Down with Grass

March 26, 2010 By awolmommy

Ladies, Christmas may be 9 months away, but Easter is 9 days away and I have an urgent issue. What are your creative substitutes for Easter grass? I am NOT bringing that stuff into our home for another year. Last year my five-year-old daughter wanted to stuff it into ziploc bags, put pillow cases on them and use them for her animals. I am still finding pieces of the stuff. Does anyone have an attractive substitute?

Filed Under: Children, Home Organization, Liturgical Seasons

Feast of the Annunciation

March 25, 2010 By Katrina

Happy Feast of the Annunciation! This morning at mass, our priest gave a wonderful homily on the beauty of this feast day, reminding us that the Annunciation is one of the great feasts in the Church year. He gave all expectant and new mothers a blessing, as well as a St. Gerard medal and a carnation. Fr. Troy also mixed in some humor, beginning his homily by saying, “You know what today is, right? Today, you officially have 9 months left to do your Christmas shopping.” His point, of course, was that we celebrate the Annunciation today because we will celebrate Jesus’ birth 9 months from today.

Below I have posted an excerpt from John Paul II’s homily on the Feast of the Annunciation in 2000, which he gave from the town of Nazareth in Israel. His words, as always, are an inspiration and a great encouragement to me, and as I was reading this document I couldn’t help but wonder, “What might God be asking me to do that has never been done before? What might he be asking of me and my family, and how am I responding?”
4. Like Abraham, Mary is asked to say yes to something that has never happened before. Sarah is the first in the line of barren wives in the Bible who conceive by God’s power, just as Elizabeth will be the last. Gabriel speaks of Elizabeth to reassure Mary: “Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son” (Lk 1:36).

Like Abraham, Mary must walk through darkness, in which she must simply trust the One who called her. Yet even her question, “How can this come about?”, suggests that Mary is ready to say yes, despite her fears and uncertainties. Mary asks not whether the promise is possible, but only how it will be fulfilled. It comes as no surprise, therefore, when finally she utters her fiat: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38). With these words, Mary shows herself the true daughter of Abraham, and she becomes the Mother of Christ and Mother of all believers.

Filed Under: Liturgical Seasons, The Catholic Church

Raising Real Men

March 23, 2010 By texasmommy

The day I received an email from Melanie and Hal Young was probably like any other day with 3 young boys. Except that the commonplace falls, bumps and bruises of this particular day necessitated our first ER visit (I know, not too bad in 9 combined years of little boyhood).

“Would you be interested in a review copy of Raising Real Men?” They asked.
Still shaking from our first ER visit, I laughed at reading the subtitle, Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys, (at the moment, I’d have taken one out of three) and answered an emphatic, “Yes!” while internally squeaking, “Help!”
And I’m glad I did. Raising Real Men is an enjoyable read. Free from fad/pop psychology theories, this book encourages parents to help boys become men as God (not modern culture) intended with substantial scriptural (NKJV) basis.
With a great sense of humor, the Young’s (who have 6 boys and 2 girls) point out the myriad ways that the innate characteristics of young boys (boundless energy, destructiveness, risk-taking, etc.), properly developed and trained rather than stripped away, can lead to strong, responsible, faithful leaders. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of role models and heroes (with Jesus being the ultimate hero) at a time when society’s portrayal of men seems to be either feminized or power-hungry.
Sometimes life with boys is pretty overwhelming and the temptation to just get through the day is very appealing. The Young’s encourage parents to fight against this writing, “Our focus must be on leading our sons into godly manhood, not just trying to manage them to make our lives more convenient and pleasant,” noting the truth that, “when the boys are quiet, someone better check on them.”
Acknowledging that supernatural life is a grace from God, the Young’s encourage parents to pursue their own life of prayer (and, I would add, the Sacraments) and relationship with Christ as the best way to draw our children to Our Lord. This example, even in its imperfections, is indispensable.
Our Incrediboys are still quite young, so I don’t know yet how we will handle some of the issues tackled in later chapters including money, college and courtship, though I appreciated reading those chapters as well.
There is a great chapter on homeschooling boys packed with tons of practical advice (which also reminds me that I wanted to read Leonard Sax’s Boys Adrift). Some ideas are things that we have already figured out on our own…our oldest runs laps in the yard when we sense he’s getting antsy. He also does all of his writing work standing up. He just can’t sit in a chair (literally, he falls out on a daily basis!). One of several reasons that a traditional classroom would be such a challenge for him and many other boys.
Written from a Christian perspective, there is much good advice, friendly humor and biblical wisdom in this book. Raising Real Men (free shipping on their website) is a real and practical book from real, practical parents who know that life with boys is messy and noisy as well as joyful and inspiring.

Filed Under: Motherhood and Parenting

Hand over the wash rag

March 22, 2010 By Kellie "Red"

My two year old son Gus teaches me a lot about life. The little guy has some sensory integration issues, and the more he feels in control, the better his reaction to uncomfortable stimuli. We can sometimes avoid tears and tantrums by making him feel in control. For example, after he finishes a meal Gus hates to have his face wiped. If I give him a warm rag, and allow him to wipe his own face, he does not cry or complain. If, however, I take the warm rag and very gently rub his face to make it clean, he protests vehemently.

The trouble is, I can’t always allow him to wipe his own face. He does a lousy job, and it takes forever. Most of the time, I have to help him.

When I was on retreat last weekend, I realized that, like Gus, I am happiest with my life when I feel I’m in control. I get into a groove, run from one activity to the next, and so long as things go somewhat according to plan, I feel great about my day. For much of my life, God has handed me the washcloth and allowed me to wipe my own face, and at times things seemed so good that I even lost sight of His hand.

But things changed about five months ago. With a fourth baby, I can no longer pretend that I have control over my life. On a good day, we are just 5 minutes away from total chaos.

God has used this very challenging time to teach me about surrender. My sense of control was an illusion. My face is too dirty to clean myself. But fortunately, there’s Someone who can help, and I’m slowly learning to hand over the wash rag.

Filed Under: Children, Motherhood and Parenting
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