HappyMama

I came across a poignant quote this morning during my Scripture study.  It was in the commentary below the Gospel Transfiguration event.  St. John of the Cross is writing to those who seek visions, mystical experiences, or any other type of direct revelation from God the Father in order to bolster their faith:

“[such a person] would not only be acting foolishly, he would be committing an offence against God by not setting his eyes solely upon Christ, and seeking no new thing or aught beside.  And God might answer him after this manner, saying:  If I have spoken all things to you in my Word, which is My Son, and I have no other word, what answer can I now make to you, or what can I reveal to you which is greater than this?  Set your eyes on him alone, for in him I have spoken and revealed all things to you, and in him you will find even more than what you ask and desire for… Listen to him, for I have no more faith to reveal, neither have I any more things to declare.”  (Ascent of Mount Carmel, 2, 22,5.)

 The quote struck me immediately, because I have a friend who is really struggling with faith now, and just yesterday I was wishing that that person could have some sort of mystical experience like St. Paul getting knocked off his horse… But this morning I am reminded that miracles like that are extraordinary means not in the works for the vast majority of us.  Our faith must be nourished slowly and methodically, one day at a time, like all my little plants I’m growing.  Patience, patience, patience, and continual recourse to the one and only Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Well, we made an important discovery Saturday night - that we can hear the tornado sirens when they go off.  It’s the first time they’ve needed to since we moved here.  I was spooked more than usual because of the previous night’s tragedy in that small town in Kansas that was obliterated by a level 5 tornado.  I couldn’t imagine being in that situation - having our house blown away from us - but I was so thankful to have a basement.  We carried the 3 sleeping ones downstairs, and I was also thankful to have a guest-bed to put them on.  I am indeed surrounded by blessings.

I keep thinking about the families in Kansas who lost a loved one Friday night in that unexpected, terrifying way.  Were those 10 people who died praying?  Was someone praying for them?  I think of St. John Vianney’s response to the question about unanswered prayers: “It is not a refusal but a test that prepares us to receive more abundantly what we desire.” 

There’s the general idea that every human being dies at the point in time when they are closest to God.  (I’m still here, so that means I’ve still got some growing ahead of me.)

Certainly I was filled with comfort during Mass on Sunday, after driving there and viewing flooded fields and thinking of this tragic event, when I heard the second reading:

Reading II
Rev 21:1-5a

Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”

“There shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain…”  Scripture never denies that life is full of suffering.  I think everyone suffers a lot.  Some big things, countless little things that add up.  That’s why I’m surprised that people don’t spend more time thinking about heaven.  It’s where we want to go; it’s the goal.  I think about it every day.

Recently I overheard a conversation I’ve been waiting 2 years to hear:

2-year-old (stack of books in his hand,) says to 4-year-old:  “Please read to me.” 

4-year-old: (sighs) “Okay. Lets sit on our bed.”

And then they spend 15 minutes peaceably together enjoying the books.

These days it often feels like I’m not succeeding in very many areas of my life.  So I’m happy to share one thing that has gone right - the method we used to teach our 4-year-old how to read.  I’ve had a few moms ask me how we did it, so here it is for posterity.  Let me add that since we began I’ve learned some things along the way, so this isn’t exactly how we did it with our eldest, but how we are doing it with #2.

Age 2: 

• obviously, spend lots of time snuggled up reading.  Lots of mother goose & nursery rhymes.  Any book with pictures in it. 
• secondly, begin teaching him what the lower-case letters look and sound like.  We happen to have these letter books from Discovery Toys, which work well for this.  Sandpaper or textured letters also are great, plus when you use these you have the child trace them with his finger.  Daily, if possible, sit down with him & go over the letters, one at a time, and as you show it to him, instead of saying the letter name, “s” for example, say it’s sound, “ssssss”.  With the vowels say the short-vowel sound.  “a” as in “hat”. 

Age 3, or whenever he is proficient in the letter sounds:

• Buy the book Phonics Pathways and begin working on 1 page at a time.  Here is where I deviate from strict Montessori method.  I supplement this book with Montessori materials, but because I intend to home school, I want to know for surethat I’m not missing any steps here.  I want to be very thorough. 
• Make flash cards of the 2-letter sounds, like “th” and “sh” (let me know if you want a list,) as well as of common words that need to be sight memorized because they aren’t phonetic, like “you” and “to” and “I”.  Practice these flashcards frequently. 
• We use Montessori materials such as movable alphabet and object boxes.  (The object boxes are great.  Let me know if you need more info. on these.)
• Let your child listen to books on tape - the ones with audio only as well as the ones with a book to follow along.  Words, words, words.
• Keep “handwriting” a separate subject.  The child doesn’t need to know how to write a letter at the same time he’s learning what sound the letter represents.

Okay, that’s it in a nutshell.  Now, an addendum:  Montessori theory would recommend teaching a child to read when they have the natural desire to, between ages 3 & 5.  On the other hand, if you intend to send your child to Kindergarten, then I honestly don’t know if I would recommend doing it.  I think knowing how to read well but having to sit through kindergarten would be exceedingly boring.  And for an energetic little boy, boring is not very conducive to good behaviour! 

Well they did it again, those stinkers. 

Our 4-year-old is a sweet kid, really.  (Maybe all of ‘em are at that age?) But sometimes he just acts before he thinks.  (Imagine that.)  He got up earlier than usual today, along with his brother, and he first unloaded the dishes from the dishwasher & sorted & piled them on the counter.  He does that sometimes.  Like I said, sweet kid.  Then he sets out bowls, spoons, and cups for himself & his brother, and poured milk into a small pitcher for his brother, then poured cereal & milk for himself.  So far so good.  I checked on them once, everything was fine, so I snuck back into bed for a few minutes of rest.  It’s hard to get up before the baby. 

A few minutes later I hear him saying, “Did you spill some on the green book, too?”  What was he talking about?  I knew I needed to check.  To my dismay there were 2 cups of chocolate milk on the living room couch - one of them empty.  The milk was spilled all over the loveseat.  The toddler had done that part.  I asked the 4-year-old why he had brought his cup into the living room (they’ve been told countless times not to bring food or drink out of the kitchen), and he simply replied, “in case we got thirsty.”  Duh, mom.  Child “professionals” always say that asking “why” is an exercise in futility. 

Here are some prayer requests:

1. Thomas (is he 6 now?) is having a hernia surgery tomorrow.
2. A home-schooling mother of 5 has recently been diagnosed with Lupus & Von Willebrand’s disease.
3. Also - here’s a prayer request from my friend Janice:

Would you please pray for a dear friend of mine, who also is Stevan’s
godmother.  Her name is Lois.  She has breast cancer, had surgery, found out
that the cancer is aggressive and had spread to 8 of her 12 lymph nodes, and
they suspect it may have also spread to major organs in her body.  She is
asking the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and wouldn’t be
unhappy with a miraculous healing!    …Her children are all grown and married.
She requests that we pray for her continued peace, and that her faith in her
situation can witness to others, including her family. The situation has
already brought blessings: a close friend who is a doctor and professed
atheist has agreed to pray to and ask Jesus for his help for her, and a
(lukewarm) Catholic friend’s faith was deeply stirred when she attended a
charismatic prayer service for Lois.

Hubby emailed me this link with the subject line Hint Hint Hint!

 Tips on baking perfect cookies, plus recipes. 

Guess I better go set out some butter!

Wowzers, am I sore!

This week marks the beginning of Phase 2 of my 90-day work-out program, P90X.  Phase 1 was really good, I was so sore the first week I could barely stand up or sit down!  LOL  I wasn’t very consistent toward the end of the month, though,  because of the baby being sick (translate - no sleep for me,) and traveling home for a few days.  (little sis & her hubby flew home, so we went up to see them.)  Now I’m back on schedule and really trying to stay committed.  A big thanks again to Angie for finding and sharing this program.  It really rocks.  And it’s something I can do from home, with all 3 boys in the room with me if need be.

I lost 5-6 lbs. during the first phase, (6 more to go to reach my goal,) but I’m more concerned about inches than pounds.  I’m adding muscle for sure.  I can’t wait to re-do my skills test at the end of the program and see how much I’ve improved, and to take my “after” photos and compare them to the “before” shots!  [No, those will NOT be posted on this blog!] 

There are 2 aspects of the program that I really like.  (1) Even a beginner like me can do most of the exercises, with modification as needed.  But it’s hard enough that even my active-duty Marine brother in law gets sore and sweaty doing it.  Pull-ups, for example - I can’t do any, but with one foot pushing on a chair in front of me, I can do about 10.  So I can keep improving.  (2) I like the fact that it’s a different work-out every day, and each month the workouts switch up again.  I get bored easily, so this really helps me stay interested. 

Yes, it’s taking up a lot of time right now, but it’s only for 90 days.  I know I’ll be back in shape by then, and I can go back into my “mommy” mode for a while and just do enough to maintain what I’ve gained.  I’m not shooting for the Olympics here, just want to lower my cholesterol, increase my stamina, and spend a little time on “me” for once - which has certainly helped my mood.  Spending $$ on the DVD’s was a better investment than, say, a gym membership, because the boys will one day be able to do these workouts also. 

How do I fit in a daily hour-long workout?  I try to get a lot done first thing in the mornings:  prayer time, help kids get dressed & fed, start a load of laundry, etc.  I get ready for my workout, and as soon as the baby goes down for his morning nap (around 10,) I start the DVD.  If the little guy wakes up before it’s over, I bring him down to watch and play downstairs with me.  Then we often make smoothies (protein powder in mine), and then hopefully I get to take a shower.  By then I can tell the boys need a little “mommy” time, so we read books or I let them help me with some chores.  It’s a good little morning routine we’ve gotten used to by now.  Hopefully we can keep it up for 2 more months.

I just used this site to identify the gorgeous male & female team building a nest on top of our gutter, right outside our dining room window.  The website was exactly what I needed.  You select the information you know, one thing at a time, and it gradually narrows down the possibilities.  We’ve got two common barn sparrows nesting near us!  Watching them today, I was very impressed by their teamwork & persistence.  One twig at a time…