Monday Motivation, Monday Daybook

Outside my window...it's overcast but a great temperature with a little breeze.  The kids just finished lunch and are eating popcorn and making up songs on the back porch.  (These photos are from a park in Rockport a few weekends ago)



I am thankful...for family and friends.  I wish we were closer to our extended family, but our own family is growing in many ways here in our new city.  We have met lots of friends and were blessed to share in the house blessing with so many of them on Friday.

 

 

 

In the kitchen...will be leftovers tonight!  Steven made a chicken pasta dish last night, and we also have leftover potato soup from Friday night.  Hoping to move to some more healthy meals this Lent.  I need to make a list of favorites and some new ideas.  Also, trying to add in more healthy snacks.  Tommy is eating a smoothie right now, and I have been making healthier popcorn for snacks (but today the popcorn was totally not healthy because Steven bought bagged butter popcorn from the store and we're out of kernels).



I am wearing...yoga pants and a maternity tee.  My non-maternity shirts seem to shrink up and end up being too short for my long torso and lingering belly from the babies.  I'd love to exercise today but I wasn't up to 5:30am Zumba; not sure if I'll get a workout in today.  Starting to think that a treadmill is the way to go.

Sunday Dinner at our new table.  Yay!

I am creating...ideas for our new schoolroom/dining room decor!  Some amazing friends offered to watch all four of our kids for the entire day on Saturday (7:30am-11:30pm)!  We went to Austin to pick up this dining table we'd been eying on Craigslist for weeks.  It's solid and big and beautiful with a long bench, and we also found a great deal on two cherry bookshelves at a fantastic consignment store in Austin.  We went on a wild goose chase after an armoire that was totally shabby, overpriced, and falling apart, and wasted over an hour of our precious time.  Hoping to find one nearby to contain the rest of our schoolroom junk.  We did have fun driving around Austin; it's so beautiful and has so many lovely neighborhoods!  The downtown area is great with so many parks and restaurants and places to walk around.  Maybe next time when we'll hit some of the hot spots!

I am going...to ballet again tonight.  That's our main outing during the first part of our weeks.  Yesterday was a full afternoon of Alice in Wonderland rehearsals.  Their show is in less than 2 weeks and hopefully both sets of grandparents will be coming to visit that weekend!  It'll be nice to have a ballet break after that since we're skipping the recital.  It has been a lot with the Nutcracker and this Alice ballet, plus their twice weekly classes, and all across town.  The studio doesn't have an indoor or outdoor area where I can be with the boys, so it has been quite a challenge to coordinate the drop offs and pick ups and park visits for everyone.  Hoping and praying they'll consider trying out another studio this summer.

Boys watching a movie.  Steven ran into a tree at nature club and has a scratch all the way from above his eyebrow down around his neck!

I am looking forward to...hosting an Essential Oils class at my house later this week.  I have a friend who is selling the DoTerra Essential Oils and I've attended one of her classes, but am still hoping to learn more and maybe purchase some for our family.

Woke up this morning to this....too funny!


Around the house...working on that school/dining room!  I unpacked my grandma's china and put it in one of the glass-front kitchen cabinets, and slowly we're getting through the rest of the boxes of board games, puzzles, and books!  Also finding new spots for artwork like this...



One of my favorite things...


Monday Motivation!
Goals from last week:
1. Bills, update budget
2. Daily readings on Laudate
3. Decide Lenten commitments
4. Workout 3 times
5. Valentine Breakfast
6. House blessing and Stations-Email and also email for Essential Oil party
7. Plans for Nature Club
8. Ash Wednesday Mass
9. Meals: leftovers, beef and broccoli with leftovers, pizza, rotisserie chicken crockpot into casserole, 2 meatless meals! (potato soup?, potluck)

Goals for this week:
1. Bills, update budget
2. Daily readings
3. One weekly mass
4. Workout 2x (I only made 1 last week, so I figure 2 is a better goal for now!)
5. Reminder email and snacks for DoTerra party
6. Start reading about clean eating
7. Finish school/dining room organization
8. Make phone call for First Holy Communion
9. Meals: leftovers, chicken crockpot into casserolex2, breakfast for dinner, grill, pizza

What I Wore Sunday

Well, my attire wasn't much this week.  I think it needed a scarf or long sweater something.  This is the colorful jewelry my parents gave me for my birthday, the best part of the outfit!

Once again, a peasant skirt (with a faded navy tee).  Are you noticing a theme?  Maybe one day I'll squeeze into my fitted skirts and slacks again.  I wore a cream colored cardigan at church, but I don't think it added anything to the outfit.  Well, there's always next Sunday!

In more interesting news, we had our house blessed on Friday night!  I think there were 50 of us here for a soup supper and great social time.  Amazingly, it wasn't too crazy with all these dozens of kids!  They were mostly in the backyard and upstairs.  A few families started the evening with a backyard Stations of the Cross by candles and flashlights, which was really nice.  We'll probably do that a few more times during Lent, and try to attend our parish Stations most Fridays.

For my Lenten reflection today, I'll share the polyphony we sung during Communion this morning, "Desidero Mi Jesu":

These beautiful Latin songs help to lift our souls unto Christ.  The lyrics of this read:

"I desire, O my Jesus
That you would refresh me
On this the food of angels
Make me, my kind Jesus
Always worthily approach
To this divine repast.
Let this food a nutriment,
Let this drink a nourishment,
Be unto my soul.
Let it give grace while I breathe,
In my final agony,
Be it a pledge of future glory."

So many beautiful ancient hymns and prayers of our church speak the eloquent words that our hearts long to say to Our Lord.  In our busy days of motherhood, singing and praying these can be our opportunity to lift our hearts to God when our earthly bodies can barely mutter "Abba."

Thank you for the gift of our Holy Church, O Heavenly Father.  May we be united together during this Lenten season, in prayer, in fasting, in almsgiving, and in the sacraments.  May our prayers and sacrifices for our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI allow him to be at peace during this time, and may our Cardinals, led by the Holy Spirit, be of one heart in choosing his successor.

More Sunday Fun at:

 

{pretty, happy, funny, real} St. Valentine's Day Edition!

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

Our St. Valentine's Day started with a pretty breakfast 

with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, which has become our new tradition.

I just used 2 cans of cinnamon rolls and unrolled them a bit to form hearts.

This year I was actually planning to make homemade rolls 

for the first time since before we had kids!  

But the yeast was bad when I started at midnight, 

so I had to run to the store for the canned ones at 5:30 this morning!

The kids had remembered our breakfast from last year,

so they were excited for another special celebration!

...even though it was 6:30am!

Later in the day was a beautiful St. Francis Nature Club at the Botanical Gardens.

{happy}

The kids were happy to celebrate St. Valentine's Day with our homeschool group

a little early. We had the party last Friday.  Here are Mary Clare's

adorable origami Valentines.

Ellie made some simple little cards in envelopes with lollipops.

Steven and Thomas had the cutest Valentines that my mom created,

and we filled with bubble gum.  But I didn't get any photos!

Here are what they looked like, but with a sports tag and the boys' names

Later that day after the Valentines party, Thomas was happy playing in the street

and at the park

{funny}

This past Saturday, we spent the afternoon
at a nearby bay resort town and went to their science center.

This giant crab was across the street.

Thomas wouldn't get near it.

"That big giant dinosaur crab gonna bite me!!!"

Meanwhile, the girls and Steven listened to a fascinating science film

that was projected onto a sphere.

She's got the whole world in her hands!

{real}

I was taking pictures around the house today

and thought some couple photos would be real appropriate for Valentine's Day!

These are all in mini frames on a wall shelf by our bed.

Our first date:

Our wedding day:

and what may be my favorite photo of my

maternal grandparents, Doris and Al.

Aren't they precious?

Hope your day was filled with love and laughter,

and all things pretty, funny, happy, and real!

Theme Thursdays

Happy St. Valentine's Day!  I've been linking up with Cari at Clan Donaldson for her Theme Thursday Photo Challenges.  This week I didn't do so great at capturing the theme of Trees or Leaves.  But I happened to take this pretty shot today at our Nature Club meeting of my girls and friends at our local Botanical Garden.

My camera is pretty much always set in Av mode to ISO 100, f/2.2, and 1/1600 (whatever that means; I keep learning the terminology and then subsequently forgetting it!).  I'm almost always using my 50mm lens.

Here's another one that happened to focus on the leaves, but I like the way the kids are blurred in the background.  I took this from my bedroom window.

And we can call this leaves, right?  A little peek at our Valentine Breakfast table.  Hoping to catch up on photos before our busy weekend begins.  We're having our home blessed tomorrow night!

Thanks for hosting, Cari!  I'm enjoying all the wintery photos since our Texas winter is a bit more spring-y than most :-)

Monday Motivation and Daybook

(with random photos from around the house this morning)

Outside my window...it's a little cool and dreary today.  The kids have still been playing outside in shorts and t-shirts, but I actually had to put on a sweater!  The girls are dancing on the patio and everyone finishing their lunch of leftover grilled chicken with tortillas and cheese.  Thomas is napping and I'm here in the quiet bedroom.




I am thankful...for our new home that offers everything I've always wanted.  I am still in disbelief that we are here in this lovely place.  I'm thankful for Steven's job and this little place online where I can write and connect with other moms.


In the kitchen...is leftover grilled steak and chicken today!  We eat a lot of tortillas, buying them raw at HEB.  A tasty watermelon is almost gone, but gives me a little taste and reminder of the summer months to come!

I am wearing...my favorite Target jeans and tennis shoes, my new pink tee from Kohl's and a tan sweater.  Today is a ballet day so I'll probably put on some jewelry and makeup before we go.  I'm still recovering from the early wake-up for 5:30am Zumba!

I am creating...thoughts in my head about what I want this Lent to be.  I'm creating a bright environment here in our new home, and will hopefully get to put together our schoolroom/dining room in the next week or two.  Doing schoolwork around moving boxes for months at a time just isn't bright and beautiful.  I'm also creating ideas about a new blog header and maybe even a different name.  And I'm creating ideas for another Valentine Breakfast for my greatest loves Thursday morning!

I am going...to ballet this evening.  I'm going to tell them that we won't be participating in the recital, which was a hard decision for me and will result in a very sad little ballerina girl.  After their big Alice in Wonderland ballet we'll take a ballet break and possibly start swim team and maybe a new dance school this summer.

I am wondering...who our new Pope will be!  What a surprise to wake up to emails and Facebook messages this morning about the upcoming resignation of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.  I trust that this holy, humble man has the best interests of the Church at heart and that he is following God's will for his life and the life of the Church.  Still it is somber news to prepare for him to step down.


A favorite quote for today...from Scott Hahn.  St. Celestine V, pray for us!

Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed.

He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb!

Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V.

Few people, however, noticed at the time.

Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way.

In the year 1294, this man (Fr. Pietro Angelerio), known by all as a devout and holy priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his 80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps of this venerable model.

I am looking forward to...our Nature Club on Valentine's Day and a house blessing here on Friday.  We are considering hosting weekly Friday Night Stations of the Cross and potluck meals here at our house.  I'm torn because I don't want to take away from the life of our parish, but I love the idea of doing more devotions as a family, with other families, and I know we wouldn't make many of the Friday night Stations at church.  I've seen lovely ideas of candlelight Stations in the backyard and we have been enjoying sharing our firepit with friends over the past few weeks.

Around the house...clean laundry is piling up and the upstairs bedrooms are quite a mess.  But for my temperament, it's nice to have the kids' rooms and playroom upstairs so the messes don't stress me out so much!  Later this week, we'll do some major cleaning up for our house blessing.

One of my favorite things...bubble baths.  I have been waiting years for a bathtub!  The boys must have spilled their shampoo in the tub, so this morning I had a huge amount of bubbles!

A few plans for the rest of the week...ballet, Valentines Breakfast, Nature Club, Atrium, House Blessing, and maybe a trip to Austin to pick up a table!

My goals from last week:
1. Bills, update budget
2. Daily readings on Laudate
3. Consider Lenten commitments
4. Workout 2x
5. Weekend plans...table?
6. Laundry
7. Valentines prep
8. One daily mass
9. Sewing plans...master curtains
10. Meals: out for bday, spaghetti, breakfast for dinner, enchiladas, baked chicken, chicken salad
Eesh, didn't complete many of those!  I cooked other things and didn't make a daily mass or workout. Lots of ideas for better goals during Lent...

Goals for this week:
1. Bills, update budget
2. Daily readings on Laudate
3. Decide Lenten commitments
4. Workout 3 times
5. Valentine Breakfast
6. House blessing and Stations-Email and also email for Essential Oil party
7. Plans for Nature Club
8. Ash Wednesday Mass
9. Meals: leftovers, beef and broccoli with leftovers, pizza, rotisserie chicken crockpot into casserole, 2 meatless meals! (potato soup?, potluck)