What we are using II

How quickly things change.  We are still using teaching textbooks but we are using Seton:)  We decided we needed more structure and support.  It should be here any day.  I was completely overwhelemed struggling with structure in the home before we even started.  I can't wait to post pictures of the excitement on her face when her box gets here!

What we are using...

Krystiana and I are starting our first year of Homeschooling.  I am seeking the help of one of Tiana's old teachers to help me with my lesson plans.  I have my curriculum but don't have any set plans yet:( 

Math: Teaching Textbooks
History: Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer
Science: Apologia Botany, Handbook of Nature Study, and The Outdoor Hour.
Writing: Institute for Excellence in Writing Teaching/Writing student intensive combo
Spelling/Phonics: Phonetic Zoo
Religion: The Baltimore Catechism, The Bible, Fisheaters.com, and various books on the Saints.
Geography: Maps, Globes, and Google University;-)
Literature: Following the Real Learning Booklist.

Good Advice

I found this prayer on Elizabeth Foss' website.  You have no idea how bad I needed this.  If only I could have started my day with it!  It has been a tumultuous first week of school.  I am wiped out from being on an emotional roller coaster.  I hope this helps you as much as it helped me:)

Daily Prayer

O Lord, grant that with Your peace I may greet all that this day is to bring. Grant me grace to surrender myself completely to Your Holy Will. In every hour of this day instruct me and guide me in all things. Teach me to accept tranquilly whatever tidings I may receive during this day, in the firm belief that Your Holy Will governs all. Govern my thoughts and feelings in all that I do and say. When unforeseen things occur, let me not forget that all is sent by You. Teach me to behave sincerely and reasonably toward everyone, so that I may bring confusion and sorrow to no one. Bestow on me, O Lord, strength to endure the fatigue of the day and to bear my part in its events. Guide my will and teach me to pray, to believe, to suffer, to forgive and to love. Amen. ~St. John Kronstadt

 

A Break...

I have been limiting my Internet time lately.  Willow is going through a "growth spurt."  I have learned (the hard way) you have to seize these limited times of neurological growth and be really aggressive.  I am as spending as much time with her as possible and we have increased her private therapy to 5 hours a week.  The biggest gain recently is she is not having as many sensory issues and OCD like habits. If everything was not "just right" she would scream bloody murder:-(  She was also very, very destructive.  Exhausting. All of the sudden, it just quit being so obsessively important to her. Her habits were getting pretty bad and it made going anywhere with her difficult: fans on, doors shut, lights on, and don't drain the tub!  It made home difficult too.  Her growth spurts are usually preceded by a time of regression that is almost unbearable.  It makes taking care of her more than a full time job that does not include my housework.  Truthfully, during these times I wish I could afford to have help in the home.  Because my other kids get completely ignored.  Right now, I have time to spend with my other children.  I am also able to nurture their relationship with Willow in a way that is impossible when she is having severe sensory issues.  Time is a very rare commodity around here.  We are reading, playing outside, and visiting friends.  The kinds of things other families get to do and (usually) take them for granted.  I don't know how long it will be like this.  My children are blooming.  We are going through a time of great blessing  right now and I  don't want to miss a single moment.   I am taking a cue from this woman and embracing my life.  This fall, Krystiana is starting her Homeschooling journey and I am planning on sharing and exchanging ideas.  Until then, I am enjoying my time with my family and friends:-)

First Communion

My daughter Willow will receive her First Holy Communion this month.  It would be impossible for me to express what this milestone means to our family.  I have spent most of her eight years on earth on my knees.   She has blessed me so much.  I know that God sent her to me for my salvation.  I have been so busy preparing that blogging has fallen to the bottom of my "to do" list.  My absence from the Internet does not mean my life is not bearing fruit.  In fact, it has been the opposite.  For the first time in my life, I feel like I am living exactly how the Lord wants me to.  Which is totally open to his will.  That is not to say that I do not struggle daily with my responsibilities.  I have just figured out that if I put God first life goes much smoother.  My husband and I have lived through the past 15 years of trials and we are still standing.  I am doing alot of purging right now.  I am getting rid of the emotional, physical, and spiritual clutter in my life.  It is taking awhile.  This "new growth" has not come without a substantial amount of pain.  I feel like a rosebush that has been cut back severely, in order to bloom more beautifully.  The cutting hurt.  I went through infertility, sickness, financial problems, and Willow's Autism diagnosis just to name just a few.  Right now, I feel like I am blooming.  Psalm 1:3 says: 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

I am planted  firmly by my Willow and we are drinking from that stream.  Our family is bearing fruit and prospering.  I am so, so grateful.  Thank you Lord, for my Willow who helped me grow by You. 

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...

From the desire of being extolled ...

From the desire of being honored ...

From the desire of being praised ...

From the desire of being preferred to others...

From the desire of being consulted ...

From the desire of being approved ...

From the fear of being humiliated ...

From the fear of being despised...

From the fear of suffering rebukes ...

From the fear of being calumniated ...

From the fear of being forgotten ...

From the fear of being ridiculed ...

From the fear of being wronged ...

From the fear of being suspected ...

 

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Day 36-Ecumenism

If you are true to your faith, there are things you give up for your faith-Amish Proverb

When I was in elementary school my class took a trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  That one trip, started a life long fascination with the Amish. I could go on for days but I think the thing I admire most is their simplicity.  I think that their lifestyles resemble the way God intended our life on earth to be like.  I think modern life is out of control; we are educated but ignorant, we have money but we are poor (materialism, debt), we are religious but unchristian, we have children and not families. Obviously, I am an Orthodox Catholic.  That does not mean that I am opposed to other faiths.  I don't limit my friendships and mentors to women who are Catholic and I am grateful they didn't do that either.  On the contrary, I am shaped by other Christian faiths and admire many of their beautiful traditions.  That does not mean I am not in love with mine.  I am also grounded and properly catechised enough that I am able to discern what to take and what to leave.  It is a short list and begins and ends with judmentalism which is the root of many sins.  My friend Julie who is part of the fundamentalist "full quiver" movement has given me some amazing advice.  I choose to focus on what we have in common and not what's different and I am blessed by it.  Their view of life issues and an emphasis on the traditional family is a common thread.  I also think that talking to people from other faiths can challenge you to define your own convictions.  It helps you to discern what you believe and why you believe it.  Which leads me to one of the things I most admire about the Amish.  Although many have been drawn to the simple lives of the "plain people" they do not encourage converting.  I find their lack of egocentricity refreshing.  Their thought provoking response is this:     

"If you admire our faith, strengthen yours.  If you admire our sense of commitment, deepen yours.  If you admire our community spirit, build your own.  If you admire the simple life, cut back.  If you admire deep character and enduring values, live them yourself." 

That is good, solid advice.  One only has to turn on the television (if you must) to see the negative impact radicalism in any form has done to our world.  It is just my opinion but I believe it is not your denomination but how you live that make you a Christian.  We are supposed to imitate Christ who lived a simple, loving life while here on earth.  Living sacrificially and raising Godly children is the ultimate testimony.  Your family's faith and it's traditions are the best gift you can give your child.  It is a gift that our family gave to us and the same one we are planning to give to our kids.