The Aftermath

Well, I had to say good bye to my son AGAIN, though this time for only 3 weeks, for he'll be back for Christmas. Sigh. I hate saying goodbye.

So, my son is gone, and so are all the leftovers. I have to come up with a dinner tonight, and I'm thinking take out pizza. I am really tired. I am achy, puffy and tired. I really probably need a good protein, veggie rich meal, then early bed time, and a sweet dream or two.

It was a very nice Thanksgiving. Very full of food, family, and lots of conversation and connections. Very, very nice weekend. One good nap, and I'll be back in top form.

Sweet dreams, everyone!

As we give thanks

It has been good and busy around here this week. My eldest son is home for Thanksgiving. It is the first time he's been here since he left in August. I get such delight from just being able to lay my eyes on him. He looks good, seems content, relaxed.

His little sisters and brothers are very happy to have him home, but the littlest didn't realize he was going BACK to school soon. Her little crushed expression was a heart breaker.

So we are hosting 50+ people here tomorrow, and that means today we are cleaning, cooking, arranging, decorating. Then another get together Friday with the church's youth group on my son's last day here, then off he goes again.

Then back to the daily schedule.

Pregnancy-wise, everything is good, except a little creeping blood pressure. I feel really well, and love feeling the wee one rolling around and enjoying her space.

We have so much to be thankful this year. So much.

May you all have a blessed and enriching Thanksgiving day!!

Good Morning!

In an effort to wrangle myself into some sort of prayer rule again (do hormones disrupt prayer rules, or am I stretching the effect of them here?), for the Nativity Fast I reverted to a Lenten discipline given me by a monk a few years ago: The Psalms. So for this year's Nativity Fast, which began this past Saturday, in addition to a little bit of self denial in the food category, I have begun to read the Psalms. This year, rather than going in order, I am randomly opening my Psalter, and reading what Our Lord presents to me. Here is this morning's offering:

Psalm 97

Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God
Shout to the Lord all the earth,
ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.

* * *

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy

at the presence of the Lord: for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth
He will rule the the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

Have a blessed day!

Well, that's a first for me... (but probably not the last)

This weekend, I was out and about with one of my sister-in-laws, browsing antique stores and such. We found a few little treasures, and as I was paying for my new pedestal milk glass cake plate ($15, score!), I came across some of my ultrasound pictures. I was showing them to my sister-in-law, and the lady ringing up my purchases said, "OH, is that an ultrasound of your grand-baby?"

I said, "NO, it's my baby."

I thought, "So what, you think I am old and fat?"

What would YOU have said?

P.S.

Oh, yeah, has anyone noticed the clue I left for you all regarding the gender of our new baby? No fair if I already told you, but I have been surprised no one has noticed yet.

What Now?

I don't know what to write anymore. I was looking back at some of my old posts, I just don't have what ever it was that I had back then in me right now. My kids still say cute things. I still go to church and get regular and wonderful bursts of spiritual joy. I am still doing iconography, just haven't posted any photos in a while. It seems as if all my joys as well as trials are finding refuge in the privacy of my heart, with no ability to be revealed in words.

I still contemplate the world, and my place in it. I just can not form words about it.

My life right now seems so complicated. I have teen girls that need constant direction and encouragement. I have a son, a high school son, away at school who still needs me and I have to figure out how to tend to him from a distance. My husband is, like so many others, struggling to provide security for our family. He needs encouragement and support. My other children are all at pivotal points in their learning and need constant reinforcement to keep progressing. My extended families are going through many transitions and trials. I am pregnant (?!?!!!?) and feel as if I am trying to hold the entire world together, with spit and duct tape.

I have contemplated just shutting this blog down, but I really don't want to. It is shrinking exponentially. I have been dropped from many blog rolls, my daily readership has halved in the past few months. Many of the old time friends have either moved, closed up, or cut way back.

And yet, I love this place. For some reason, I can't be fully open right now with the realities of my life. But I still love the connections I have made, look forward to any comments, and love surfing around checking up on everyone.

Even amid the complications, there is a lovely simplicity to my life. Daily work, daily love, daily creating. I guess for now, that will have to do!

Blessings to you all (few?) who visit here today!

Well, THAT was weird

After a very busy day yesterday, I crashed on the couch, fell asleep and finally wandered to my own bed in the middle of the night. My husband was out on business, so my eight year old daughter was holding his place for me. BOOM, straight back to sleep.

I awoke this morning, with sounds of the bottom 4 kids playing Legos. There is something soothing about the sound of all those little plastic pieces hitting against each other in the big box as just the right one is being sought after.

The day is cloudy, hazy, cold. But, our house is warm. I can see the clouds through the newly leafless trees. This is one of the real treats for me about fall; I get to see the sky. During summer, all I see is leaves.

After sky-gazing for a while, I finally haul my larger-by-the-minute body out of bed, make coffee (yes, as I have admitted before, I have a coffee pot in my bathroom), and check my e-mail and a few blogs and news sites.

Lazily drinking my coffee, thinking I should get moving, it seems as if the day is gearing up and our schedule needs to be kept.

I glance at the clock and have a shock ~ 10:25 am. WHAT???? No way. I usually get up at 7:30 or 8:00. Breakfast at 8, school starts at 9. I check my watch, my bedside clock, the computer. Yup, 10:25 am.

Apparently I needed a little extra rest, the kids needed a little extra play time, the sky needed to be gazed; but still. 3 hours late and I had no idea.

I am grateful for the gentle beginning of this day, for the refreshment I received and the beauty I took time to enjoy. But now, I must get busy.

Blessings!!

Good Morning

Well. The sun came up this morning, so that's good. Trying to be positive here.

Seriously, though, my husband and my friends and I had a very enjoyable evening last night, and reaffirmed to ourselves that our church and our friends and our family is where our comfort lies, not in the government. And I wouldn't care all that much that the president-elect isn't someone I voted for if it wasn't for the abortion issue. But my approach to that will not change, either. I pray, offer financial and physical support. And I will continue to do so.

And now I have to get on with my day.

Blessings!

Things to be grateful for today

I voted. There were lots of people there, also voting. One person at the polling place was breaking the law by wearing a t-shirt with a candidate's name on it, and he was gently but firmly told by the polling judge to go outside and turn his shirt inside out, then he could come back to vote. He did so, and the others in the line thanked him for complying and told him, nicely, that they are glad to be able to make up their own minds about their vote. Very civil, very patriotic, I think.

The weather is scrumptious and I am spending most the day outside. I planted 180 bulbs, so I can have another thing to look forward to in the spring. I planted crocus, daffodils and tulips. I also bought some amyrillus and paperwhites to force inside this winter, and am already anticipating the burst of red and white around Christmas time.

Today is so nice out, we cleaned out our cars and our garage, all ready for the winter.

My husband made me throw out a bunch of clothes, socks and shoes that we no longer needed. I wanted to donate them somewhere, but he was right ~ they were way past their prime and poor people deserve better than our worn out cast offs. What a relief to get these things out of my house!!

I went grocery shopping and they had strawberries, grapefruit and grapes on a big sale. The kids thought it was Christmas!! A fruit feast will ensue today, for sure.

My four year old, who has eaten most of her Halloween candy already, and very little else, asked for "Fruit, vegetables and meat" for lunch. Even a four year old knows when enough is enough.

And we had a very nice dinner this weekend ~ a friend had gone hunting and brought us a turkey. Another friend was harvesting potatoes and gave us some. The roasted turkey and mashed potatoes were delicious and we are thankful for the freely given gifts to us from our friends. I am making a nice, rich turkey soup to give back to our hunter friend in thanks.

And, last, but not least, I found a marvelous pair of maternity pants at Target that fit well and look nice, and that is a terrific thing!!