daybook for sept. 13

Outside my window...

Chilly! Rainy and chilly, the perfect autumn weather. The three girls are cuddled on the couch watching a cartoon while I take a moment to drink some coffee and update this. I have four sleeping and one quietly playing children in the house while I take the time to write this. I love this time of year.

I am thankful for...

My dad coming to pick the girls and me up to visit my grandparents for a week; for a husband who understands me in every season of my emotions; for a gift that meant far more than the giver could have imagined.

I am thinking about...

Today, mostly packing and planning for our school week while we're away. I'm not the world's greatest lesson planner (as in, it doesn't get planned before the morning of. Hurrah for kinder!), but I want to make sure I bring all the worksheets we'll need for El Paso. 

Jobs. It feels weird to know that school is done in just a few short months and our minds are focused on that. Joseph is going to DFW this weekend to meet with some Catholic lawyers we met through our parish back in irving. Please pray this leads to a tangible job offer! God's Will be done. We have a few ideas of where we'd LIKE to go, but we want to make sure our wills are conformed to Our Lord's. 

This sermon. I want to make sure our home is peaceful, loving, and most of all holy. Which means we bar so many things of this world at the door. We've been given the gift of our girls and we need to maintain their innocence and purity at any cost. And maintain our own purity! It means we can't watch a lot of shows others watch, it means I probably need to learn to sew (and sew well, since I don't want to look like the stereotypical homeschooling family...we're modest, not frumpy!), etc. I'm praying God gives us the grace to keep holy. Holy families don't just happen, they are strived for. Ora pro nobis, all of Heaven!

In the Schoolroom...

Making sure I have a clear idea of what state standards are for pre-K 4. From what I've read, Molly is placing into Kinder, but I'm not really sure. I've also studied Charlotte Mason's standards for what a six-year old should know and Molly's not there yet. But it is comforting to have an idea of where we should be heading.

I also just bought two different volumes on great artists. We don't have the supplemental workbooks, but I'm pretty excited to have a place to start.

From the kitchen...

Blah. 

I am creating...

A more workable home. This whole school thing is throwing me off and we're reworking the space we have. 

The girls finally have bunk bed. Not what I wanted, for the record, but it's what we're doing for now. I'm still getting my vintage beds, but just in a few years. We'll be putting the bunk beds in a guest room/office space in the future...assuming we have that space in the future! We still need mattresses but for now, the girls have more space in their room for play and exploring. I hope to create something school-y with that space, but I'm not sure how pragmatic that is with the two two-year olds needing to play during school time. 

We also got a printer so we can just copy worksheets from master copies. We made space for that and we LOVE it. 

Now I need to make a space for our schoolbooks and paper. So far, they're sitting in a box that Theresa's diapers came in. I need them away from little hands and easily accessible to me. 

I am working on...

Still working on that whole patience and selflessness thing. I've listened to this sermon three times since I first heard it. What struck me most by what Fr. Mozzie was saying is that no matter what gets done, it's the process of sacrificing myself for our family that the children get to see every moment of everyday that matters. It's God's Will for me here and now, which means it's my path to holiness and heaven. 

I don't always deal with my situation patiently or selflessly, in fact I fail more than I overcome myself, but I remind myself (or rather, I listen to that sermon!) of what I'm doing here. Life is about achieving holiness and Heaven. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as I do that for myself, for Joseph, and for our girls, that's enough. Of course, any other souls along the way is good, too. :) But for now, I'm focusing small. 

Clicking Around...

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/. 

I love this site and I'm so glad I stumbled upon it.

I am reading...

Humility of Heart. I love, love, love that book. It's no surprise that Fr. Mozzie gave it to us to read.

I just re-read The Mark of the Lion series. My favorite books ever.

I am praying for...

Peace in regard to jobs and where we are called to. 

I am hearing...

Little feet running around the house. Gregorian chant lulling littles to sleep.

Around the house...

Reworkng space.

One of my favorite things...

Today: books, rainy days, cups of steaming tea, new White Collar episodes, cuddly babies.

I've been sleeping in mine and Joseph's bed with the girls while their room transforms into a bunk-bedded room, and I love, love, love waking up to Ellie planting a kiss on my cheek or patting my arm just to make sure I'm still there. I think we got a little used to sharing a bed or a room while at my parents' house and I kind of miss it. I know they do, too! 

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Visiting my grandparents in El Paso!

A picture thought...

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