Sunday Silence

Pentecost--from a 12th century manuscript

Love, Creativity and Beauty

Forgive me for this somewhat lengthy post. I was making something for the kids a while back, and these thoughts kept bouncing about in my head, and it became something of a meditation. It's not very polished, but I haven't had time to do much more with it, and I really wanted to put it up for my one year anniversary on the blog. I dedicate this little rambling to all those creative mothers who have made beautiful things and beautiful families, and who are an inspiration to me.

Love, Creativity and Beauty

We mothers frequently complain of never having time enough to get things done, and yet most of us with the ability will easily give up a portion of our precious time to such activities as knitting or sewing clothes for our children--even when we can pick up a nice thrift-shop baby sweater for a dollar, and if you look at the investment of time, quilt-making is not really a cost effective means of keeping your child warm at night. The investment of time is like the planting of a garden, and we hope that our efforts will show themselves in a colorful bounty. Love is the force behind Creation, and it displays itself in a blossoming of Beauty.Love is the cause behind a man and a woman becoming a father and a mother, the cause of another person coming into creation. And what, one may ask, of children born into loveless situations, such as are a result of rape or casual fornication, with violence or lust as the motivation rather than love? Even when love is not present between man and woman, God’s love is there, ever desiring to pour itself out into the creation of a soul, a soul He wishes to embrace and shower in His graces, wrap in His beauty.
We desire to give ourselves to the beloved. In marriage we forsake all others in order to give ourselves exclusively to the one we love. As our Lord taught us, sacrifice is the very nature of Love, the ultimate outpouring of the heart. Mothers do this naturally, giving our bodies to our unborn babies and nursing infants, putting their needs before our own, continuing to give ourselves throughout our lives to the families we so love.

Love desires to bestow beauty on the beloved.

This is the impetus that lies behind such wonders as Chartres Cathedral, Corelli’s Christmas Concerti, the Taj Mahal, The Song of Songs and countless other masterpieces of art, music, poetry and architecture. It is also the cause behind the creation of the universe, made in love for us, our Creator’s beloved children; beautiful in its dazzling variety, from galaxies and nebulae down to each little beetle and Forget-Me-Not. Proof of God’s love for us.
Having been made in His image, we also have this desire to create beauty and surround those we love with it. If we are endowed with some God-given talent, we knit, sew or paint. We write poems or compose music. We put much of ourselves into our efforts. If our talents lie elsewhere, we still strive to create order and beauty in our homes, and we point it out to our loved ones wherever it is to be found--in music, beautiful books, in butterflies and daffodils. And we are delighted when our little ones begin to point it out to us in return.Why are so many works of art, architecture, music and literature in our day lacking Beauty? Simply because they are not created out of love. They are created out of a desire for fame or fortune, a desire to be “original” or to grab attention. They are not about the outpouring of one’s self for the beloved, but about self-aggrandizement. Has Satan’s envy of us something to do with God having given us this beautiful world? No, of course not, for the Enemy already has possession of so much of it, and in any case, an immortal being is hardly impressed with finite things that will pass away one day. No, his envy, at least in part, has to do with us being endowed with our Creator’s gift of creation. We love, and we create. Hatred is impotent. This is why Satan has so distorted everything having to do with creation and made it sterile and ugly, attacking marriage, fertility, parenthood and the Arts.God wished to give us, His dear children, beauty and to give us Himself. And He did so, giving us the epitome of created Beauty in Mary, and then giving us Himself in Jesus Christ. As we are made in his image, we find ourselves compelled by the same urge to give beauty and ourselves to those we love.

One year of blogging

Today is my "blogiversary". Really, I had intended to start it to keep family up-to-date with our daily life here, but when I began reading other blogs and getting to "know" other mothers, I became fairly inspired. Thus it has become a creative outlet as well, something of a journal/scrapbook. I am ever so grateful for the comments I have received and the friendships I have made over the internet. Being in a very rural area, it is not always easy to find like-minded souls with whom to communicate!

Thanks for checking in and hanging around!

A few successes this week...

1) I have disposed of a mountain of paper in the office, and I still have a ways to go. The office shelves look tidy and the mound of old bills and bank statements has been sorted and filed or trashed.

2) I made up about 24 ounces of herbal salve. This is enough to last us a long, long time, plus enough to have some to give as gifts.

3) I made laundry soap, and since I had everything out for grating bar soap and measuring, I made up ziplock bags with all the measured out ingredients so that next time I need to make up some, I have everything there and ready.

4) I took down every bit of baby girl stuff from the attic crawl space--a few things saved from Una, things from the grandparents, things handed down from my friends Cindy and Debbie, and sorted the heaps into plastic bins by age group. I found I don't need a thing clothing-wise for the 0-3 month age range! I doubt I will need much until we get past 9 months in fact!

List your own small successes and read those of others by clicking on the header image above.

Welcome, Anna Grace!

My friend Marilyn has had her little girl, and she is beautiful! Like me, Marilyn has four boys sandwiched between her eldest girl and her youngest, so a little girl is a welcome change for both of us!

See beautiful Anna Grace and her equally beautiful family here.

Funeral for a Goldfinch

My poor Sebastian. I knew this would happen at some time, and the time was today. He was out with the BB gun this morning and took a shot at a bird, never dreaming that he would actually hit it, as it was far off and he wasn't taking very careful aim. Nevertheless, he hit it in the neck and killed it. He came to me in tears of remorse and helplessness, not really knowing what to do. I suggested a burial, and that is what took place. The little bird is now interred beside Snowdrop, the bunny we lost recently.

The guilt of causing the death of a creature is so hard to bear. I recall so clearly living in our run-down apartment in NYC when I was about 7 or so, just before we moved to Germany. A butterfly managed to find its way in through the window by the fire escape, and I managed to catch it in a plastic yogurt cup. I moved the cover to take a peek, and when it tried to escape, I quickly replaced the cover, accidentally squashing the butterfly. I remember how inconsolable I was...here was this colorful little creature that came into my otherwise fairly drab existence, and I killed it. I still feel the stab of pain in my heart and stomach when I think of it.

Rickshaw!

This is what Bret made for the kids on Sunday afternoon. They're getting such a kick out of it!

Outside my window…overcast and very, very lush and green.

I am thinking…our lovely Sunday. Dinner outdoors (penne with pesto, parmesan, tomatoes and slices of grilled sweet Italian sausage) some relaxed knitting, watching the kids play with the rickshaw Bret built for them (photos coming soon). And then last night before bed the spectacle of a million fireflies flickering in the trees and pasture. It was so magical, I actually woke Una up to see it.

I am thankful for…God's many gifts. We are more blessed than we realize on a day-to-day basis.

From the kitchen...Blueberry muffins and vanilla yogurt.

I am creating…a hooded pullover for Dominic of the softest cotton in colors that remind me of the Caribbean. I have the hood and pocket left to do, then I can sew it up!

I am reading… My Daily Bread. Easy to digest as it is served in small bites. It always seems to give me what I need each day. And a lot of internet information on cloth diapers!

I am hoping…for energy this week. I had high hopes for last week, but sat around slug-like through much of Friday and Saturday. I need to get something done besides school and laundry!

I am hearing…a veritable cacophony of birdsong. So much nicer than listening to the boys bickering!

A few plans for the rest of the week…Stuff I was supposed to do last week! Make up a batch of herbal salve, make laundry soap, brown bunch of ground beef with onions and bell pepper to freeze and use in quick meals. Then there is correcting schoolwork and finishing the organizing of the office...

The children are...sleeping! And it is after 6! I might have to see if they are still breathing!

A Picture Thought: this archived photo of a Tennessee field-working family in 1936. It's a good one for me to look at when I become anxious about finances. My children may not be spoiled with material goods, but they have never known real want.

Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman for more Daybook entries.

Okay, so culture is a bit hard to come by out here...

And if you think singing cows are neat, we are working on an adaption of Swan Lake with our hens...

Please pray...

...for Deacon Matt, for today he becomes Father Matthew.

Carnival!

Last week's carnival was cancelled because the wife of the owner of the rides forgot to tell him that our little town was on the schedule for last week! In our rural area, the opening of the carnival was the front page story of the local paper, so I sure am glad not to have been in that poor woman's place!

Anyway the event was on for this weekend and so we rounded up the gang after an early dinner and took them to the carnival for rides and cotton candy. Adrian was constantly thwarted, as he is a fearless fellow, but like Dominic, was too short to ride on many of the more thrilling rides. Bret won a bear for Dominic at the shooting gallery, whom we have named Carny, and Dominic was having a meltdown as we left, obviously tired and buzzing on sugar. It was really good to get home!

Nesting

With about two months to go until Gemma makes her debut, I am finally coming into a nesting period. This usually begins with my noticing how unaesthetic my home is. The stains on the carpet look unbearably gross. I suddenly notice the spot behind the toilet where my mop doesn't reach. Every little fingerprint on the doorjambs is repulsive to me. And the clutter in various areas of my home are enough to drive me to despair.

Although I haven't the energy and even less of the organizational genius of my friend, Marilyn, I am trying to make some headway in a few areas, and I will concentrate on these for the next two months.

1) I want to have some kind of a plan in place for the coming school year. Not so much a daily lesson plan as a weekly schedule with some monthly or 6-week goals in mind. I pretty much have all my curriculum for the coming year, now I just need a realistic plan to go with it. Realistic is the operative word here. As with gardening, I always show too much enthusiasm at the beginning of the season, and as time wears on the weeds and mosquitos do me in.

2) I want to write up a post-partum menu plan for a month. I want to include pre-made frozen meals, simple crock-pot meals and a few simple recipes and not-too-unhealthy convenience foods in the plan.

3) I want to tidy up the office and find places for the countless bits of paper. This is really a herculean task, as I must shamefacedly admit that my "filing system" since we moved here and since Gabriel's birth has been an inbox with no outbox. It is the epitome of simplicity--until the time comes that you are searching for that one piece of paper you need!

4) Put various items that are sitting around here up for sale on Craigslist or eBay or Cathswap. It would be nice to get rid of clutter and make a little money at the same time.

5) Clean the oven. Enough said.

6) Some of the fun stuff: wash infant clothes, order diapers and covers and whatnot (I think am going to go with cloth this time around, although I have doubts about the sanity of that decision), make room for the baby in our bedroom, etc.

From where I sit like a slug, devoid of life but for a few vital signs, it seem hopelessly ambitious. Normally it wouldn't seem like much, but I suppose age has a lot to do with it. And really awful varicose veins in my left leg. Luckily I never had great legs, even at 20, so it is only painful, but not much of a blow to my vanity.

It's 8:30. Bedtime. G'night all.

Frog or toad?

I'm no expert. The boys found him, had me photograph him, and then released him.

One beautiful day!

And my allergies weren't too bad, either. Granted, I was mostly indoors with the schooling, cleaning, tidying up the checkbook and so forth, but it was still lovely. I have a thing about clouds: I find a cloudless sky very boring, and I adore big, puffy cumulus clouds (I have referred to them for years as "Baroque clouds", as they look so sumptuous and rich, like Corelli's Concerti Grossi). Today's clouds were not large, but they made the sky look wonderful.

Our bovine girls, Nuala and Naomi, were enjoying it, too.

Yesterday was too much...

When you live in the sticks and are planning to make a trip into town, you tend to combine as many errands as possible. We left the house at 9 a.m. and made eight stops (not counting lunch), and didn't get home until nearly 6 p.m. I finally was able to undress and crawl into bed at 8:30. Pretty well spent by then I was!

Didn't get to do my usual Simple Woman's Daybook entry yesterday...Oh well. My plans for the week include trying to take advantage of beautiful rainless weather and wash bedding, which I will joyfully hang out on my new clothesline (am I actually excited about doing laundry??) There is school to do, of course, and I will be making a one-gallon batch of yogurt this morning, and maybe set some herbs and olive oil to slow-cook in my little crockpot for herbal salve today. My hayfever is getting to me, so in order to throw open windows and screen doors, I may have to take something. So far I haven't found an herbal or homeopathic remedy for hayfever that does any good at all!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday silence

Clothesline Accessory--the Clothespin Apron

I'm just so proud of this apron I made last night from the remnants of an old chambray dress and a piece of vintage stuff my sister gave me. Especially pleased since I am quite the novice on a sewing machine, and I did it without a pattern--just an idea of what I wanted.

I thought of making a clothespin bag to hang on the line, but this seemed so much more convenient.

Sebastian's 8th Birthday

Happy birthday, dear eldest son! You were a tedious, temperamental toddler, but you have grown into a gracious, sensitive, considerate boy. You have outgrown your accident-prone phase (Aunt Sabrina used to call you "Sebastian Grace"!) and have become an agile, responsible, helpful young person. I am so proud of you!

Gosh, you were a beautiful baby!

Some of my little successes this week

1) I have made headway on a sweater for Dominic. Back is done, front will get done tonight. Then I have sleeves and the hood to do. It is so soft, I can't wait to put it on him!

2) I made a few cleaning supplies using recipes from Better Basics for the Home. Tested them out and they seem to work very well and smell nice.

3) I have Sebastian's requested Chocolate Cheesecake in the oven for his birthday tomorrow. My second cheesecake this week...

4) (Kids' success) Una and Sebastian have finished their spelling workbooks for the year. Hurray for one less subject to tackle each day!

5) (Bret's success) My clothesline is up, and even though I haven't used it (I need more clothespins and some sunny weather), the wooden cross-beam has been drawing bluebirds to it. I hope that won't be a problem!

Click on the header to read more small successes, or to share your own!

Is this what our future looks like in this country?

Canadian Missionaries evicted from their home after distributing pro-life materials.

Coming Soon--the Year of Priests, and a plenary indulgence

Beginning next month there is a new opportunity for priests and the Catholic faithful to gain a plenary indulgence. This article is from the Catholic News Agency:

Vatican City, May 12, 2009 / 01:47 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has announced that during the Year for Priests, which will run June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010, the Pope Benedict will grant plenary indulgences to priests and the faithful.

The year will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “a day of priestly sanctification,” according to a press release from the Vatican. On that day, the Holy Father “will celebrate Vespers before relics” of St. Jean Marie Vianney, patron saint of priests.

The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."

The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."

Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."

Thank you, Blessed Mother!

At a church not far from our home:
It is still up from Mother's Day, but it had a different--and Catholic--meaning for us as we passed by.

A few plans for Our Lady of Fatima

Since we sort of took the day off to enjoy the marvelous weather yesterday, we will have a fairly normal day of school--except for Una, who did not take off yesterday but instead decided to double-up on her lessons in order to have a lighter day today. But the little guys will get to watch The Day the Sun Danced and color an image of Our Lady of Fatima. Una and Sebastian can draw their own pictures, and we will discuss the apparitions of our Blessed Mother and her message. And of course there will be our family Rosary this evening.

A nice, unexpected event is that our little town is having a little Spring Carnival, which begins this evening at 5 p.m. If the weather holds, we may attend. Nice of all these protestants out here to unwittingly have a fair on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima...!

A little gift for you on Our Lady's feastday

I have uploaded this high resolution image for you. If you click on it you will bring up a larger image which you can save and print. I recommend printing it out on glossy photo paper, which I have done myself. I did it 5x7" and matted it in a larger frame, and it looks great.

Pleasant weather for a little "unschooling"

We have had a beautiful day. I made the comment this morning to Bret, "Good weather for putting up a clothesline," and he did! We still need the line itself, but the posts are up right outside the laundry room, where I will be able to watch my clean laundry fluttering in the breeze from where I spend so much time--the kitchen sink.

Una got her work done early today, and the boys were having such a nice time outside watching Papa put in the clothesline, riding the 4-wheeler and playing with the turtle Papa found that I decided not to call them in for lessons. Instead, after lunch I joined them outside on the grass with my camera and some Beatrix Potter, and we read a few bunny tales in honor of Cottontail.

Snowdrop unfortunately passed peacefully away in the hutch sometime in the early afternoon yesterday. The kids take such losses well, having experienced the demise of a goat, a cow, chickens and countless wild birds and rodents. I myself was a citified child and the death of our pets was experienced like the loss of a family member. My children have more of a sense of proportion I think, and are a little more detached--as God would prefer, I am sure. We have no idea what the problem was with our poor Snowdrop, except to say that what we had thought of as docility was more likely ill health. These are our first rabbits, and they were given to us only two weeks ago, so she may have been ill already.

Photos--the drive to Gallatin

I always see such lovely scenery when we are on the road, but with a van full of kids strapped into boosters and car seats, I almost never request to pull over just for a photo opportunity. Instead, I set the camera to high speed and roll down the window to shoot. So the photos are hardly "postcard quality."

Marianne, these are for you! (You can click on them for a larger view.)

Outside my window…grey and lush. Looks like it could rain. Again.

I am thinking…about Mother's Day. We had a delightful cook-out yesterday with my mother and my sister and her family. The rain actually held off until evening.

I am thankful for…a clean house and a fridge full of leftovers. I will not be doing too much other than school and laundry today!

From the kitchen...Banana nut muffin and yogurt with raspberries.

I am creating…a hooded pullover for Dominic of the softest cotton in colors that remind me of the Caribbean.

I am reading… My Daily Bread. Easy to digest as it is served in small bites. It always seems to give me what I need each day.

I am hoping…for a good week and an end to the rain! Luckily we have a long gardening season here, but it is getting late and the ground is too saturated to work. I am also tired of having kids indoors all day!

I am hearing…birds. Gabriel is up, but for some reason, everyone else is still asleep.

A few plans for the rest of the week…I want to look at Marilyn's blog and try some of her herbal recipes; I am thinking about trying my hand at cheese again since we are drowning in milk; and Sebastian's birthday is on Friday, so I have gifts to wrap and on Thursday a Chocolate Cheesecake to bake.

The children are...slowly rising. Una came in to say good morning, Adrian is in our bed, having had a bad dream last night. Dom must be asleep or I would certainly hear him!

A Picture Thought: My Mother's Day gift. In lieu of a clothesline (it is too wet to put one in), Bret surprised me with this.

Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman for more Daybook entries.

Do you ever watch a musical...

...and wonder why people in real life don't suddenly burst into song and dance? Well, sometimes they do...

Scott Simon--"At My Place, Every Day is Mother's Day

From NPR's Weekend Edition, a salute to his wife (h/t to Grace).

Happy Mothers Day

My best wishes, prayers and affection to all you wonderful mothers out there who inspire me, encourage me, and make me smile.

Every journey is made more pleasant by good companions, and I thank you blog-mommies for helping to make the journey of Motherhood, if not exactly a "walk in the park", at least a hike in very good company!

Crazy weather...

We were all up by 5 today. I had to wake Bret at 4:30 because there was a severe thunderstorm warning on the radio and he needed to get the jerseys into the barn since they said there could be quarter-size hail. There was non-stop thunder and continuous lightening, and then a driving rain that woke the kids. I couldn't do my usual early-morning blog perusal and posting because I had to unplug everything. After it passed and grew light, a beautiful morning emerged, fresh and green.

We had to leave the house early for grocery shopping and were gone for about 4 hours. As we were coming home it began to drizzle. I unpacked groceries and then there was another storm, along with tornado warnings in the area.

I've always loved a thunderstorm, but until we moved here, I never had any fear of tornadoes. We've had some fairly close here, and I have witnessed the terrible damage they can do. They scare me. But I always feel better after I sprinkle some blessed salt around the house, which is what I did this afternoon. Now the sun is shining again, and it is beautiful out...

Prayer request

My blog-friend, Marilyn had a fall--not too bad, she said, and she landed on her backside--but since then is having nausea and contractions. She's 36 weeks pregnant with Anna Grace, so certainly not in serious danger of premature delivery, but still, she has asked for prayers and so I am asking them on her behalf.

Is that the sun shining...?

Yesterday was nice...

No rain, and the sun actually kept peeking through the clouds, making us squint up at the sight of it like a bunch of cave-dwellers. I shoved the kids out the door after school and stole a little time to surprise Adrian with something he had asked for: sleeping bags for the three little bears he likes to play with. Only the purple one is his, but he was delighted that his siblings got bags for their bears on account of his begging me.It always feels so good when I can take time for myself and indulge one of my children's little whims at the same time...

Speaking of sewing, aren't these just the cutest? I want to raid a fabric store!