shopping bag to carry them around in. (Nordstrom and Jesus - the great paradox of the Christmas season...) My favorite is when he lines them all up and sings. He thinks he's singing Silent Night or We Three Kings and he always, always, ends with a kiss to Mary.


Around the house...
so. much. singing. It's like these kids don't talk. They just sing.


One of my favorite things...
when Max wakes up (usually before sister) and starts calling out for her. The second he's dressed, he runs out of his room and starts yelling "A-wala!" Poor guy when he realizes she's still asleep...


A few plans for the rest of the week...
*Confession
*a couple workouts
*Michael busy busy busy at work (and me trying to convince him he needs some guy time soon...)
*playing at the awesome new park by our house
*Christmas Eve with Michael's side, Christmas day with my family
*and the culmination of our Advent preparations when we ring in Christ's birth at Mass. I know it sounds corny, but I am so excited for Christmas Mass. I am anxious to stand by Mary and welcome her newborn son into this world...


A picture I am sharing...
Max, in the womb. Just a couple weeks older than our little one now. It reminds me of our current precious life tucked away, hidden from the world, yet still so very much a child. It reminds me of little Jesus, preparing to be born. To all the little ones safely curled up in their mother's wombs, we pray that you will stay that way until your own births - that you will enjoy your slumber in peace and tranquility.



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