Happy 10th Birthday Olivia

Today is our Olivia's 10th birthday, and I think she had a great day. I'm exhausted from all the festivities and excitement, so I'll post more with pictures tomorrow. Such a cool day to celebrate a birthday, the Feast of the Archangels. Sts. Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel pray for Olivia.

Cecilia... You're Breaking Our Hearts

Ok, so a mother should never compare her children, but it is impossible not to notice how they are each a little different. Cecilia is by far our most social baby, and thankfully she was born into the right family because she has almost unlimited attention and admiration from her siblings. Lest you think that she is always happy and sweet, she also has a temper and is not afraid to show it. I'm beginning to really think that it is impossible for a child from my gene pool to not have a bit of a temper. Hey, my persistence, fortitude, and courage have gotten me far, so I trust they will turn out fine. She is crawling everywhere, climbing up on everything, walking along furniture, and beginning to let go to stand on her own. I'm not really ready for her to be a walker, but I'm thinking it is inevitable that it will be sooner than later; she has the look in her eye, and you can tell she is just trying to figure things out. We are really enjoying her. The kids are now calling her "Chi Chi Lou." It's a combination they cam up with, and she seems to love it. She just lights up when she hears someone call for her. Ohhh what a bundle of love she is.

Our Lady of Sorrows Pray for Us

                                                                                                                                                        The Seven Sorrows of Mary

1. The Prophecy of Simeon

2. The Flight into Egypt

3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple

4. Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary

5. Jesus Dies on the Cross

6. Mary Receives the Body of Jesus in Her Arms

7. The Body of Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

Yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrow. Our Blessed Mother had many joys as the mother of Jesus, but she also endured great suffering. I cannot fathom the grief her heart must have felt at the sight of her son being beaten and then watching him hang and die on the cross. Meditating on her seven sorrows can help us as we endure our own sufferings and trials. We can join with her, we can ask her that our sufferings would help further the Kingdom, we can ask her to pray for us and ask for more grace from her beloved Son. We spent time yesterday studying the seven sorrows of Mary, making some crafts, and eating some treats.

Later that afternoon, we had to say goodbye to our house guests, Madison and Magdalene. Thanks for learning and playing with us.

Father,

As Your Son was raised on the cross,

His Mother Mary stood by Him, sharing in His suffering.

May she, who is also our spiritual Mother and Patroness of Heaven,

help us to find renewed strength at the cross of Christ

and so come to share in His rising to new life,

where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Exaltation of the Cross

History


The Exaltation of the Cross is one of the twelve great feasts in the yearly Church cycle. It commemorates two historical events: first, the finding of the Life-giving Cross in the year 326, and second, its recovery from Persia in 628.

In the first centuries of Christianity, during the years of persecution, the pagans wished to destroy all evidence of the life of Jesus Christ, and the Cross on which He was crucified disappeared. With the conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great, Christians were at liberty to worship openly and build churches. The emperor's mother, St. Helen, longed to find the True Cross of Christ. She traveled to Jerusalem and was told by a very old Jew that the Cross was buried beneath the temple of the pagan goddess Venus, built in 119 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

The temple was torn down, and digging in the earth below uncovered three wooden crosses. The small board which had hung over Christ with the inscription ' Jesus King of the Jews,' had long since fallen off, and -there was no way of telling which was the True Cross and which were the crosses of the two thieves crucified on either side of Christ. A sick woman was brought and likewise a dead man who was being carried to burial. The three crosses were laid in turn one by one upon the sick woman and upon the dead man. Two of the crosses had no effect, but through contact with the third cross, the sick woman was healed of her infirmity and the dead man came to life. These miracles clearly indicated which of the three was Christ's Cross.

Hearing of this discovery, all the faithful desired to see the Cross of the Lord and to venerate it. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Makarios, took the Cross onto a raised platform and lifted it on high, 'exalting' it, for all to see. The people fell to their knees, bowing down before the Cross and crying out repeatedly: "Lord, have mercy!"

To house the relic of the True Cross, St. Helen had s church built over the Holy Sepulchre. The church was consecrated on Sept. 13, 335, an event also commemorated in the service hymns of the Feast. The finding and exaltation of the Cross was appointed to be celebrated annually on the following day.

The Life-giving Cross was kept in Jerusalem until the year 614 when the Holy City fell to the Persians who looted the Church of the Resurrection and took the True Cross back with them to Persia. Fourteen years later Emperor Heraclius concluded a peace with the Persians, and the Holy Cross was brought to the imperial capital of Constantinople. The Emperor, taking off his shoes and his imperial robes, carried the Cross into the Church of Holy Wisdom (Agia Sophia) where it was once again triumphantly exalted. It was then resolved that the Feast be celebrated by the Church in all parts of the world, for which reason it is called the Universal Exaltation.


On the Sign of the Cross

The Orthodox Christi...As wax melts from the presence of fire, so let the demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross..." When properly applied, the sign of the cross is a most formidable weapon in a Christian's armor.

The power of the Cross is given to each and every Christian. But just as a soldier must learn to properly wield his weapons in battle, so a warrior of Christ must learn how correctly to make the sign of the cross. A shield has no effect if carelessly waved about in the air. Likewise, there are many who receive no benefit from the sign of the Cross because they make it mechanically or haphazardly.

The Holy Fathers taught that the sign of the cross should be made by touching first the brow (the forehead), marking the upper part of the cross, secondly the womb (the stomach), marking the lower part of the cross, thirdly the right frame (shoulder) and fourthly the left frame, representing from end to end the horizontal bar of the cross.

This is not to say that the correct external formation of the sign of the cross of itself carries the power to wound demons, it must be made with faith. St. John of Kronstadt caution s: "In order that the unbelieving heart should not think that the sign of the cross and the name of Christ act miraculously by themselves, apart from, and independently of Christ Himself, this same cross and name perform no miracles until I see Jesus Christ with the eyes of my heart...and believe with my whole heart all that lie has accomplished for our salvation."

The cross, once a tool of death, has become a means to life, an instrument of our salvation; it gives strength to resist temptation, to refrain from gossip or harsh words; it dispels fear. If we learn to use the cross effectively, we shall come through experience to understand the Apostle's words:

But God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Excerpt taken from http://www.roca.org/)

 Our celebration of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross included praying the Stations of the Cross and making our own crosses. We have a couple of extra girls here for a few days, so it made for more fun. The kitchen table was a sea of glitter, paper, glue, etc, and the kitchen was a buzz with squirly girl chatter. It's amazing how each girl made something unique out of the same materials and idea. I think they are beautiful, just like their makers.

Jesus, have mercy on us.

Boys will be boys

I get it, boys will be boys, but come on. We are potty training George, and he is doing amazing, our best yet. The only problem is that he only informs us he needs to go if he is inside with us. When he is outside, he just drops trow and goes wherever he is- number 1 or 2; the garage, the bushes, or the rocks are his likely spots. He is so proud of himself as he shows me that his underpants and shorts are totally clean, but I'm totally freaked at what the neighbors will think and as I find his deposits all over the front yard. One day the neighbor kid came to the door and asked if there was some reason George was running around the yard with only his shirt on. When I asked George, he just responded plainly, "pooped." Some days he rings the door bell, and I find him half naked waiting to come in. It's a tough thing, do you praise him for keeping himself clean or scold him for acting like a back wood's man? Good thing he's so cute!

I'd much rather encourage this kind of independence... helping clean a mess instead of making one.

                                                           

                        

Phew, we did it

The house is quiet. The kids fell asleep in record time, and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I will too. It was a very busy day, but what day isn't? We had a very good first day of school. In the words of our principal, "This just might be our best first day of school ever! Good job everybody!" I'm so beyond ready to go to bed, but I promised pictures. Enjoy.

I'm pretty proud of the schoolroom this year. I'm especially thrilled that I now have my own workspace to prepare and work with the kids one on one. I even used the board today which I usually avoid. Elizabeth said I was like a real teacher; it felt good, natural.

Cecila's main job was to be happy and content today, accomplished. She even learned a thing or two; she learned that she can not only climb the oven but can do the splits as well. She also learned to climb the stairs; this I did not teach her- what mother would? The culprit shall remain nameless. We are trying to go green, so we encourage her to play with the recycling before we put it out; just doing our part.

 

George wants to take over as teacher I think. He had and awesome day of letters and numbers and there was a crash course in creative play.

All tuckered out.Gabriella has been begging to start school, not that she really knew what that meant, but she wanted her new books. Darn those colorful, fun looking workbooks. She seems like she has natural talent. She has been counting to 100 over and over again and is so proud of herself.

Pauly and I went for orientation today at the Elementary School. He will going half days again. He will be shared between the special ed teachers and a second grade teacher. I'm pretty sure he's ready to get back to his "ladies" and of course gym class.

 

Here's a proud mama moment caught on film; just one of the many reasons we homeschool. Olivia was a huge help with the little ones during her off time, and she did great with her studies-no worries or meltdowns. Maybe this is the year is all clicks.

Elizabeth was so ready to be back to a routine; she seems almost giddy to have a set schedule and would probably like it if I planned things out on paper down to the minute. Our current phrase to encourage flexibility and going with the flow is "Don't anticipate, just participate." She is our super studious one and just wants to do things right. Takes all kinds to make the world go around.

Teacher's Prayer

(author unknown)

I want to teach my children how

 To live this life on earth

To face its struggles and its strife

And to improve their worth

Not just the lessons in a book

Or how the rivers flow

But how to choose the proper path

Wherever they may go

To understand eternal truth

And know the right from wrong

And gather all the beautyof

A flower and a song

For if I help the world to grow

In wisdom and in grace

Then I shall feel that I have won

And I have filled my place

And so I ask Your guidance, Lord

That I may do my part

For character and confidence

And happiness of heart.

Our Lady of Grace Academy is back in session

I'm taking a lunch break at my new desk in my clean and organized classroom. I got very little sleep last night because I wanted to get everything just so for our first day of classes, and of  course Cecilia had an awful, awful night, but my spirits are great, and we are plugging away quite nicely. You would have thought it was Christmas morning or something, all the kids were up early and couldn't wait to get going. I'm not foolish enough to think they will be that excited everyday, but it did give me a good feeling to know they were ready.

I have heard the phrase, "I don't know how you do it," more times than I can count, and to be honest, I'm not sure except to say GRACE. There is a lot of trial and error with everything in life, and homeschooling is no different. This is our 7th year homeschooling, and I think it has been a little different each year. You find out something does or doesn't work, you gain some confidence or maybe a lot in my case, and you just settle in to this way of life. I read last week during Adoration that we should pick and stay on the path that keeps us closest to God, well homeschooling a large family definitely keeps me in constant communication with God and Our Lady. God alone knows what I need, and I'm going to hang on for the ride, even if that includes a clingy nursing baby, a adventurous potty training toddler, a willful preschooler, an autistic baseball fanatic, a hyperactive worry wart, and overemotional tween.

I'll post first day of school pictures later tonight; lunch break is over. Our Lady of Grace, pray for us.

Growing up too fast

All of the kids are maturing and growing up right before our eyes, but Cecilia especially seems to be on the fast track. She reminds us a lot of Olivia as a baby, very curious and ambitious. Now that she is crawling, nothing and no one is off limits. She is pulling herself up onto everything and loves to be standing upright; we have even caught her trying to let go. I have teased that I may start pushing her over if she really starts to push the walking thing. Olivia was walking at 10 months which was way more doable then since it was only her and Elizabeth running around. Now, the thought of that much mobility scares me just a little. She has made it clear she has a mind of her own and the willfulness to go with it. Fun fact, the horse she is sitting on was mine when I was a baby; they don't make toys like that anymore.

                              
                              
 

Pauly is just enamored by Cecilia, and the feeling seems to be mutual. She is the one person in the whole world that Pauly has almost perfect social skills with. He problem solves to calm her down and make her happy. He shows a ton of patience, compassion, and kindness. Something about her being a baby makes it easy for him to learn skills that now seem to be spreading to the other little ones as well. They of course talk back and are a little more of a challenge given their independent mindedness. We are so proud of the progress he is making. Just this weekend he went to stay with my parents and helped plant another tree. He said, "Now I have planted 4 trees in my life mom." Big accomplishment!

FYI, Baby Collin is home now and is doing very well. I haven't been able to see him because we have had some runny noses and don't want to risk passing anything on to him. Thanks for all the prayers for him.

The big accomplishment

In all our years of homeschooling, I have never made a detailed schedule. I have made sketchy schedules, but to be honest, a detailed schedule has always made me very anxious. I try to account for all the what ifs and end up stuck. This year, Paul is very involved this year and helped me accomplish the task. We now have a daily schedule. Next to tackle is meal planning, and of course there is still a lot left to do before our first day of the new school year next week. To quote my hubby, "I feel good about this year."