Sprouts!

I've been busy, busy, busy. Mostly with taxes and schooling. However I decided to branch out a little and start gardening. I stress the word "little."

I built several self-contained watering gardens and planted peppers, tomatoes, carrots and onions. The peppers were from starter plants, but everything we started as seeds. We've got sprouts!!! The kids are really excited and we keep checking everyday to see how much new green we see. Had I been an ambitious nerd, I would have remembered to take pictures. Instead, I was a procrastinating and overwhelmed nerd and just wish I had taken pictures. Oh, well.

Chicken Little Knew a Thing or Two

The news these days is fairly dismal. It's hard to know what to expect. Will we have a job? Will we be able to find work enough to pay the bills? Will we lose our home? What will we eat? What's going on? When will this get better? Can it get better? What does it mean? Can you imagine what the families on the borders of the crumbling Roman Empire felt when barbarians first started to infiltrate that which had previously been so solid? What about Medieval times? Or how about the countless families, towns and countries caught up in wars over the centuries? The Great Depression? Are we really any different?

I sure don't have the answers, but I know the One who does. And I know that countless generations before us have asked the same questions. Over and over in my mind I have found myself clinging to the Lord's Prayer in a new light. "Give us this day our daily bread..." has new meaning. It isn't just about the bread. It's about clinging to the Lord's grace today - and acknowledging that we need Him. It's about focusing on today's responsibilities and joys, and leaving the uncertainty of tomorrow well enough alone. After all if we are blessed with another dawn, God will be there. Our daily bread is about the here and now - the people, the chores, the smiles, the heartaches, every breath.

I suspect the coming months will hold a great deal of change for many of us. How will we greet and accept the changes? Will we pull together as a nation? As a people of God? As families? My prayer for my family and yours is that God will give you the daily bread appropriate to the day.

Dusting Off the Keyboard

::cough:: ::sputter::

I found it! I found the keyboard! It was buried here. Right here ---> no, over here, under the pile of Christmas cards, the iPod charger, various Lego pieces and preschool art. Cool! I can blog again.

Feast of the Holy Family

Yesterday there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth on the way to Mass. It occurred to me that the devil absolutely hates it when families go to worship Our Lord together. He tries every underhanded trick in the book to trip families up - arguing over socks, where lost shoes are, who owes who money, why didn't so and so grab whathisbucket a jacket, and so on - anything to get each person's mind focused on anything other than the majesty, grace and mercy of the Lord. Our family sure isn't immune.

How interesting it was to discover that yesterday was the Feast of the Holy Family. Every reading spoke to each family member about our duty to one another, the promise that honoring our parents holds, the kind of love we ought to have for one another, and the fact that all of our neighbors are indeed included in that family. How very interesting and enlightening.

A Few Gems

"God built me."
-Wonder Boy, while sitting on the potty

"I don't want to scream at the top of my lungs."
-The Boy Who Must Make Noise At All Times, while singing... at the top of his lungs, in the car

"Do you want Ironman?"
-The Firstborn, while flying The Youngest around in circles in the living room a la Ironman style

"Where's my caffeine?"
-Mominator, while stumbling through the kitchen, rummaging through the empty tea cupboard

Supersize Me

I just got done watching Supersize Me for the second time. Ick. Ick. Ick. I have some thoughts running through my head about the connection between mandatory schooling, the nanny state mentality, the fact that as a nation we don't compete well internationally in the sciences or mathematics, and lack of physical activity/education. It's a little late to take those thoughts too far tonight... but I'll have something to say soon about them.

Let's just say that we'll be avoiding ChickFilA tomorrow after park day.

A Little Love Goes A Long Way

The day before yesterday, WB was sitting at breakfast and dropped his spoon suddenly. He reached over to the Noisy One and proclaimed that the Noisy One is his best friend. It floored me. For starters, I didn't know he understood the concept of a best friend. And he claimed his brother as that friend. This evening the Noisy One told me that WB has reiterated that fact.

Friends. What would we do without them? Because of a dear friend of mine, I have been recently very encouraged in my homeschooling efforts. Her support in helping me find a better way to serve my children led me to choose a path I have eschewed in the past - a path I am so excited to travel. She has also been an encouragement to get more involved in issues I am passionate about.

Our nation has been through the wringer. In real life and online I've watched some really ugly things in recent months - things that make me weep. We don't have to claim each other as best friend or dear friend, but we do have to find a way to live with each other. We are siblings, spouses, neighbors, children, parents, crazy yahoos on the internet... we are Americans. And as Americans we must get our priorities straight and learn true charity and humility. We are doomed if we do not learn this.

My prayers tonight are for my children to know, love and serve God in this life to be happy with Him in the next. They are for thanksgiving that our nation has come a little closer to being color blind. They are for my friends who have wounded each other. They are for healing of colds, recovery from surgery, and for our nation to learn valuable lessons. They are for you. May the Lord bless you and keep you.