Patriotism, Elections & America

With elections next week, our children are very aware of what we as Americans will be doing next Tuesday. For weeks now they have noticed campaign signs and all of the media propaganda on the television. They also know who we support in the presidential election and know why. Without going into detail with the kids, we have made sure that they understand that we vote for the candidate who shares our morals and beliefs. Someone who will hold their office and fight for the dignity of EVERY human person, from conception to natural death. Although they are young, I do believe that they can be taught about our great nation and the beliefs and truths we were founded on. With that in mind, I chose to scour the local libraries and bookstores for books that will help instill patriotism, teach them about our first president as well as our current president and give them a basic understanding of America. I think it's important that our kids appreciate America and understand how to be a good citizen. We will also show them by our actions when we take them with us into the voting booth next Tuesday!

Yesterday I informed Lily & Jonah that we would be spending the next week learning about presidents and elections and America. At the end Lily said, "we're too little to learn about government!" I was surprised to learn that she knew such a big word and knew that it was exactly what I was referring to. I knew then that this was the perfect thing to be discussing with our kids. They're ready.

Looking back...a fond farewell

Tomorrow I am turning 30. Unbelievable to me where my 20's went exactly. However, if I sit and ponder the last 10 years, I've done a lot of things that have been quite momentous. My twenties were good to me to say the least.
Shortly before turning 20 I began service for a year with NET Ministries(www.netusa.org) and was placed on a team with 11 others and traveled to different states in the U.S.- Michigan, South Dakota, Louisiana & Alabama to name a few. While I was 21, I spent that year working for a number of Catholic parishes as their Youth Minister and met my future husband,Reed. Around my 22nd birthday, Reed and I became more than acquaintances and soon after began dating. We also became engaged a few months later, still while I was 22! We began building our own home and about six weeks before my 23rd birthday, Reed and I began our lives together and were married. Three months later we found out we were expecting baby #1. A month before my 24th birthday, our daughter Lily was born and I began the journey of motherhood. When I was 25, we became pregnant with baby #2 and after 8 weeks we miscarried Natalie Noel. A couple months later we found out we were expecting baby #3! At 26 years old I gave birth to our son, Jonah. Another blessing! The last couple of years have been spent being a wife and mother and have been filled with lots of happiness and many blessings. When I look at these last 10 years as logged here, it has been a busy 10 years! I cannot begin to recall all of the fond memories that have filled these years, some sad memories are also sprinkled throughout, but mostly I realize that I have been abundantly blessed. My life as I know it has closely followed the visions I had in mind as a young woman. I am a wife and mom and enjoying it. I was able to rely on God and all of His plans for me and thankfully, He guided me to a wonderful, faithful, Catholic husband. He blessed our lives with little children to raise, teach and love. He filled our lives with joy with many family and friends. As I celebrate my 30th birthday tomorrow I will be so grateful for the life I have led and I will gracefully embrace the thirties. I look forward to all that God has planned for this new season of my life.

Harvest

Fall. Autumn. Harvest. Whichever term you use it still means it is the short amount of time between beautiful summer weather and the cold,snowy days of winter. Being that I am not a big fan of winter and the weather it presents us, harvest time always goes by too quickly. This year I have been able to enjoy the sights and sounds of harvest time. I have noted the brilliance of the abundant colors on almost every tree, the crisp air, the falling leaves. I've also seen the ratio of tractors to other vehicles going past my window increase as farmers continue to work in the fields. In the distance somewhere I can hear the faint buzzing of corn dryers and combines running late into the night. I even created a harvest shelf this year in my dining/kitchen. When I hung that shelf there last winter I was hoping to use it for this purpose--to recognize and celebrate every season we enjoy. So, again today I breathe in the beauty of the season, for all too soon Christmas gift lists will be running in my head, cookie baking will begin and the ground will be white. All of this beauty may be wasted if I didn't stop in the midst of it all and thank the God who created it.

Autumn
Emily Dickinson

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

Simplicity

I am a planner and organizer. I like when things in my home are functional. Yes, I may go overboard at times in wanting things 'just so', but I realize that since I spend lots of time in my home I need it to 'work' for me. I can easily recognize when things in an area of my home aren't being used to their capacity or serving their purpose. For me though, this organization and even cleanliness in my home helps to keep my heart and my spirit at peace. I have been seeing more lately how this inner peace draws me toward simplicity. Of course, there are things I can't live without (like Walmart and Target!), but somehow having peace and simplicity in myself easily overflows into other areas as well. I know when I am settled and enjoying the simple things in life, I am happier and it reflects in the happiness of my kids and my family. I also find that it is easier to relieve stress and anxiety when simplicity is being sought. As a wife and mom I can easily get caught up in each trauma and drama that whirls around me, but I am finding that I need to keep myself focused on remaining calm and at ease. Not only for me, but for my household. I hope that the slower pace of fall and winter will continue to help me take time for myself and recognize where I need to make things simpler in my daily life.

Looking out my window....

Red,Orange,Yellow,Brown. Cooler weather. Slow rains. Here,It's Fall. I've been taking more time this year to enjoy the wonder of God's creation and the beauty of the changing of the seasons. The leaves on the trees in our yard and around the area are glorious this week. What beauty to behold. Just had to share it.

Bedtime

Bedtime in our family has always been a sort of ritual that we follow closely. The kids now even know that 8:30 is their appointed bedtime. When it rolls around, if the kids aren't already in their jammies, then is the time to go pick them out. The last kisses and hugs for the day are given to mommy and then it's the last call (or in Jonah's case, the last order)to use the bathroom one more time. That's followed by brushing teeth, picking out books and then the stories are read. Finally, daddy sings a couple of songs. There is even a sequence of songs and the kids know which on is the last one for the evening. Yes, we are that routine!! Bedtime has been something that I usually take a less active roll in and Reed takes over. At that point I usually start relaxing for the rest of the evening, if I haven't already started. I kind of enjoy it that way and I think the kids really like bedtime as their special time alone with daddy. Final kisses and hugs are then distributed by daddy and then he leaves the room. What happens after that depends on what pattern we are in (right now we are in a good one, thankfully!). The kids know that they need to stay in their room and go to sleep and after they go to bed it's mommy and daddy's time to be by themselves together to talk about their day. Most of the time, this is followed and we can hear the kids either talking or arguing as they settle in. Sometimes they will play around up there or read, but usually in good time they eventually fall asleep. I won't even go into what all goes on when they are in a different pattern and decide not to stay in their room! Trust me, those are some pretty rough nights at our house!! Any way,usually when it's time for us to go to bed, the kids are asleep and Reed goes in to turn off the nightlight. Sometimes I like to peak in there and see their little sleeping faces and grab a little "mommy moment". We never know what we'll find when we go in their room at bedtime. Last night,I could hear the kids were up chatting for awhile before they fell asleep and I could hear a bunch of rustling about. This is what we found when we went to check in on them at bedtime..I guess they just wanted to go camping instead of sleep in their beds! Priceless.