Footprints on the Fridge

Welcome to July

 

The Mantle This Month

 

And That's Only the First Paragraph

I have vowed to get my prayer routine back in order this summer.  It is one of the few things I can do with my arms full of precious baby.  And then the ladies at 4real offered the opportunity to prepare together to re-consecrate ourselves to Our Blessed Mother in August.  In order to get going in that direction, I am promising myself to finally read a b ook that has been sitting in my prayer basket for far too long: Humility of Heart by Fr. Cajetan Mary de Bergamo.  (No linking possible...not on my own computer!) 

It's been four days and I still can't get past the first paragraph.  There's enough there to provide thought for a long, long time:

"In Paradise there are many saints who never game alms on earth: their poverty justified them.  There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them.  There are many Saints too who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise.  But in Paradise, there is no Saint who was not humble."

I hope I can share some more of the gems this volume has to offer throughout the summer.

The Year for Priests: A Plan

Pope Benedict XVI has declared this year, beginning on the recently celebrated Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Year for Priests.  He is encouraging priests to renew their life of prayer and service and encouraging the lay faithful tp pray for and support their priests.  In a family with six boys to date, we do our best to encourage and pray for vocations to the priesthood.  We also make an effort to befriend our local priests and give our boys the chance to know the good and holy men that serve them beyond their presiding at Sunday Mass.  We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to pray for our priests this year. 

In order to make sure our enthusiasm doesn't wane and to send a message of support to our priests, we are going to spend the year making spiritual bouquets for our priests.  I have set up the area next to our mantle as the space dedicated to the Year for Priests.

 

Our statue of Our Lady of Fatima and the reminder to pray stand next to our old Liturgical Tree which we have repurposed for this special time to pray for priests.  It is our spiritual bouquet.  The plaque in front contains the name of the priest we began praying for on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We will add a new name each month as we assemble our spiritual bouquets. 

Under the cake dome are four small glass cups containing different colored hearts and leaves.  Each represents something for our spiritual bouquet.  We'll add leaves to the tree each time we offer a special prayer for our priests.  Blue flowers are for rosaries or chaplets prayed.  Yellow flowers are for fasts and sacrifices offered for our priests.  And pink flowers are for Masses and holy hours. 

 

I had ordered a lovely little statue of the Cure of Ars, patron of the Year for Priests, which stood in front of the dome.  But the first time a toddler climbed up proudly to get a leaf to add to the tree, our poor little statue suffered a devastating accident.  I am in the process of Mod-Podging a much more toddler friendly plaque with an image of the Cure. 

At the end of each month of prayer, we'll photograph the tree (which will hopefully be much more full than it is here just a few days after the year's inception), print it out on card stock and send a note to the priest we have prayed for over the month.  If he is a local priest, we will invite him to our home for dinner as well. 

The boys are so excited and have begged to pray rosaries or go to the Adoration Chapel so that they could add flowers to the tree.  I hope the fact that we will see it full every month and then empty again will motivate us to continue to pray fervently throguhout this year for the holy men who lay down their lives to serve us.

She Should Know

Don't miss this piece from Suzanne Temple on homeschooling boys.  It's so true to my experience, and she says it so well.   

Happy 11th Birthday Quinn, Finally!

 

Happy birthday to you, my first born little man.  We knew from the start that your natural wit, wisdom and desire to please would make you a great leader.  We couldn't have envisioned then the mighty band of brothers that would follow in your footsteps or the amazing big brother you would become.  We are ever amazed as you welcome each new baby with your loving heart and willingness to serve.  God knew you were designed to be a great leader, and He gave you your very own band of merry little men to guide--we are so grateful for the great maturity with which you've heeded His call.  Happiesy of days, of summers, of years, of lifetimes to you, my darling first born son.

These photos are of Quinn opening a very special birthday gift.  He just loves the Ranger's Apprentice series of books that were first recommended by  an Aussie friend at 4real.  Because the author is Australian, the books are released there well before they are released here.  There are eight books in the series and all of them are available in Australia.  Here in the States, five are available and the 6th is due out in August.    But with the help of an extremely generous Aussie friend (with a lovely new blog look), we were able to purchase those three volumes there and have them shipped here in time for an amazing birthday surprise.

  

As you can see by the look on his face here, Quinn was surprised and thrilled with such a gift.  And he deserves every bit of that joy!  I was just as thrilled to be able to make it happen.   Anne, we cannot thank you enough for making this possible for our boy on his birthday!

P.S.--I have been trying to publish this post since early yesterday, but typepad kept freezing my computer--a little late but better than never!

Babymoon: A Photoessay (Or What We've Been Up To)

 

Bryce Philip, ready to leave the hospital and come home.

 

 

Brendan and Bryce ~ a brotherly nap.

 

Two weeks old

 

First bath

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Bryce Edition

 

 

 

He's Here!

I am so thrilled to be able to hack into this boy blog and announce that Bryce Philip has joined the blessed band of brothers!
He weighs 8 pounds, 8 ounces and is over 20 inches long. He has blond hair and blue eyes.  The report from the hospital is that surgery went beautifully.

We are pretty tickled here in Virginia and eagerly awaiting the posting of pictures.
Praise God for this little miracle man!
St. Philip Neri, pray for us!

~Elizabeth

The View From Where I Stand...

is all belly!

Yesterday, after an afternoon trip to the nail salon for a little pampering, I posted on Facebook that I was feeling "pink pedicure pretty."  My oldest brother, in a joke only he could get away with, asked if I could actually see said pedicure or if others were just assuring me it was there.  I, true to form, responded like the baby of the family and told him I was going to tell our mom.  In all honesty though, I do like my pink toes, it just requires a little effort to get the pink belly out of the way so I can enjoy them.

But I can see them and they are pretty!

And I'm actually still feeling really great and enjoying being this pregnant, except at night when heartburn takes the place of sleep and I get a full aerobic workout on my bathroom runs.  

 See, very pregnant, but still smiling!

And all that nesting mania that I know you all have been chuckling over the past couple of weeks?  It has paid off.  Other than cleaning the car out and re-engineering the car seat arrangement, we are ready to welcome this wee one next Tuesday, on the feast of St. Philip Neri.

Ready for our newest passenger

 The baby pampering station in my bedroom!

 

 And my new girly-girl suitcase, just about packed, with all my favorite things--

(that post coming soon!)

Watercoloring the Seasons

 Magnolias in May by Mom

I love to watercolor with the kids.  Every time we make it happen, the results are beautiful and satisfying.  I used to be able to let the "art mood" just strike and when it did, I'd put everything aside and immerse us in the moment.  It happened regularly enough that art got its due attention in this house.  But with a growing group of children in this house, a wider variation in age ranges, and a baby on the way, I have found myself less and less able to let the art mood just strike when it will.  I think about it, then am reluctant to give up the chore time, or want to wait until little ones are napping and then am too tired myself, or open the supply cabinet and all my energy wanes at the thought of breaking everything out and then putting it all away again.

I'm disappointed in myself for feeling this way.  I've always been the mom to encourage creative exploration, no matter how messy.  I've always been willing to cast off the plan when the day demands we focus on beauty instead.  My family tends to have a lot of natural artistic ability and my kids show signs of the same tendencies.  I want them to express themselves artistically as much as possible.  Creativity is woven into much of our daily learning, with the focus we keep on main lesson book work, narration, and using lovely mediums to display what we are learning.  However, I  am recommiting myself to art for art's sake, as a way to connect with the beauty in the world around us and make a conscious effort to portray that beauty using the abilities God has given us. 

So I have planned a combined art and nature block for the next year in which we spend our Friday mornings watercoloring the seasons.  We'll focus on a particular subject each month, and each week vary the technique and colors we use to portray that topic.  My plan is to bind each child's work into a book of his own at the end of the year.  I think a placing this focus as part of our learning plans will help me stay more committed to it, and if the boys like it as I expect they will and come to expect it, they won't let me off the hook.  And even if we skip a week here and there, they'll still produce a nice body of work to display in the end.

Magnolias in May by Quinn, 10

Here are my monthly plans (I'm listing them beginning in August, because that's how our school year rotation is planned, but I hope to start before then):

August: Sand and Seashells

1. Wet on Wet: Brown, Pink, Yellow
2. Creating Texture with Splatters
3. Sketching Shells
4. Painting Shells and Sand Background

September: Apples

1. Wet on Wet: Reds and Greens
2. Developing Dimension, Roundness
3. Still Life Sketching, bowl of apples
4. Still Life Painting

October: Fall Leaves

1. Wet on Wet: Yellows, Oranges, Reds
2. Creating Detail: Leaf Veins and Stems
3. Sketching Leaves Close-Up
4. Painting Leaves

November: Pumpkins and Gourds

1. Wet on Wet: Orange
2. Focus on Defining Detail with One Color
3. Sketching the Pumpkin Pile
4. Painting the Pumpkin Pile

December: Conifers and Evergreens

1. Wet on Wet: Greens and Browns
2. Creating Linear Shapes, needles and branches
3. Sketching the Trees at the Tree Farm
4. Painting Christmas Trees

Magnolias in May by Gabriel, 8

January: Winter Landscapes

1. Wet on Wet: Whites, Grays, Light Blue
2. Creating Depth with a Horizon Line
3. Sketching the Woods in Winter
4. Painting the Woods in Winter

February: Night Sky

1. Wet on Wet: Black
2. Adding Elements Over a Background, stars and moon in the sky
3. Painting the Night Sky Background
4. Adding Stars and Moon

March: Birds and Feathers

1. Wet on Wet: Pastels
2. Realism:  Imitating Audubon
3. Birdwatching and Sketching
4. Painting a Bird

April: Grass and Insects

1. Wet on Wet: Greens and Yellows
2. Combining Sketching and Washes
3. Painting a Grass Background
4. Sketching and Painting Insects Over Background

May: Flowers

1. Wet on Wet: Bright Colors
2. Looking More Closely: Imitating O'Keefe
3. Sketching Detail of A Flower
4. Painting a Flower

Magnolia Tree by Brendan, 5