Annie's First Day of School!

Annie is going to a half day Montesorri program with Ms. Polly--an old friend and wonderful lady.
Many children (that are 3 years old) cry when they are dropped off on their first day.
Annie cried when we picked her up!  Walking to the car, she cried that she had not gotten to do all the activities she had wanted to do!
I don't know if all children are well-suited for Montesorri.  But Annie was MADE for it.
Hooray!!!!

Jake's Newspaper

   Jake and I spent most of yesterday working on his newspaper: he is creating a student-run newspaper with some of his friends.  He has written 2 articles for the first issue, to be released in September: "Bears Are Lurking" regarding the potential return to a bear market, and "How is DART Doing?" regarding the Dallas light rail system.  He also created a word search, with names of artists.  It was delightful to hear him rattle off 20 artists with whom he was familiar.

  I love him having this sort of opportunity.
  I hope the newspaper turns out well!  I am a little nervous!   

Back yard renovations

    After five years, Ron and I are finally in the home stretch on landscaping our back yard!  We put in countless hours this weekend revamping our flower beds: new border, excavating excess buildup, putting in new mulch, taking out failed plants, putting in some new ones, checking and improving the sprinkler system (was in horrible shape!), and weeding and refertilizing the raised vegetable garden beds.
    Still to do: put in a hummingbird garden area, install soaker hoses (replacing the horrible sprinklers in flower beds) and revamp area behind the pool.
    That's all child's play compared to what we just accomplished!
    And I need more Advil.

Marc Chagall and Wonderful Grandparents

     Marc Chagall t-shirts all around!  Granny has done it again: knowing how absolutely thrilled we were to get to see the Chagall exhibit in Paris (a one time only collection of Chagall paintings from around the world, including from private collections), she came to Dallas bearing Chagall t-shirts for the kids!

    Then Mom, Dad, Ron and I went to dinner--a rare and delightful double date--to a nearby Thai restaurant.

   We talked about the book(s) I am working on, motherhood, the Catholic Church, and New Mexico.  It was a true joy!  How I love my parents!

Math U See--Our New Favorite Program

    Where has this been all my life?  I love this math program!
    When I started teaching our oldest math, he was very quick.  He understood concepts easily and without much demonstration.  So I thought I could teach math.  :)

    Then, the following three children have not been so quick, starting off strong (MCP math books) but getting caught at some point or another.  I had no tools for those moments.  I just tried my very best to explain the concept as clearly as I could.  But no matter how hard I tried, I found I was not good at it.  I wished they could just intuit what I was saying.
    A mom in our Sacred Heart homeschool group mentioned that she likes Math U See, and that stuck in my mind.  I have heard a lot of people saying they do Saxon, which we have also done (esp. for higher grades), but I am not a fan at all.
    We ended the year last school year with 2 of my daughters stuck on place value: carrying over and borrowing.  Well, researching for this year's curricula, I googled Math U See, and the gentleman gave a video demonstration of that exact issue.  And it was rather brilliant.
    So I bought the whole thing (teacher manuals, student books, manipulatives) for three of my kids.  I have been doing it exactly as instructed.  The lights are going off in these girls' heads and are saying, "Oh, I get it!"  A hundred pound burden is lifting from my shoulders!
   It will take some instruction time this year, but one of my year goals is for all four older children to love math.  That is just something that a homeschool child ought to be able to say.  It is just something that a homeschool teacher ought to be able to achieve.  I am optimistic that I have my resource for making that happen!      

To Homeschool or Not To Homeschool . . .

      A new school is coming to town, and I have been discerning whether to continue homeschooling.  

      The results: DEFINITELY continue homeschooling!

      

     Even though it is SO MUCH MORE WORK FOR ME, it is the best investment I know how to make.  What we are seeing come to pass because of homeschooling is: 

1) A closeness among all the kids with each other and with both of us parents, that is unmistakable, and that I imagine will make a significant difference throughout their adulthood.  I want to live the rest of my life knowing that I had done everything I could to foster LOVE among us, and strangely, rather than getting sick of their parents, kids cannot seem to get enough attention from us.  They absorb it, relish it, and enjoy it--I guess all people love to be seen, observed, and known.  

2) An identity that is shaped entirely by their faith, by desiring to be close to God and pleasing to God.  Homeschooling clears away lots of the distractions from this critical formation.  

3) Avoiding the negative socialization that they would get from their peers at school.  

4) Lastly, but almost most importantly, a state of BEING AWAKE and ENGAGED with almost everything that is going on around them.  I felt like I was on autopilot for the first 25 years of my life, going through motions.  I can see the glazed over look in so many children's eyes.  But so many homeschooled children, including ours, are thinking, anticipating, and participating in their environment.  This raises the chances that for their adulthood, they will be awake, engaged, and reflective, both in terms of externals (like school/work, etc.), but also in terms of internals, such as being able to listen to one's inner voice, be in touch with one's authentic self, and being able to hear the voice of God.    

   Having other schools to choose from makes it seem so tempting to take the easier course.  But for us, I believe that the best choice I can make is to homeschool our children.  

   I have my Louisiana friends to thank for showing me the option of homeschooling!  God bless them--without them, we would likely never have had this doorway of grace opened to us.  Thank you, friends! 

Offering Up Suffering

    I was having a terrible moment.  I could not pray or feel God at all.  I was feeling trapped in despair.
    Then, I recalled Jesus on the cross saying, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  And I too felt forsaken.  Yet that linked me back with Jesus, and made Him not feel so far after all.
    So I decided, against all odds, to offer my upset up--to be joined with Christ in His suffering on the cross, for the resolution of that problem.  I repeated over and over, "I offer it up for the solution to this problem.  I offer it up for the solution to this problem."  I must have repeated that a hundred times.

    It worked.  Offering up suffering can be done from the most despondent of places--because Christ too was despondent.

My Entire Food Intake Today

Juice to drink all day long--ah, how marvelous I will feel tomorrow!

House of Mercy

    Years ago we named our home, "The House of Mercy."
     This week, what that meant was to be kind and gentle with poor Jacob when he got the dentist report of his having 3 cavities!
     Mercy is helping him throughout the year to care for his teeth well, and then being kind no matter what the report is, if he has done the best he can.
     Mercy is having good boundaries, preventing problems, giving the best you have to helping one another flourish as people.  Then, we can be gentle when problems do arise.
     God help us to be merciful!

Abandonment of One's Self to God

     Speaking about belief, Benedict XVI writes, "[Belief is] the trustful placing of myself on a ground that upholds me, not because I have made it and checked it by my own calculations, but rather, precisely because I have not made it and cannot check it.  It expresses abandonment of oneself to what we neither make nor need to make," (Intro to Christianity, p. 75).
     The world makes us tense.  The world is a dangerous place in many regards.  But what is most dangerous of all is to put all our trust in only ourselves, our own navigation and decision-making and value.
     We are meant to abandon ourselves to Another.  We are designed, like a seed that blossoms only after it has fallen to the ground and died, to fall into the arms of the One who IS.  When we fall into Him and die to ourselves, only then do we find the true fulfillment of who we are.
     There is only one God; all other gods who say they are gods are evil in disguise.  There is only one trustworthy God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God revealed in the person and life of Jesus.
     But we are not to think about, calculate or control our relationship with God.  We are meant to turn ourselves over and abandon ourselves to Him.  As Benedict writes, "Christian faith is more than the option in favor of a spiritual ground to the world; its central formula is not 'I believe in something,' but 'I believe in you,'" (p. 79).
      I believe in Jesus, the revelation of the one true God, and I abandon myself to Him.

Well, that was quick!

    Bosco is already gone!  His rescuer took him back today.
    Bosco bites, wets, tries to escape, and tears things up.

    I am not sure why this woman put a sign for him on the door of a toy store.  
    THAT was a supreme miscommunication.
    She was saying: "Please, let some sweet children have him."  But she knew better!  Goodness.
 
    God saved us from 1) injury and harm, 2) destroyed property, 3) losing the dog by running away months into having him, 4) having to give him away after months of trying to make it work.  It was a blessing that we only had him for 2 days, and with benign ways of learning what his behaviors are, were quick to give him back.
    I am so relieved that we are all safe and that he is back with someone who can handle him!
    What a blessing.

Our New Dog

    We have just adopted a rescue dog.  It happened rather unexpectedly: our family was entering a toy store.  Ron saw a sign for a dog that needs a home.  Hours later, Ron was uncharacteristically sulky.  I asked him what was the matter.  He said, "That dog on the sign looked just like TJ [his dog from childhood]."
      A few hours later I suggested that we get the phone number and at least inquire about him.  The kids got wind of this suggestion, and within minutes had named him "Bosco" for St. John Bosco who rescued street kids and established an oratory for boys during challenging times in Milan a hundred years ago.  Bosco was a dog that needed rescuing, just like these boys, they cried.
     They begged and begged for us to get Bosco.  Ron and I considered all the reasons it might be imprudent, and talked through each issue.  But the issues seemed resolvable: we have always been a family who had room for a dog, and still are.
     My criteria for a new dog were: 1) does not shed, 2) able to bond well with family members, 3) calm.
    We went to meet Bosco, and he was certainly all three!  A big-hearted mutt, he seemed almost like a  person in his ability to relate, bond and enjoy the company of others.
    We researched his various breeds, and he is part Briard, which is the kind of dog "Nanna" in "Peter Pan" was.  He is a shaggy old thing that is wonderful with children.  He has big floppy ears and hair that hangs over his eyes.  He is docile and sweet--a total joy.
    He transitioned here on Wednesday.  We were told to expect him to whine and cry a lot at first, and to resist settling down at night.  The lady even gave us doggy Benedryl to help him sleep at night.  We have seen none of these traits: Bosco acts like he has lived here his whole life, just lying at our feet, resting under the busy dining table, or sitting along side one or another of us as we talk, paint, draw, read or work.  He is a delight.  Welcome to our home, Bosco!