Lest I Forget

Yesterday, the kids were remembering things about Ben. Jack said that Ben went to Heaven in the dark. Anna told him, "Oh, no. Ben went to Heaven in the morning." I commented to Anna that she had a good memory. Her reply? "I remember everything about my life." Good. At least one of us does.

FOR TODAY... Outside my window...the sky is just changing from the pink-gray of daybreak to the pale blue of a new day. I am thinking...about all the mundane things I must do on such a special day. I am thankful for...the privilege of being Ben's mom. I am wearing...my pajamas and a zippered cardigan. I am remembering...how Ben lived and loved so fully and completely. I am going...to the co-op today and hopefully the Catholic Bookstore too. I am currently reading...Introduction to the Devout Life. I am hoping... that my baby is growing as he or she should. On my mind...my baby growing within me and my boy in Heaven. Noticing that... winter seems to be hanging on longer than I can tolerate. I am ready for spring. Pondering these words... "At the heart of all temptations is the act of pushing God aside because we perceive him as secondary, if not actually superfluous and annoying, in comparison with all the apparently far more urgent matters that fill our lives." -Pope Bene...

For weeks, I have been anticipating this day. The day that I felt I could announce the happiest of news. We are 11 weeks pregnant! I know this is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, a time of quiet reflection and repentance. Today was my appointment, so today is when I can tell you that my mind and heart have been worrying about this little soul ever since the New Year. We lost Augustine to miscarriage last year at around 9 weeks. I never got to see him. To see this little tiny person kicking and squirming around, even though I cannot feel those kicks yet, filled my heart with joy. The strong heartbeat could even be heard with the doppler instrument. The strange thing is, my oldest will not be here when the baby is born. She will be settling in to college life at Franciscan University way off in Steubenville, Ohio. I am also filled with joy for Sophia, for this is where she really wants to be. Hopefully, I can concentrate better on my Lenten goals now. As a family, we are going to try t...

Well now. After my pink pancakes failed, we got ready for Mass. I had everyone in the van with time to spare since we had to fill up with gas first. We were driving along and Anna's stockinged feet caught my attention. Where were her shoes? At home, of course. The kids behavior was stellar today and Anna's sweet little singing voice made the older couple in front of us smile and they even offered her encouragement. Tonight after dinner, I packed everyone back in the van to take the older girls to Church once again for classes. They are only an hour, so I brought toys and books to entertain the little ones. I got them settled into building a castle and pulled out my knitting. Things were going well until............the lights started fading. I had left the headlights on and sure enough the battery was dead. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. I tapped on the car window next to me and he helped me jump the battery. All is quiet now, the kids are sleeping soundly, I have...

We started Valentine's Day last night. Tony came home with flowers for me and sweet treats for the kids. Then he took me out for a nice Italian dinner. Just the two of us. As we pulled up to the restaurant, there were several rescue vehicles at the front door! Hoping it was not food related, we said a Hail Mary for the poor gentleman and headed inside. Good food and good conversation made for a relaxing evening. Then we returned home to play one of our new favorite games with the girls. This morning, I attempted to make pink, heart-shaped pancakes. Notice there is no lovely picture. Only the edges looked pink after they cooked and my hearts were not quite perfect. Oh, well, I tried. Happy Valentine's Day to you!

--1-- Tomorrow I am going antiquing with a friend. I am really looking forward to an afternoon of browsing and lunch! Yeah! --2-- I was led to a new (for me) food website by a friend who had a recipe posted there. I like this site a lot. I have already bookmarked several new recipes for next week's menu. Yum. --3-- From the classroom comes the following question: When do you throw away pencils? Just how much of a stub does a pencil have to become before you can safely say it is no longer usable? --4-- Tony's Brass Quintet is going on a tour of the southwest for the next couple of weeks. At least there will be room for the little ones when they climb into bed in the wee morning hours! --5-- I made Lemon Tea Bread for breakfast this morning. It was exactly what I had been craving, though there is not much left! --6-- Do you ever feel that God wants to do something special through you? I hope He provides some directions!! --7-- These are my especially quick takes as I am off to ...

I don't get much time to work on Anna's sweater and I am afraid that the sleeves may be too short when it is finished. But as you can see, I am close. I take this with me while Olivia has her guitar lesson each week. I sat down and started knitting, but after a few minutes, I noticed that the yarn did not want to glide smoothly onto the needle from the cable. Upon close inspection, I discovered that the cable was hanging on by the tiniest little piece. I would have cried had it snapped before I noticed. (Recovering dropped stitches is not my forte.) I put some tape around it to hold it in place and browsed the guitar store until Olivia was done. I came home and found a yarn store not too far from the house and today I stopped in and bought a new circular needle. Here is what is left of the old circular needle. I bought this as a set on Ebay for a very low price. I got 12 needles for almost the price of the replacement I bought today. But just maybe, sometimes it is better to go...

--1-- Yesterday, while she was supposed to be doing her handwriting, Anna found out that if you twirl the chandelier over the classroom table long enough, it will come out of the ceiling! Praise God, the wiring kept it from falling on her. --2-- Things like the chandelier incident seem to happen frequently around here. Oh, the tales I could tell you over a cup of tea. --3-- I think that some birds have made a nest in a vent on the outside of our house. I can hear fluttering in the walls in my bathroom and the cat has been stalking that area intensely the last few days. --4-- When the kids are pretending to shoot the big, bad, wolf under the kitchen table so he won't eat their Mama, they do not refer to the broom as a gun, it is a boomer. --5-- I am thinking that this weekend's rainy weather means that I should paint the bathroom. --6-- Almost every day, at some point, I will notice two fat birds land on the railing of our porch. I am pretty sure they are the same pair each day...

Here we have a well-loved, much used art book. It is supposed to help me keep those little guys occupied while I work on my own little project. After browsing through the pages, some of which are no longer attached to the book, but just shoved in wherever, the kids decided to make butterflies. So I went on a hunt for all the materials which, miraculously, we had on hand. Here are the bodies, waiting for their wings to dry. Here are the wings, paper towels with paint. Easy enough. And here are the finished projects, with their creators. After snapping three pictures with their eyes closed, and telling Anna so, here is what you get in the next shot. Now, on to my project, which I meant to do yesterday, but did not. I have been craving bagels. I could have just bought some, but I have been trying to make all our bread, so here we go. The dough is divided into balls and is resting. This was done while the art book was being looked through. Then I made the holes and prepared the boiling wa...

FOR TODAY... February 3. Outside my window...still several inches of snow on the grass, though the streets are mostly clear. Cold, gray, and wet this morning. Yuck. I am thinking...that staying motivated and being a good example for my kids is not easy. I am thankful for... every one of my children. I am wearing...my pajamas, socks and slippers. I am remembering...our delicious dinner last night...pork chops over cornbread stuffing and collard greens. Plus homemade chocolate chip cookies made by the girls for dessert. I am going...to be grading lots of schoolwork today. I am currently reading...First Farm in the Valley by Anne Pellowski to Anna and whoever else is listening. I am hoping... that my parents will be able to visit us soon. On my mind...something I am not quite ready to share. Noticing that...3 year olds have many more mood swings than any woman I have ever met. Pondering these words... "Let us welcome the Lord of glory in whatever guise he comes to us, receiving him i...