A Friday Thanksgiving

Dear Lord,

On this rainy morning, I sit in my car and feel the chill of a cold spring day. I am so happy in this moment.

Thank you, God, for wonderfulness in our family. Even with John traveling for work and long days, I have been able to see my beautiful children for their gifts these last days. You have reached in and given me extra patience to last all day long, snuggling up for a last hug with Lucy and an extra tuck-in for Tommy. Lord, I am so thankful for Jimmy this week. I am thankful for the way You made him, from his current sweet missing tooth grin to his unusually groovy dancing ability in the car on a Friday morning. I am thankful for even the moments when we struggle together. Sometimes in those moments, God, I can feel you giving me an opportunity to love beyond myself.

Are you loving all of us children like that every day, Lord? Surely You are.

God, let me be the woman You designed me to be. Help me to put aside my fears and trust You. Let me be a light for others, especially for the ones closest to me with whom I don't always show my most patient self.

Anne

A Sweet Pick Me Up

The house was chaos this morning. Dirty dishes overflowed from the sink, dirt was on the floor from yesterday's planting project. One kid was hyper and antagonizing the rest. Everyone was loud.

And then came the piano pounding.

Frank was seated on the bench, and I was poised to reprimand him for making my head hurt more than it already did through the chaos.

But here is the song he sang:

My mom is the best.
She can do anything.
She can even call Jesus on the phone.

With tears in my eyes, may I slow down and receive this great comfort in the craziest phase of my life.

Prayer After A Terrible Morning

Dear Lord,
That was a terrible morning. You know. You saw it. I yelled when the boys were rambunctious. I wasn't patient in helping guide them toward teeth brushing and Lego pick-up.
I grumbled as I did the dishes.
I rushed and made others anxious when I could have slowed down and smiled.
Sometimes (often) I am at my worst in my home. No audience is watching me except the people who have to love me.
I'm sorry, God, for these many times when I don't rise up and show my kids how to be their best by being my best. I can do better. I will do better.
God, give me strength to dig down deep and smile and give thanks.
Give me strength to love my family and to show love through the daily little trials.
Anne

Friendship in Faith

A break from reality.

I have been blessed to take not one but two girls' trips in the last month! I can hardly believe the magnitude of it. John has been working overtime holding down work and the home front. He is truly amazing.

This weekend, my bestie, Karen, and I renewed our tradition of a getaway to reminisce about our time together in young adulthood. This time, we celebrated 21 years of fren-niversary. So much laughter echoes in the wake of our formative years together.

One of the most special parts of my friendship with Karen is our shared Catholic faith. We were confirmed together, taught the youngsters of our parish Faith Formation together, prayed at Mass together September 11, 2001, and stood up for one another as we took our sacramental marriage vows.

This weekend, we visited the Cathedral of St. Francis in Santa Fe. Singing quietly alongside my friend and then bringing the gifts up for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I thanked God for the gift of friendship in faith. We have comforted one another, celebrated with one another, and prayed for one another with God through so many moments of our life. It is my great prayer that my children, too, can have friends of the faith to walk the journey of life alongside them.

From the Suffering

Thank you, God, for the most difficult time in our family life, because it allowed us to grow.

A year ago, I could never have imagined writing that sentence.   But today, in my car, my heart opened to clarity in a surreal moment.  And I realized that I love my children more and better because of the hardships we have experienced.

This is the first time I have truly thanked God for suffering.

Family Fest Winter Weekend

Thirty teens dancing, smiling, opening their hearts to God.

Teaching my children what it means to serve with joy.

Dancing in the pool.

Dancing on stage.

Listening to God call within us.

Caramel rolls, holding hands, holding my baby as he grows.

Late nights, sleeping in, racing from one frosty door to the next.

Seeing my children come alive.

A Family Laundry Note

Dear Children,

Hello!  I am spending some time doing laundry today while you are all working hard at school.   Usually I do about 3 large loads of laundry every other day.  A family with six people can make a lot of laundry!   It does take some effort to get laundry downstairs, sorted, through the washer and dryer in a timely manner, folded, and then put away in the right spots.

Thank you so much for you efforts at putting your laundry away!   You guys have really gotten the knack of that, and it sure helps out around our home.   You have also been really helpful in bringing your dirty laundry downstairs.  I even saw a few kids folding shirts, towels, and socks over winter break.  Great job!

I would like to ask your help with a few things BEFORE you put laundry in your hamper:

1.)  Before you throw something in the laundry, ask yourself, "Is this item REALLY dirty?"   This can be a little tricky.  You already know that we can use towels 2 times or so.   We also should be used to wearing pajamas for 2 or 3 nights before they need to be washed.  Because you wear uniforms on many days, you sometimes use 2 sets of clothes for one day.   Any item worn for a few hours should be saved by hanging on a hook or putting away in your dresser again.   Some examples of this might include:

• Pants or a tshirt you changed into after school, but only wore for 2 hours before bedtime while playing XBox
• Pants you wore to a sport over shorts
• Sweatshirt or sweater that you threw on because you were chilly

Holding off on doing too much washing of an item will keep your favorite clothes less worn out, will make your Mom happy, and will also save on cost of water and electricity for our home.   You can all appreciate the value of resources now that you have learned about renewable and non-renewable ones at school.   (What kind of resource is water?  Bonus:  What kind of resource is Mom's time?)

2.) Dirty socks should always go in a hamper.  I know it is tempting to drop your socks wherever you be, but just this morning we had quite a scramble finding a few pairs of socks before we got in the car for school.   It really helps clean socks end up in your dresser drawer if you do not leave them under couches, in corners, or scattered about the mudroom.

3.) Dirty clothes and socks should NOT be inside-out in your dirty hamper.   Your clothes get way cleaner if they are washed not in a crumpled ball.  Socks that are squished up just stay a little stinky through the laundry process.   Also, it makes Mom's life a lot easier and folding a lot faster if your pants are not inside-out through the laundry process.

Thanks for taking the time to read this laundry tips!  I hope you are learning big things and having fun today.   As always, thank you for the opportunity to be

Your loving,

Mom