Friday, December 31, 2010

Manners, manners, manners ...

I ran across this nearly 2 1/2 year old post that I thought I would share. Laurie, from A Peek into My World said anyone was free to use this as she is a stickler for manners in children. I am, too, and sometimes having a fresh breeze of inspiration helps a weary mother keep her battle against bad manners going strong!

I think it's a great idea to be thinking about manners as we step into the New Year.
(The link is directly back to the following post.)


Teaching Old-Fashioned Values in a Modern World

One of the things that I have really enjoyed since I've had a child is a certain reading material called "Parents" magazine. I think there are good articles in this magazine and is a great self help in different stages in your parenting. I just received my magazine this past week and was looking through as my son took a nap. I came up on a article that was so great. I started looking back at how my mother use to parent and teach me all along my childhood. This article was about Old Fashioned Values and it reminded me so much of how I grew up. At the time as a child, I thought it was harsh but now that I am a mother I see that these values are understandable now.

The article writes like this:
There's no doubt that children are becoming more disrespectful at a young age. And the reason is, well duh: With smart mouthed cartoon characters, obnoxious reality shows and constant cell phone interruptions, it's crystal clear that society has become ruder and it's rubbing off on families. Some moms and dads are settling for behavior that's barely acceptable rather than holding their kids to a higher standards they grew up with. For instance, their happy if their kid doesn't roll his eyes when he meets someone new rather than expecting him/her to greet the person nicely.

Given all the outside influences, it may seem practically impossible to instill good, old fashioned values in a young child. While the wagging finger or scare tactics your parents may have used probably won't work, these modern approaches from leading experts will. Try them and your kids will get noticed - for their good manners.

The Old Fashioned Rule:

{ 1 } Don't interrupt adults in the middle of a conversation.
You're trying to talk to a friend and your kid screams over and over again: "Mommy Mommy Mommy MOMMY!" is there anything more exasperating? Young kids not only have little impulse control and patience, but they also translate your inattention as "Mommy being taken away from me; I need to get her back"

TEACH IT TODAY:
We inadvertently feed the problem by telling our children to say 'excuse me' as if that's the magic word. "They say excuse me and we go ahead and answer them. Well, that's still interruption." A better way: Explain what's expected up front: "I'm talking to Mrs. Jones right now. I'm going to be talking for a few minutes, and I don't want to be interrupted." If your child is waiting quietly, stop to tell him/her how much you appreciate it and that you're almost done. If he/she's not, hold up a finger as a signal to wait. If he/she keeps on, no matter how hard it is to tolerate - don't give in or she'll learn that badgering eventually does work to get your attention. Most importantly, hold up your end of the bargain and in a few minutes tend to her needs: "Now it's your turn, thank you for waiting"

{ 2 } Say "Thank you" without being prodded.
Your kids probably get a lot of gifts and treats. Why can't they learn to say thank you automatically? "When parents remind their kids in front of a person who gave the gift, the acknowledgement seems so insincere.

TEACH IT TODAY:
Reword your reminders. Instead of asking your kid to say thank you say, "It's the right time to show how much you appreciate your gift." Then kids aren't repeating your words and get used to giving the acknowledgement on their own.
Also get your child in the habit of helping you write thank-you notes. Toddlers can draw a picture; preschoolers may be able to print their name or the first letter of it. How much they can do isn't important, the point is to re-enforce that it's polite to thank someone for a gift.

{ 3 } Greet Adults with "Hello" and a proper name.
When most kids do say something to welcome an adult, they look at the ground and mumble or ignore.

TEACH IT TODAY:
Role-play it at home. Pretend you're Aunt Sally or your child's teacher and have him practice saying hello to you. Encourage him to smile or wave and clearly and pleasantly greet the person. If he's reluctant to look up, challenge him to find the color of her eyes. Once he feels comfortable with the process around the house, chances are he'll try it out in public. But it'll work better if you let it be his idea rather than yours.

{ 4 } Hold the door.
Many kids barge through a door, barely noticing the person who opened it or worse still, whether it's going to slam in someones face. They don't automatically think that they should get the door; you have to explain to them that it's the kind thing to do.

TEACH IT TODAY:
Practice at every opportunity. Once introduced to the concept, young kids love to hold doors because they feel like big strong helpers doing a very important job. Start at home: "Mommy's carrying a lot of groceries. Who can hold the door for me?" At the store or at school, where doors may be heavy for a young child to hold on their own, ask them to help you: "Here comes Mrs. Roberts and Brian. Let's hold the door for them because that's the polite thing to do." Begin very low-key and then one day - because you're not requiring it or demanding it - you'll be amazed to hear your child say, "Mommy, I can do it myself."

{ 5 } If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. (My personal favorite!)
Young kids learn from watching TV today that it's okay - even sometimes funny - when people say rude things to each other. Add that to the fact that a young child's sense of empathy isn't fully developed, and it's a recipe for a humiliating situation.

TEACH IT TODAY:
First, resist watching inappropriate TV shows - or, at least, discuss the problem behavior with your child. For instance say, "Do you think that was mean of Simon to talk to the singer like that?" Then let your child know what she says has the power to hurt the feelings of another kid or adult. See whether she can recall an example of a time when her feelings were hurt so that you can be sure she grasps the concept. It's also worth making up scenarios and asking her whether the person in the story said a good or bad thing. The more concrete you can make it for her, the better she'd understand it.

{ 6 } Give up your seat.
It usually doesn't cross a young kids mind that giving up a seat to an older person on the train or at a party is the polite thing to do. The chances he'll actually do it are even slimmer.

TEACH IT TODAY:
Lead by example. The next time you're riding a crowded bus or train, ask your child to sit with you. Say: "Would you come sit here on my lap so this nice man can have a seat? I think he would really appreciate it." The more often children see you do it, the more liable they are to come up with the idea themselves.

Interesting Fact:
Lose the Excuses!
"He didn't have his nap today"...."She's just hungry"....."He doesn't usually act like this"
It's incredibly tempting to make excuses for your child when he behaves rudely in public. "When you do this, children get the message that they don't have to answer for their behavior because their parents have done it for them. Instead, apologize for the inappropriate behavior. That sends the message "I did something wrong that Mommy and Daddy have to say they're sorry about it to others."

I completely forgot our good news!!!

Well, I didn't forget it per se, I just forgot to post it! The Friday after I posted "The Prodigal Blogger Returns" we found out that Terry's "regular job" is giving back the pay cuts and what nots and will be slowly hiring back people that were laid off. What does this mean for us???? It mean he can quit his second job and no longer has to travel or work nights and most weekends!! How could I forget to post that?? So now we are back to our "regularly scheduled life" so to speak. A normal "9 to 5" plus the every third Saturday - which could change once they start hiring back people within their department - but for now every third is better than *every* Saturday AND Sunday!!!

So the schedule is now be in at 7 (instead of 6:30) and then get off work on a rotating schedule of 4:30, 5:00, and 6:00 M-F. It's been an adjustment this week (last week he was on vacation) getting used to him coming home every night and having dinner together as a family every night. Granted, the children and I had dinner together as a family while he was out of town, it wasn't the same as when he was home.

Sorry, been sick

I just wanted to let everyone know, that I have been sick this past week and while better, I can't seem to do more than read and comment. While I did miss time with my family and Church services this weekend as well as did not get to enjoy the snow with the children, I have been catching up with old friends this week. The Lord truly knows exactly what we need when we need it. I have been so blessed this past week in spite of being sick and worse for wear.

This coming weekend shall be a busy one for us. Tonight we are having a bonfire to burn all the extra brush from around the house and few items from our garage that were in dire need of throwing away. I've always enjoyed sitting around camp fires in the cool of the night. We had planned on this last Friday for Western Christmas Eve since the boys were up visiting with a break from college and work but me being sick it just didn't work. So the plan is for tonight barring rain or lots of wind ...

Then tomorrow we get to head to my husband's hometown for a funeral. His aunt died from complications of a stroke earlier this week. It will be like a family reunion of sorts as there will be family members there that I haven't even met yet. That side of the family doesn't really get together much for anything - they just keep in touch via the phone tree and grape vine. More than likely we will spend all day there visiting with family and not be able to make it to Church in the evening. I'm just going to let the Lord lead us. You just never know who God will set in your path or when.

Sunday will be fairly busy as well. First there will be Church services followed by Church school as normal. After Church school, the children will be decorating the Nativity tree in the courtyard :) This shall be so much fun to watch! Immediately after we will head to the other side of the state from where we will be Saturday to visit my grandparents. We cannot go around them while sick as they are both in frail health. I feel like such a bad granddaughter. I don't do nearly enough for them that I should. I have cousins that live just as far away as I do and they manage to do more than I do... granted they have one or two children apiece but still, what excuse is that? It's not.

And though Monday is not a part of the weekend it is still full. I will be visiting my father. He should be in his new place of care by then. We've been careful not to make plans to go visit as we don't know at what time they are going to move him. They have been supposed to be moving him for the past week but something always comes and they don't. For those that do not know, he had a simple hernia surgery in October. The surgeon made a mistake and did not make sure he had stopped bleeding all the way since he was on blood thinners. This led to another surgery in which the intestines were ripped (not fault of that surgeon - as he had to get to the pocket of blood and he could not see all of the adhesions on the intestines further in. Of course that turned out to not be the last surgery. In the past 3 months he has been home 1 week and 2 or 3 days. He can't eat, his tummy gets badly distended when they put the nutrient dense liquid in his g-tube (a tube right into the stomach/small intestine area). He's lost a ton of weight and looks so tiny and fragile. He feels so bad for all of this but it's not his fault. The past couple of years has been bad on him. He had a heart attack, he had kidney cancer, he had a bleeding ulcer they couldn't find, now this. All I want is for my father to get better. He does not deserve this in the least. He's still so young with so much more to teach his grandchildren.

Just got a call - Daddy's being moved in just a little while to the physical therapy rehab center!! This is good news! He's closer to me now which means I can visit more often than once a week :) I feel such a great peace with this move. Please pray for him. His name is Ray and he is not Orthodox. I've been praying that through this somehow he will find his way to the One True Faith ... my mom, too.

Ok, much to do today! I need to do a little cleaning up and then crafts with Mary for her Nativity gifts she wants to give everyone. Tamara is with Terry at work and they will be home right after lunch today and I want all of the mundane stuff and the presents finished before they get home so that we can have some family time to play some games and maybe later watch a movie with popcorn before going out to light the bonfire.

Have a fun, safe time ringing in the civil New Year!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Orthodoxic ~ Is that a word?

So we are leaving the Church a different way than normal as I need to get gas like Now! Our little parish is in a curve and the children really haven't seen what's around the bend even though it's practically right across the street. So we turn out of the parking lot and Isaiah almost immediately spots another church across the way. He's says "Wow, there's another church right across the street from ours!" Me- "Yes, Isaiah there is." Isaiah- "Huh, well I would still want to go to St. Mary's because that church isn't as Orthodoxic as our's is."

Jesus holding me close in Depression

As you know, I've been struggling with a bit of depression lately and though I'm doing better and I'm doing really good at not allowing despondency to get it's grip on me, I still have days that aren't exactly the best. Yesterday was one of them.

I took Faith to Horse Quiz Bowl Practice and while out I had to go by and get a gift card and mail off a package to Christian since he will not be home for the holidays. Now I was already feeling a bit lowly - but I had parked way out in the parking lot with no other cars really close by to make it easy for me to pull out of this otherwise crazy parking lot. So I get in the car and crank up when this guy comes whipping in and pulls into the space *right in front of me* ... I mean really -with all the other spaces available and you have to pull in right in front of me, blocking my way out that I had so carefully planned, really? So I took a deep breath, backed out and found a different way out. It wasn't so bad, it was just a little frustrating.

So I headed to the post office to mail off the package that was now complete. Got it mailed and then I could not for the life of me back out of my parking spot due to traffic and several other rude people. I finally back out due to the generosity of a fellow driver, God bless him, and headed out of the parking lot back to Faith. On the way out there is a sign that reads "Buckle up! Someone needs you!" When I read this, it wasn't a few minutes later and the tears started coming... I got to thinking - ha, no one actually *needs* me. Everyone would be able to get on just fine without me, in fact they'd probably have much smoother lives without me. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't contemplating anything drastic - been there done that and it isn't fun to be in that place at all and I've determined to never be there again. No, I want to live, I want to be mommy, I want to show my children the awesomeness of God and worshipping Him, but when it boils down to it, no one needs me.

So I pick up Faith and we have to stop at the grocery store for bread and pepper. This is where the first sign I received that Jesus was holding me. I also needed two things - a Baker's Cup for dipping chocolate and some vanilla flavored marshmallows. So I get everything and I'm desperately searching the shelf of marshmallows praying I've just missed the vanilla flavored ones. There are the big ones, the mini ones, and the pink, strawberry flavored ones, but no vanilla flavored ones. But yet I keep looking - not sure why as I've looked over it several times already. There were more and more people showing up in just this little area so I had to move - and then there it was - the one and only bag of pink and green vanilla flavored marshmallows just sitting there on top of the pink, strawberry flavored ones. I mean how did I miss this bag?? All I could think of was "Thank You" and that apparently the little gift I wanted to give my family meant something - I mean it's nothing much but apparently it is enough to where the marshmallows were provided to me.

Then later I go to meet my friend I mentioned in the previous post that I hadn't seen in ages. My mood at the time is hard to describe and let's just say I needed a little something and it was definitely provided to me. I had absolutely nothing but green lights from my house to the highway, then when I got off the exit I was gifted with nothing but green lights all the way til the construction area. This gave me time to put a little lip gloss on and brush my hair and otherwise get to looking decently :) Anyway, so I really enjoyed our visit and then it hit me - she is the person I've been praying for - a friend that always gives sound advice, never judges, and prays and prays and prays. I have few friends like that in my life and I am soooo thankful the Lord "showed" her to me again.

So needless to say, Jesus was there with me all day long and was gently showing me I matter to Him. Thank You, Jesus, I needed that.

Update on St. Nicholas Cheer!

The other night we drove by the neighbor we shared our St. Nicholas basket with and saw they had a snowflake on their door - we were so excited to know they were spreading the cheer :)

So last night I went to meet a friend I have not seen in over 4 years (probably more like 6!). As I pulled out of the driveway I noticed the neighbor across the street had a snowflake on their door!! I felt like a little child on Christmas morning and called my girls to let them know - they found me amusing - and just as I was about to hang up I spotted yet another snowflake! Then they started getting a little excited :) I decided to drive through the neighborhood when I came home and I found 5 for sure snowflakes and a couple of others that could be! Now I'm really excited to do this next year much earlier in the season. The girls really want to do at least 2 baskets next year ... I don't know, maybe ...

On another note, Terry and I had the children clean out their closets as they had been piled high with stuff and junk and even trash from where we would tell them to clean their rooms. So last night I went in to go through all the clothes and weed out any that were too small, etc, as well as put away a whole load. I was flabbergasted - the children had made a huge pile of clothing that had been stuffed in the closets outside in the hall by the washer and we just sort of assumed the closets were halfway decently straightened up - WRONG!

I know you're thinking - does this have anything to do with St. Nicholas cheer - yes. Yes, it does...... So I had them come in and pull *everything* out of the closets and we all went through the piles together. I told them to start pulling out stuff they don't like, don't play with, don't want, and put it in a pile. They asked what we were going to do with the pile and I said the decent toys will be given to other children who have no toys and the broken ones in the trash. All of the sudden they really started weeding out those toys. Toys I never thought they would part with suddenly had phrases like "Another kid would probably enjoy that more I do" attached to them.

We wound up with a huge garbage bag full of toys and two smaller backpacks full of smaller toys. I'm going to go through them carefully and pull out any broken things and then I'm taking the bags to the women's shelter in town. They always need toys for the children to play with since they basically escaped their situations with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I was moved to tears at the giving hearts my children displayed. May they grow to have wonderfully giving spirits all the year long for all of their days!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Terrific Cookie Gifts!



Thanks to Sylvia at OrthodoxMom I was able to give my mailman and "trash guys" a little gift this year.... and many more to come :) Though it wasn't until I was posting this that I realized I didn't take a picture of the absolute final product as I finished so late last night I forgot!!

So I made Caramel Nut Balls, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Haystacks, and Oreo Truffles. I got tins, a pack of tissue paper, and ribbon from Dollar Tree for $1 each (total $6 plus tax). I baked the cookies, lined the tins with golden & cream tissue paper, put in 3-5 of each cookie, wrapped the edges of the tissue paper over the top, put on the tops, took two pieces of ribbon, criss-crossed them, and secured them on the bottom with hot glue since I couldn't find the tape anywhere! Then I made a little note card telling them of our appreciation, listed allergens for each cookie, and tucked it under the ribbon. I placed the mailman's in the mailbox and set up a little table with a note attached for the trash guys near our trash can by the side of the road.

Now I'll quit boring you with words and get to the pictures - which are not top quality - I need to start having Tamara take the pictures with her new, wonderful camera!






St. Nicholas Day

{{I need to make mention that I have several posts up from the past several days and am working on more to get all caught up from this week!}}

Yes, I'm late getting all of this up ... I've been busy with Church, my father's side of the family's Christmas gathering (eatin' meetin' as my cousin has dubbed it), visiting my father and allowing the children to visit, taking care of sick family, cleaning house, baking cookies for presents, a little shopping, gymnastics, Horse Quiz Bowl practice, mailing presents to the son that won't be able to make it home for Christmas, and taking the teen girls to Matushka's so that Matushka can pack while they watch after the children. I'm just now sitting to do something for myself :) Isn't that the way it always is with mamas?

Anyway, here are a couple of shoes with their goodies that the children got to celebrate St. Nicholas day.




So the children were able to see their little gifts but they weren't happy about not being able to eat them since it was Sunday morning and we had communion. Oh well, yet another lesson in not getting what you want instantly.

We chose a new place to stand in Church to see about getting some of the unruly behavior under control - it dampened much of it but then again I need to wait for the newness of it to wear off before deciding that it's done much good. I had to get Isaiah up out of the chair several times - he would sit there with his coat on backwards and the hood over his face.
I tell you this because of something he said to me the night before as we left Church a different way as we needed to get gas. Nearly right across the street (we are in a curve and this is right around the curve where you can't visually see it) is a protestant church. So we turn right instead of left and Isaiah sees this church and exclaims, "UH, there is another church right close to our Church!" Me- "Yes, there is. There are a lot of churches in this area." Isaiah- "Huh, well, I still wanna go to St. Mary's cause that one isn't as Orthodoxic as St. Mary's."
All I could do was grin as my heart swelled.

Unfortunately we had to leave directly after communion, instead of sharing in the feast, as we had to head across the state straightaway to get to the Maner Family Christmas. For the very first time we were the first ones there. We had most everything set up by the time the next people started showing up. Only 28 were there :( For such a large family, it's always sad to see but about half (27 were missing). My dad of course was in the hospital. My uncle is in the hospital in Tennessee so his family stayed there to be near him as he is really bad off right now (I'm sadly anticipating another funeral soon)... that's 6 more. My brother had to work and his wife and children are sick (still) - that's 6 more. One of my cousins and his family simply didn't show up - said they were coming and then just didn't - no explanations and they are alright... that's 5 more. Then there's the cousin who shows up with her family if she doesn't have other social obligations to attend - which is unutterably sad to me.

After a fun-filled afternoon and simply reveling in the younger generations of cousins hanging out my little family went to see my father. It was the first time all of the children save Tamara have seen their grandfather since he went in the hospital over 2 months ago. We had to take them in one at a time. I stayed with him the whole time while my mom brought each one in to say hi for a few minutes. I love my daddy so much and it is so upsetting to see him like this. All I could do was cry as we walked out the door of the hospital. The children were somber as we left. They now understand how sick he is. And all because of a surgeon's mistake. I try so hard to remember that doctor's and surgeon's are also people and make mistakes just as the rest of us, but sometimes I still get upset about it.

I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Nicholas Day.

Monday, December 20, 2010

We made St. Nicholas's!


Just a little something I made for the children for St. Nicholas Day! I definitely learned a lesson ... you must use tacky/elmer's glue and NOT super glue! I thought it would be faster to use to glue on the staff's but unfortunately I wound up with a lot of mess and fingers covered in dried super glue :( Live and learn

Experiencing the Myrrh-streaming icon of St. Anna



I'm just now getting back in the habit of taking pictures so please forgive me for not having them all! Saturday we went to a friends house whom is not Orthodox and made St. Nicholas miter ornaments! They were so cute :) She was also introduced to stnicholascenter {.} org - which although is not Orthodox, is something she seemed interested in enough that she might take a peak-see a little further. All we can do is pray!

Anyway, she babysat the children while I went to a (homesteading/ preparedness)luncheon. While I was away she and the children made the ornaments. I decided at the last minute to let her keep them - it just felt right, even though my intentions were for them to be hung on our tree here at home.

We stayed there until Terry met us there when he got off work. Then we headed to the Church to see the icon of St. Anna streaming myrrh! What an experience that was. It smelled heavenly and was simply amazing to witness. My cousin asked me about it after Terry mentioned it to him. Please pray this particular cousin becomes interested and seeks the true Church! He is an upstanding Christian man, a published author (www.slaveofchrist.com), and is certainly after bringing up his family in Christ. If he were to convert, more family would pay attention and take a credible look at the Orthodox Church. As it is one cousin is Greek Orthodox and I am Russian Orthodox. But we are looked at as "free-spirits" and those that like to "push the limits of mainstream ideas" *sigh* All I can do is pray and live the way I am supposed to while allowing God to use me or not in their lives. Have faith, have faith, have faith ...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

On the Upbringing of Children ...

by Bishop Irenaius

I have read this book before - probably a couple of times :)
I find it time to read it yet again. After all that our family has been through in the last year, discipline has drifted by the wayside it seems. There are times when I feel such overwhelming grief at what I have allowed my family to come to... but all hope is NOT lost, for we serve a mighty King and He shall see us through to the other side. Thankfully!

So I thought I might give my thoughts and whatnots as I read along bit by bit.

In the preface, St. Xenia Skete mentions that there is a plethora of child rearing books available more so than any other time. This has actually plagued my thoughts more than it probably should have over the years - long before I came to the Orthodox faith. Now as an Orthodox Christian and a Psychology major (one of my majors anyway!) - I have come to discover something that makes me very glad I have not chosen to go into the field of Psychology for the purpose of clientele. I am not sure that I could serve them correctly. See, for the most part psychology as we study it in secular school is for the secular. Don't get me wrong, even Christians have psychological problems that need to be diagnosed and dealt with - and the psychology we learn in school can definitely help us to identify a variety of problems that need attending to. BUT there is a sub-group of issues that we, in general, like to just medicate rather than find a therapy that honestly works. I've discovered over the years that the Lord always has an answer. We just have to follow His commands and we shall be healed. The problem is sometimes following those commands are hard and require work and self-discipline and self-denial. Clinical psychologists seem to prance around the bush and coddle instead of getting to the point where the client/patient feels uncomfortable and makes the changes necessary.

As late as it is I doubt this even makes sense to most!! Before any one tells me, "Yeah, easy for you to say, you haven't been there," let me tell you I have been there - as in to the brink of death been there. There are some issues that are still there and still need work on. Yes, depression is one of them, as I have mentioned in previous posts. It kinda caught me off guard this time around since it's been several years since my last bout with it. But I am happy to say I am on the road to triumph. I know that it takes time, I know what I have to work through, I know I need to get back to the Lord and following His ways more closely than I have been.

Anyway, all of that to say ... no matter what the current trends in child psychology, no matter what manner of "scientific evidence" there is to "back it up" there is only ONE way to rear our children - the way of the Lord. That's it. There is no other worthy of our time.

Myrrh-streaming Icon of St. Anna ...

will be at our Church this Saturday! I cannot wait to be in the presence of this miracle. I cannot wait to smell the scent of roses as I walk into the Church. I also cannot wait for my family to experience this truly awesome wonder-working icon. What anticipation I have!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Beautiful Wedding

Beautiful, Moving Wedding in 3 pictures

I cannot even begin to describe the emotion that flooded over me as I gazed at these three photographs of a wedding in a desecrated Orthodox Church in Serbia. How absolutely beautiful and what a wonderful testimony of faithfulness.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

In the Spirit of St. Nicholas Day ...

we did something new and anonymous to share with the neighborhood. The idea came from stnicholascenter.org. And I just realized we did not take a picture for me to upload :( Ahh well, you're imaginations will just have to be used for this one :)

I went shopping for a few St. Nicholas Day treats for the children and for a few items to make a basket for a family in the neighborhood. Then while at the library I printed out a little story about St. Nicholas. At dinner I brought out all of the supplies much to the children's confusion as nothing is ever at the table except prayer books, the Bible, devotions and study guides. This is a time that we keep focused on the family which is kept focused on our Lord.

With all of the children looking expectantly toward me with wide eyes (yes, even the teenagers!), I explained that we were going to make a small basket for a family in the neighborhood and then ... play ding-dong ditch! That got their attention!! LOL After they calmed back down I explained that this was similar to how many in the neighborhood play "You've been boo'ed!" by placing a note and bag of candy on someone's porch. Only we were spreading the good cheer of St. Nicholas!

I pulled the small basket I had found in front of me and then the paper I had printed and read the story of St. Nicholas and the instructions to the next family to hang the snowflake (that we were going to make after dinner) on their door or mailbox if the door was hard to see from the road, make a small basket of goodies for another family in the neighborhood with a copy of the story and instructions in their basket, and leave it for them to find the next evening. The kids all thought this was grand fun and had so much fun helping me put the basket together and making snowflakes ... we only needed one snowflake but couldn't decide which to put in the basket so we put them all and will let the family choose which to use!

After we made the basket ~ which had a loaf of bread, some bath gels for the little girls of the house, some butter toffee covered peanuts all wrapped up in pretty wrap and ribbon, some hot chocolate for the little girls, our story and instruction sheet, the snowflakes, and a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice (mainly for the grown-ups) to sit beside the basket - we all bundled up (cause it's still in the low 20's/upper teens here) and headed out the door. We all walked down to the neighbor's house. DD12 and DS10 took the goodies up to the porch while the rest of us hid behind the bushes at the street ... the two children tip-toed up on the porch, put the goodies down, rang the doorbell and RAN! Then we all waited, anxiously shivering, for them to discover our gifts :) It took a little bit but finally Mr. Neighbor came to the door, looked around, looked down, saw the gifts, looked around again, slowly picked up the basket and bottle, looked around again, and turned to go inside. We waited another 3-4 minutes before I finally gave the go-ahead for the youngers to run back home. The older girls and I walked as we're known to do :)

I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I honestly didn't think my children could stay quiet for that long ... or still! The older girls actually want to make a couple more baskets and give to a couple of other families in the neighborhood since it is so close to Western Christmas - therefore not a lot of time to spread the cheer. We just might do that. As it might not sound like all that much but it was fun. I can't wait to start this next year - the day after Thanksgiving AND I want to include more details about Saint Nicholas in the story, so I'll need to work on that.

Tomorrow we're making (yes, I know a little late, but I just discovered it!) a 40-day Advent calendar! I'm so excited about discovering things that make Orthodoxy seem so natural and "normal" to the children. Living in an area of 90% Protestant, 9% Catholic, and 1% Other is sometimes difficult - especially since we are old calendar, we fast, and no one has a clue what Orthodoxy is when they speak of it. So it's nice to show them that it's not as foreign as they may think it is... we're not really that 'different' so to speak.

Hmmmm, I feel myself getting into the spirit of Nativity finally. For awhile there I didn't think I was going to find it this year. I am so glad God directed me to OrthodoxMom.com, The Liturgical Year for Little Ones, and so many more via MyOCN.com (My Orthodox Christian Network). Even though I wish I had found them earlier, this honestly was the best time for me to find them - the ideas and inspirations are really helping me and if I had discovered them prior to entering a depressive period the effect would not have been the same at all. God truly knows exactly what we need, when we need it. Glory to God!

Monday, December 13, 2010

The prodigal blogger returns

Ha, ha, ha, I know :)

Let me give a brief run down of my time since May. Lot of pain, tests, lots more pain, tests, even more pain, tests, all fruit diet as it hurt the least, suggestion from my father leads to otc medication, leads to diagnosis from dr that I have an ulcer... a bad one. Start healing, start the home school year, start the college semester, start getting in good routine and my father lands in hospital, emergency surgery, discharged, back in 2 days later, more emergency surgeries, stays in the hospital for a month, discharged, back in a week later with acute renal failure, cousin's wife diagnosed with cervical cancer, best friend from childhood's father dies on Thanksgiving, finals week, all while dealing with some children issues including a child who just plain refuses to do her work but blames everything and everyone else on why she can't complete a few school assignments yet can clean house, or read, or craft all day long, oh, and a son that joined the Air Force.... ooops forgot husband who had to take another job that takes him out of town most of the week which basically leaves me as a single mother most of the time - but it's ok, cause it's what we have to do in order to make ends meet for the time being - the dealership says it will be able to start hiring back people it let go and soon after that give back everything to those still working there that they had to reduce (reductions were in pay, sick leave, benefits, etc, without reduction in hours - if anything more hours) - so no more than a year before back to "normal," prayerfully much, much, much less.

Soooooo, in a very small nutshell, that is why I haven't posted. I barely had time to sneeze much less post!

I feel so sad, because the majority of my garden died while I was stuck inside in excruciating pain for a couple of months. Of course, no body tried to take care of it while I was down for the count. We did get some tomatoes, quite a few bell peppers, some small watermelons, a few okra, a couple of squashes, a lots of kale (which would have been awesome if it hadn't been for the larva that were all over them... and being in so much pain, I couldn't deal with trying to figure out what they were and do something about them). That's it. Nothing else. Not even enough to can a few cans. That really upset me, too, during everything else that was going on. All I can say is, I can prepare for planting indoors here real soon. Prayerfully, next season will be better.

So anyway, that is what is and can't be changed. Now it's the Nativity Fast and Advent season. I've allowed everything to come piling up on me at once which has led to the depression I fight to rear it's ugly head. So, dear husband took me to the herbal shop so I could get some herbs I've been needing lately. While there he non-chalantly asked me if I needed some St. John's Wort :) Man I love him. He knew it helps me and that I needed it. So I'm starting back on that. Through prayer and this I expect to get control of this monster fairly soon. I am hopeful in that respect.

Now what I'm facing is getting us back on track spiritually. I have not done one single thing toward Advent this year (being old calendar I'm not as far behind as all that). So I really need to sit down and figure out how to get back on track. Just because I'm not "up to it" doesn't mean the children need to suffer. Because of figuring out what has worked in the past, I have given myself today off... no school work, no chores, no anything until time to make dinner here in a little while and take DD12 to Horse Quiz Bowl practice in less than 2 hours. So I will start planning and then start putting into action tomorrow. This means that the first half of the Advent "home services" will be done on weekdays until we are all "caught up" and back on track the last few Sundays.

Pray for me if you are so inclined. Not just for the depression but for some issues and struggles going on between my husband and I. I am praying that the issues simply stem from long hours and days apart.