See what happens in Winter.

I'm back. I know, you missed me. Ha! Well, it's cold...and it even snowed on Christmas Day...here in Atlanta. It was awesome. A gift from above. "What is that, Rachel? Did you say, gift from above?  I thought you were really pissed at God." Well, yeah, I was. And I still have stuff to work out with the Big Man Upstairs, but too many of you wrote really wonderful comments. And they got me to thinking. I started thinking about all my blessings, instead of all my perceived curses. And there are so many, that I realized I can't be that spoiled child that I was in my previous post. I actively had this epiphany awhile back, but didn't get around to writing about it until now. Suffice to say that I just had to have a reality check. Life is not perfect, I will not get everything I want, even if it's really 'good' stuff that I want. I am not talking about things here.

So, yes, I will always have friends who have tons of kids, and I'll wish I were one of them, but have decided to be content knowing that I am not. The upside is I have time to go out to dinner with my Hunny, like we did last night, and know I don't have to get home right away to nurse a baby. Yes, my nest is going to be empty a lot faster than some of my large family friends' are, but I'll find something fun and useful to society to do, when  that time comes. And hopefully, someday soon (well sooner than later), I'll have grandchildren and will be young enough to enjoy them. It's a good thing God is so good and so much bigger and better than I am. He can take all my rantings and ravings and turn them into praising and thanking with the counsel friends, commenters, priests, prayers and, of course, the Mass.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I hope your 2011 is truly filled with peace, hope, and love. 

~Rach

Goodbye Christmas :-(

Well, I am done putting away all the Christmas stuff.  I put it all away, today, BY MYSELF!  That included 2 faux trees and dragging the real one outside as soon as I had put all the ornaments and lights away. Not to mention all my Rankin-Figures etc....It was tiring. At least, though, it was good exercise because I was up and down 2 sets of stairs all day.  Listening to 2 Muse Cd's helped ALOT! I was blasting the heck out of them.  You could hear it on the street. :-)

Most of the house has returned to it's former self. I clean as I go and put stuff out as I return Christmas stuff to the boxes.  So, it's looking pretty good...just really barren.  Now I am off to the shower as it was raining today and about 60 something degrees so I am pretty sweaty.

Autumn even managed to do her Click n Read phonics ANNNNND some Cool Math 4 Kids, so I am feeling like we all were very productive. Woo Hoo!  I love these kind of days.

~Peace

What I got for Christmas

I really only ever want one thing for any gift giving celebration, and that would be books. I got a bunch of them. I did get, however, a pair of really cool earrings from my Hunny. They are made from 2,000 year old glass mined in Israel. They are very neat. I love them alot. I am not big into jewelry, so I will probably wear these earrings forever. The only other jewelry I wear is my Crucifix and Miraculous Medal. However, I need to get a sterling silver chain for them as I snapped it off again. I didn't realize it was on the outside of my sweater. When I pulled it over my head I heard the telltale pop! It is a good thing they are only about 6 bucks!

So, here are the books I got.

My very own copy of John Taylor Gatto's Underground History of American Education!!! (I like rereading sections of it, and there is only ONE copy in all of the Fulton County Library System...a shame!)
Homeschool Your Child For Free. Yes, it is 7 years old and many links are dead, but many are not, and I have already found very cool and fun websites for the kids that would have covered the cost of the book.
How Children Learn by John Holt. I have never had my own copy. Now I do. Yipee!
The Out of Sync Child Has Fun (Activities for Kids with SPD). This has tons of fun ideas for things to do whether your kid has sensory issues or not.
How To Get Your Child To Love Reading and Best Books For Kids Who (think they) Hate To Read. Both of those title should explain what I am going through with Ben and Autumn. I want to find ways to help them to enjoy, and maybe even come to love, reading...without much coercion on my part. So, hopefully, they will be helpful.

Last, I got a book that should prove to be informative, funny and comforting to my pathetic soul
Saints Behaving Badly (The cutthroats, crooks, trollops, con men, and Devil worshippers who became Saints). I figure if they can make....so can I!

I didn't get fiction, because that stuff I don't mind checking out of the library or finding at Goodwill. Non-fiction that I may use over again, I like to own. My next purchase is going to be:
The Unprocessed Child.

So, thank you to my husband and MIL Carmel for my wonderful books!

~Peace~

Word of the Father Now in Flesh Appearing...

...O' Come Let Us Adore Him, O' Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ The Lord!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!
~Peace & Love,

Recent Family Pictures

Here are a smattering of recent photos. First is a photo of Andrew when he medaled at the November tournament (he's the tall one in the middle). He got 5th place out of over 100 High School Fencers...he was actually 1st place in pools and took 5th in direct eliminations). Way to go Capitain! He is so happy and we are so proud of him. Then there are pics of the coffee I roast at home (sooooo good); and what everyone said, on Thanksgiving, was the best pecan pie they EVER had! (I will post the recipe later) . A BEAUTIFUL open faced apple tart that was so good when fresh out of the oven and a sog-fest Thanksgiving day...(drat!!). My brother, Jonathan hugging Autumn and then with Toonces on his head. Then there are the kids picking out the real tree for downstairs. (It is up now and lit but undecorated.) The lighting of the town square. The shots with me looking good are the family Christmas photo and me and Robert after the parish Christmas party. (Normally, I'm a frightful sight of exhaustion, geeky glasses and unbrushed hair.) Then there are the cookies I baked today: Chocolate Chip, Sugar (recipe in previous post) and English Jam Tarts (not pictured but oh sooo delish!...I will post the recipe for those too!)

Last, but certainly not least, are pictures of Ben sleeping in front of the the tree, Andy laughing at YouTube, and Autumn making paperchains... all of which were taken at midnight!

~Peace~

Happy Feast of Saint Nicholas!

Very cool website. Of course, me being the "day late, dollar short" kinda gal...I totally forgot to have the kids put out their shoes last night to get candy from this wonderful saint. I know...bad Catholic mommy.

Peace

Christmas is Coming, Christmas is Coming

I haven't downloaded all the recent pictures lately, which include the real tree we got Friday night. However, a couple of days ago, when the house was clean and beautiful (unlike right now...ugh!) I snapped some shots of how Christmas is shaping up around here. Later I am going to post as much as I can remember of our Priest's Advent homily yesterday. It was sooooo good.

Below are pics of the front yard, coming into the house, the foyer, living room from 2 angles, staircase, dining room and the last one is the view from my bed. We gotta have a tree in the bedroom. Nothing like going to sleep to twinkly lights. Oh, and unlike some of your lucky bloggers out there, we don't have snow. However, it is 41 degress and windy...and I'll take it! :-)

Heading to the Parish Christmas Party

We have never been able to go this party (which is just for adults..woo hoo!)because my husband's work party was always the same night. So, I am really looking forward to this. I actually found something nice to wear, in my closet (that fits!),because it is a dressy affair. I am very much the jeans and sweater girl this time of year.
We also got our tree yesterday. I lit it today. It is so tall, and fat, and beautiful. I will add a pic when I take one. Well, I am off to see very good friends at my wonderful parish and I will get to look and act like a grown up...HOW COOL!
........................time elapsed 4ish hours.................................
Okay, we had fun. Dinner was good. That is what happens when a few of the Knights of Columbus are actual chefs. The band was decent. We both had a chance to chat with a bunch of friends and have our Priest's amazing Irish Coffee. (And yes, he is Irish.) The band played old standards and some Christmas classics. It was fun to see various friends dancing. Some couples we know can really "cut a rug". I won't dance with Robert. There is too much of an 80's New Wave 'clubgirl' in me. I slow danced with Robert at our wedding...that was it. I know it's weird, but I can't do it...I can't. It is so embarassing to me. I didn't slow dance or go out dancing with guys when I was younger. The way I think of dancing is a bunch of friends kind of dancing in the same vicinity of each other but still dancing on their own at the same time. Maybe in 20 years, when I am in my early 60's I'll do it?

What I really did tho, was to prove to my friends, my husband, and myself that I can put on make-up, dress-up, and look really nice. I only have to do it once or twice a year. So there...world...I did it. Now I am happily typing away in my sweats...YEAH! Now I off to read Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey. So far it is really good. I forgot how much I love the books by the Bronte sisters. Below is a link to the Bronte Society.

http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Bronte.html

Goodnite and God Bless

Advent is upon us

Which means that here in our household we have completed 90% of our interior and exterior Christmas decorating. Above are Ben and Autumn on the deck playing with light sabers on Thanksgiving. It was cold, rainy and fabulous. I did just notice that Ben has a picture of Jesus on his shirt while he is ponting a light saber at Autumn's neck....nice touch, huh? Next to them are the faux Christmas trees upstairs. The one in the foreground is in the hallway and the background one is in my bedroom. In our house we can't have too many Christmas trees. The only one we decorate, tho, is the real one. The rest we just have lights on. I'd light my cats if I could! :-)Below is a sampling of our ever growing collection of Rankin/Bass 1960's Television Christmas Specials. Robert and I are completely hooked on these TV specials from our youth. So far, we have figures from Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and The Year Without A Santa Claus (how many of you can sing the Heat Miser song?)

Yesterday we finished the last of everything...except for the final touch which is the real tree that we will get this Saturday. We will probably decorate the tree on Sunday, the first day of Advent. Which reminds me that I need to get a new Advent wreath, my old one is so bent it won't hold the candles properly. So, why do I get all this done early? Because I can then enjoy the Advent season ( or time leading up to Christ's birth) relatively stress free. As a family we can focus on making Christmas cookies, find special gifts for those we love, singing along to Christmas songs on the stereo, reading Christmas story books, watching beloved Christmas movies (and the shows mentioned above). And all the time we are doing those things the house looks beautiful, festive, cozy and even smells like Christmas thanks to Yankee Candle and their awesome Mistletoe candle. None of us have to worry that on top of all the fun family stuff we want to do, we still need to decorate the house. So, it is nice to have most everything done by now. The stores may decorate early because of consumerism. We do it because we LOVE Christmas and everything it means....most of all...that God gave us Himself in the person of his Son. We can't think of a better thing to celebrate around here.
Below are Andrew and Robert putting up the giant inflatable Santa and Christmas Tree and to the right of that is Robert and Autumn during what they call their "Daddy and Tumnal Time" at the Mall waiting to see Santa. (Tumnal is Autumn's nickname...it's a long story). They even have a Daddy and Tumnal Time song. It's adorable. Below them is Toonces in the Christmas garland.


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Christmas Clean

Well, things are looking a right Christmasy around here. On Nov. 1st, my Mom's birthday, I start decorationg the house for Christmas. Then I started to feel pretty cruddy, so I stopped. Yesterday, my darling hubby, put up the 2 faux trees that we have upstairs. One in the hallway (it's a wide hallway and you see the tree the minute your halfway up the stairs). The other one is in our bedroom. We will get the real one for downstairs in December. Sooooooo, I really need to mop the floors...which means the doing the entire downstairs (wood) and upstairs hallway (wood)...darn it and the bathrooms...ugh! The fun thing is that I get to do it with a new present given to me this morning by my best buddy Kathleen (that is her up there to the left of me). I dropped off Ben and we had coffee and cinnamon scones (she made while I was there...yum!) and she got me this little 4 pack of Mrs. Meyers Clean Day stuff, which I love. It's Gingerbread scented. So, since Robert is off with Autumn to see Santa arrive at the Mall and Ben is at Kathleen's playing with her kids and Andrew is off in a Fencing tournament (Go Hornets!).....I am going to clean my Christmas house and make it smell like Gingerbread. I love cleaning when no one is around to bother me. It's very contemplative...even if I am listening to alternative rock turned up to ear-splitting levels. :-)