31 Days of Gratitude- {Day 15}- Saying Yes to the Mess

This morning, we had plans.  Plans to head to the library and to a bookstore.  We had just finished Kayla's school work and everyone was dressed and ready to go, and we were on schedule.  That's when we noticed the huge truck blocking our driveway.  Apparently they were doing some kind of yard clean-up around the complex...

Great. Just great. 

I could feel all my peace and joy beginning to flee my soul as I waited for the girls to have a conniption fit.  I had promised fun new library books and a trip to a bookstore we'd never been to and now there would never be time...

I called a "family meeting" to discuss what we should do since the plans were going to have to change.  Fortunately the girls (though a few of them had sour faces and a whine in their voice momentarily) were mostly o.k. with changing our morning up.  But then Kayla suggested painting the pumpkins that they had brought home from their visit to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Granddaddy last week.  

A great idea.  A fun idea.  BUT the MESS!!!!!!!!!!! 

I already have so much mess to pick up right now...

 I paused.

BUT, this month has been making a more intentional effort via the #31daysofgratitude challenge to seek grace out and look more closely at my life to find ways that I can be more thankful.  

So I took a deep breath, and said "Let's make a mess."

Ironically, they made almost no mess.  A lovely dose of humble pie for me to scarf down.  

Thanks for that, God.  Seriously. Not even being sarcastic. 

Well, not much...

Sophie chilled in her seat with a ridiculous singing birthday card, some cheerios, and an empty gummy vitamins bottle.  And the girls worked ardently on painting some lovely pumpkins. 

 

And since we already had paint out, I thought we'd add a fun little art project for the feast of St. Teresa of Avila in to our "messed up" (pun intended) morning.  

On half sheets of cardstock, I wrote out a few St. Teresa quotes with permanent marker and let the girls paint them.

Here are a couple of the finished products.  The girls were so proud of themselves and had a blast.  And the truck was gone when we finished painting so we still had time to rush on over to the library to grab a sackful of books for the girls to pore over this week.  

Thanks, Lord, for reminding me to slow down and enjoy the moment. 

Thank you for permission to get messy and love fully. 

Thank you for the opportunity to live out that beautiful quote of St. Teresa's:

"The smallest thing, when done for the love of God, is priceless."

This morning was truly priceless.  

Join the link-up this week over at Blessed Is She

It's all about God's Timing this week

Rain

Well we are finally getting our Southern California-style winter weather. In other words, we have had a few days of rain and mild temperatures. I know there are people who would say that's not even winter because there are no freezing temperatures or snow, but God did create the entire world and there are some places where that sort of winter just doesn't exist, but it's still winter. And to people who are acclimated to this sort of mild temperature norm, the rain and sunshine hiding behind the clouds can be a bit depressing. But it can also be intriguing and wonderful. It's all about perspective.



I find that when I am tempted to have a negative attitude about things, it's a good time to take a clue from my kids. When the rains started pouring from the heavens, my kids got giddy with excitement and all ran to the back door and pressed their faces against the glass. They stood there in awe, just watching the rain fall and listening to the drips and plips of the rain drops hitting the ground and the patio awning. And then they begged to go outside and use the rain boots and umbrellas that they were given in the fall and have not had an opportunity to use yet.



So we pulled on the galoshes and splashed in the puddles outside for awhile. I taught the girls some of the Singin' in the Rain song and we twirled the umbrellas and tap danced in the puddling water in our parking lot. And then we went inside and watched some Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds (duh!). Plus, how could I truly be upset about the rain and the clouds covering my beloved sunshine when I know how badly our great state needs the precipitation? Perspective. Thank you, Lord, for the rain and for the wonderful rainy day memories with my girls.

Water Safety

One of my biggest fears related to children is drowning.

This summer my side of the family had a reunion--a big huge one. I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Everyone of them except my little sis is married and has somewhere between 2-4 kids. Several of the ladies are currently pregnant. They were ALL here in CA at my parents' house for several days. Plus there was a whole lot of extended family there as well. It was A LOT of people.

Fact. My parents have a backyard pool. Before the reunion we discussed the importance of them getting a fence around the pool. They did this.

Fact. The problem is not solved just because there is a fence.

Like many others, I let my guard down a little at the reunion knowing that there was a fence to keep my little 3 and 1 year old from getting to the pool. Don't ever let your guard down where water is concerned.

Fences are great and help out, but they don't completely wipe away the danger of a pool. Let me tell you my story...

In the evening many of us decided it was a great time to go for a swim. We readied ourselves and our children for the pool. I took Kayla to put her swimsuit on. Chris was outside chatting with some relatives with Elise, who was playing in the grass area outside the pool fence. We weren't the first ones ready. As my siblings and their children were ready, the fence gate opened and shut behind them as they entered the pool area to swim. Somehow, in all the bustle, Elise managed to sneak into the pool area undetected. Even with several other adults in the pool area, she went unnoticed until I spotted her attempting to turn around and slide herself into the pool's shallow end.

Why did this happen?

A number of reasons. Chris and I let our guards down just a little bit. The pool had a fence so Elise couldn't get in....(right?) We assumed that people were all watching carefully to make sure that no one except their direct charges were entering the pool area with them.... We figured that even if a kid somehow entered undetected, they would be noticed right away by the many other adults in the pool area.

None of these things worked the way we assumed. The fence didn't keep her out. Lots of people were entering and exiting the pool area at the same time causing confusion about who was with who and who should be there or not. The adults in the pool area were focused on the little ones they had brought in with them, not looking for strays.

It was no one's fault really. But the truth of the matter remains. Especially in backyard party situations, you must know where your child is at all times. And please, please, please don't assume that pool gates, pool alarms, adults by the pool etc. mean your child is perfectly safe.

I love the summer sun and I love being out by the pool, but this experience made me a lot more aware. Don't be afraid to use and enjoy pools this summer; just be smart about how you do it with kids especially in larger groups. God bless!

Advent wreath

We don't have a real Advent wreath with candles and lovely smelling branches of pine trees, but since we really enjoy art projects, I decided to do an Advent wreath project with Kayla that I did with my third graders when I taught.

We were lacking in some supplies, but (as usual) made do with what we had. We are currently running very low on construction paper, so we painted white paper instead to make our purple and pink "candles". We are running a little low on paint too, which you will notice in the end result because the inside of our tubed candles is still a very glaring white.

Anyway, here's how we made it. Simple, fun, and a nice way to teach about the Advent wreath, why we light the candles, and what the colors mean.

Step 1:
Trace hand prints on green paper. We made 6 hand prints. If I had more green construction paper, I would have used 7 or 8 because her hands are quite small.

I cut them out while Kayla glued the scrap pieces of the green construction paper to the middle of a paper plate.

Next I helped her glue her handprints to the edges of the paper plate. This completed our "wreath" portion of the project.

Traditionally, an advent wreath is made from various evergreens symbolizing the continuous life. They are placed in a circular shape (the wreath) which has no beginning or end. This reminds us of everlasting life with Christ, the immortality of the soul, and the eternity of God.

Next we painted out white paper purple and pink to use for the candles.

The lighting of the candles is symbolic of Christ, the light of the world. There are 4 candles on the Advent wreath, representing the 4 Sundays of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation and penance as we await the birth of the Lord. On the first two Sundays of Advent, purple candles are lit. Purple represents prayer, penance, and preparing our hearts for Christ (this is also why priests wear purple vestments during Lent). On the third Sunday of Advent, a pink candle is lit. This Sunday is referred to as Gaudete Sunday which means Joyful. We rejoice that Advent is half-way through and Christ's birth is coming SOON!

While Kayla napped, I cut the painted paper into strips, and taped/glued them into tubes. I attached them to the wreath and then cut out little flames from orange construction paper. When Kayla woke up, she helped me "light" the first two candles.

As you can see, there is a white candle in the middle of ours. Some people place a white candle in the middle which symbolizes Christ, and is lit on Christmas Eve. Some people instead replace the 4 Advent candles with 4 white candles on Christmas and light them during the Christmas season. Liturgically, Christmas season actually begins on Christmas and lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Traditionally, however, Christmas has been celebrated for 12 days (sound familiar? On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..) from December 25-January 5. The feast of the Epiphany (celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi) on January 6, marked the end of the Christmas season.

We took out our Nativity set and our Christmas books this past week. Kayla has spent most of her days since then playing with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the manger. She carts them all around the house, letting them play with her toys, read books, play games, and even look for a place to stay. Eventually they end up back at the stable of course with the sheep. She loves reading the various Christmas stories we own. Her very favorites are the ones that have baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph in them though. She is really excited about "Jesus' birthday coming soon", as she always says.

I know she will enjoy opening presents and getting some new things, but I am really in awe of how at such a young age, she truly understands what is really important about Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I am all about Christmas cheer, Santa Claus and the spirit of giving, and songs about snow and holly, but I think it's incredible to be reminded by a child that we do all those things to celebrate and commemorate the birth of our Savior. He came into the world with nothing and left this world with nothing; nothing but a LOVE so huge that He died in our place, and rose again to redeem us all. The true joy of Christmas is in realizing that God gave us His only begotten Son who came into the world and LOVED us.

Merry CHRISTmas! and may God truly bless us everyone!

Lessons learned from babies #5

So I may be stretching this a bit, but I am a firm believer in the theory that there is a lot to be learned from children. Soooo using a few home videos, here are a few lessons learned from babies...

Lesson 1:
Stop to take it all in. Elise is always just staring at everything going on around her and watching what people are doing. Have you ever stopped to people-watch before? It's intriguing, interesting, and often highly entertaining. So next time you are tempted to talk, talk, talk at a party, or rush, rush, rush through your day...take some time to slow down and observe what's going on around you.


Lesson 2:
Enjoy life. I mean, really ENJOY it. So you don't have that dream house, car, boat, family, or whatever. The fact of the matter is that if you look closer you probably have more than you think. Besides, joy doesn't come from having everything you want all the time; it comes from being grateful for what you DO have and choosing to delight in it. Observe Kayla delighting in her silly little toy. She's so excited, she even does a little dance.



Lesson 3:
Listen to your parents. They may keep you from doing something stupid if you pay them any attention. Kayla walks backwards down this little hill in our front yard, but then tries to go down the steeper side of the hill backwards as well...



Lesson 4:
Don't be afraid to take some risks. I say some because some risks are just plain stupid while others are calculated and well thought out. Kayla assessed the hill's steepness and knew that she was capable of conquering it on her bike. And she did. And she was proud.


Lesson 5:
Ok, there's no lesson with this one actually unless you count 'don't eat other people' as a lesson (a baby shouldn't need to teach you that though). Elise is just gnawing on Chris' leg in this and it's funny.

Tortelline!

Tortelline!! This is a word that I hear many times a day. Kayla is obsessed with it. The translation from 2-year-old-gibberish to English is "trampoline".

I know that I have posted many pictures already of Kayla on her trampoline, but I couldn't resist sharing the most recent cute trampoline related story. Weeks ago we checked out a book from the library titled "Dooby Dooby Moo" It's about a group of animals (cows, pigs, sheep, and a duck) that want to enter a talent show. In order to do so, they must trick their owner, Farmer Brown, into thinking they aren't up to something. The day comes and they succeed in getting to the talent show without his knowing. The cows sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Dooby, Dooby, Dooby Moo), the sheep sing Home on the Range (Baaa, Baaa, baaa, baaabaaaaa), and the pigs are supposed to do an interpretive dance. Instead they fall alseep and miss the performance. Duck decides to take matters into his own hands to win the Grand Prize, which is a trampoline. He sings a stirring rendition of Born to be Wild (Quack, quack, quack, quuaaaaack!) That night when Farmer Brown listens at the barn door to make sure the animals are sleeping he hears, "Dooby, Dooby, BOING!, Fa, la, la, la BOING! Whacka Whacka BOING!"

Now when Kayla jumps on her "tortelline" she hops around yelling "Whacka BOING! Whacka BOING!"

These are the types of memories that I am hoping to preserve in my mind by blogging them. This is the stuff that life is made of. The simple joys that God blesses me with everyday that I so often forget. Kayla jumping on her tortelline shouting joyfully as she bounces up and down with a huge smile on her face. These are the times I want her to remember too. When such simple experiences in life caused her such complete joy. I think it's part of the message Jesus was trying to give when he said "Unless you become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom"

Cousins

Our daughter, Kayla, and our niece, Lily, are 9 days apart. They have experienced many (most in fact) of their milestones together thus far. They are about as different as you can imagine.

Kayla has brown hair and eyes. Lily has blond hair and blue eyes. Kayla is fairly laid-back and likes to keep to herself more. Lily is crazy playful and likes to be involved in anything and everything that others around her are doing. Kayla is shorter and more...solid. Lily is taller and leaner (except for the pot belly that she currently rocks). Kayla prefers quiet, calmer activities (that's not to say she won't engage in crazy ones and have a blast). Lily prefers excitement (generally she is screaming happily as a result) and boy does that girl have a set of lungs on her.

As you can see, they are quite a pair. They don't always enjoy the time they spend together. Sometimes Lily is so involved in playing with Kayla that she steals just about every toy Kayla picks up. Sometimes Kayla gets so angry with Lily that she bites her. Yes, I said bite. Ouch. BUT somehow, through all their kid fights, they are still the best of friends. They talk about each other constantly, and pray for each other at every meal and bedtime. Kids are amazing that way. They just don't take everything as personally as we adults do, I guess. Maybe that's just a little part of what Jesus meant when he said we must "become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven". Like Kayla and Lily, we need to be ALWAYS willing to forgive and ALWAYS willing to love even when people drive us crazy or hurt us.

Jesus said "love your enemies". Do you really think He just meant that we should "love" the terrorists? I think He knew that sometimes it's the people we care about the most that are the most difficult for us to love at times.

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." -Mother Teresa. Go do something small with great love today and see if you don't feel a bit childlike. Kayla and Lily don't go through life right now wondering if their parents will only love them if they're perfect. So why is it that we, as parents (or just adults), think that WE have to be constantly perfect? It's because we are trying to BE great, instead of DOING things with GREAT LOVE!

We love Daddy!

Dads are the best. Especially if you are a little girl. They protect you, love you, adore you, and make sure that you get only the best in life. They also have a little bit of a disconnect that Mommies never seem to have trouble with. And these are not a bad thing either. They are very endearing.

Let me give you a few examples. The other day, I was working a shift grading essays online, and Chris was in charge of watching Kayla and putting her down for her nap. When she woke up, she had on pants that "matched" the outfit, but were not the ones that go with it. She had also managed to get one arm out because Daddy forgot the little button on the back of the shirt...

Earlier that day, when I got Kayla up, we had to change her sheets because she had peed out of her diaper. The sheet and mattress pad were in the dryer, but apparently Daddies don't think sheets are really all that necessary...

BUT she slept just fine, so apparently she doesn't think they're all that necessary either!

But for all the silly little things that Daddies don't quite know and understand about girls (big or little), they are so in love with their girls, that it really doesn't matter. What matters to little girls is that their Dads think that they are the most beautiful and special girl in the whole world.

Have you ever noticed that little girls especially love to dance for Daddy? Oh sure, they dance for Mommy too, but there is some extra approval and admiring that they seem to seek from their Daddy. I think it's rather the same sort of yearning that we have to be loved and admired by our Father in Heaven. We are no where near worthy of Him or His great love, but we want so badly for Him to see the good in us. And just as Daddies love their little girls no matter how silly their outfit, or how terrible their dancing, God loves us no matter how unworthy we are and no matter how we've failed. You see, Daddies don't see that stuff, they see through to the true BEAUTY of their little girls and love them so completely as a result.

Afraid to truly express yourself?

Children have an amazing ability to express themselves, don't you agree?

If you didn't agree, I will have to agree to disagree with you, because you are dead wrong here. Kids are so expressive and I love that they don't hold back. As an adult, I find that I often have a hard time expressing my true feelings. Either I think I'll offend someone, or I think someone will think I am an idiot, or I'm just not sure WHAT reaction I'll get. I think it's a good lesson to learn from children that expressing yourself is really a GIFT. True, there are times when things don't need to be said, but as long as you are respectful and kind, you should never be afraid to express your true feelings about things. After all, you can always agree to disagree with someone, right??

The second key to this can also be found by looking to children. They don't hold grudges. So if you or someone else you know expresses their feelings on something, and you disagree, there is no need to make it personal. Children forgive so easily and see the good in people. We too need to be able to look past the wrongs of others and love them for WHO they are, not necessarily what they believe or what they say at times.

If you need some practice expressing yourself, try imitating some of Kayla's expressions below. Very fun to do, and VERY expressive. Be who you want to be, not who you think others want you to be.

she's got some Italian in her, very expressive with her hands.

and then it goes to scary; she likes to growl at us...

and then it turns to opera singing!

"Meheeeeee!"

Christmastime with an 18-month-old is an amazing experience. Kayla is at such a sweet age, and though she has many abilities already, she is still learning so many things that it is just incredible to watch as she grows day by day. Especially at this time of year...

Just before the appearance of all the nativity scenes, Kayla began to recognize and LOVE pictures of Jesus and Mary. Any picture, any age. Mary could be in icon form, statue form, picture form, or doll form and Kayla would squeal "Meheeee!" excitedly! She doesn't always say "Jeez", but she likes to point at pictures of Jesus as well. She definitely likes Baby Jesus a lot, but she's not partial to any one Jesus either. She loves the statues of Jesus holding out his hands blessing people, and she loves Jesus on the cross too. Once the Nativity scenes and Christmas story books appeared, she turned her love of Jesus and Mary to a love of Jesus, Mary, AND Joseph, whom she lovingly refers to as "Joe".

Let me give you a brief look at what it's like reading the Christmas story with Kayla. You all know the basic story...The angel appears to Mary and tells her she's going to be the mother of God. She and Joseph go to Bethlehem where there's no room so they have to sleep in the stable with the animals. Mary gives birth to baby Jesus. The angels appear to the shepherds and tell them the good news of the birth of Jesus. When reading the story with Kayla her version goes something like this... "aaaaa!" (there's a sheep on the title page). "Meheeee! Meheeee!" (lots of pointing)... "Joe! Meheee!" (holds hands up to say there's no room) "Baby! Meheee! Boooo! (cow) aaaaaa (her voice shakes, sheep)" When the angel appears to the shepherds, she starts swaying because I sing Glory to God in the highest. "Stahhhhh!" (star) aaaaaaaa! (sheep) Stahhhhhh!" "Meheeeee!" So there you have it.

So if you need help remembering what the season is about and getting the childlike love of Christ in your heart, come on over and read the story with Kayla. I guarantee you will leave with a heart FULL of love and understanding of the Christ child.

The Eucharist

At Mass yesterday, Kayla was a little fussy, so I gave her a graham cracker to munch on. After eating about half of the piece I gave her, she handed it back to me. Right about then, the priest was beginning the Eucharistic prayer, and for some strange reason, the somewhat mushy cracker in my hand reminded me of the host that the priest would be holding up in a few moments. Most people who got handed a mushy cracker would probably be a little grossed out, and definitely feel the urge to just throw it away as something useless. But, being a mom, I knew that my child was giving me a love offering. And it struck me that Jesus comes to us in the simple form of a "cracker", at which most people would scoff and wonder how the Lord of all creation could be a little piece of bread. But just as Kayla's cracker was a love offering, so is Jesus humbling himself to the appearance of bread, a love offering. A perfect love offering that is often forgotten, taken for granted, or not recognized at all.
Though Kayla is often a huge distraction to me as a parent at Mass, I am grateful that God understands my need and sends me lessons in other ways so I can still feel part of the beautiful prayer. And what little of the homily I did catch, was all about FAITH. It's funny how God is so meticulous about the details sometimes. I may not have gotten the priest's view on faith yesterday, but I still got a huge lesson that strengthened my faith in what cannot be seen.

Lessons learned from babies #5

Lesson 5: Sometimes no words are necessary. Kayla is a little over 4 1/2 months and the only "talking" she does doesn't involve words. I find it amusing, though, that she can communicate so well with me just through facial expressions and interesting noises. For instance, many of you know that a baby's cry can mean a multitude of different things. Not only that, but if you are actually listening, the cries are different. Kayla has a cry that I have learned means "I'm bored", one for "I'm hungry", "I'm tired", "I don't feel well", "I need my mommy".... And then we move on to the smiles. She has different smiles too. One smile means she's having a great time, one smile is simply for getting our attention and holding it, one is for after she has won a battle with her digestive system, and one is reserved for that moment when I catch her doing something she shouldn't be doing. Moving on to baby noises: She squeals in excitement, babbles when she wants to enter the adult conversation, blows bubbles and tries to mimic you when she is trying to have a one-on-one conversation. And I can't even get into all the different facial expressions and what each of them mean, there's so many!! But the point is, babies might be some of the best communicators because unlike the majority of us, they are trying SO HARD to understand and be understood. Babies realize what many of us forget, communication is not easy and must be worked at everyday.

Lessons learned from babies #4

Lesson 4: If at first you don't succeed, try again. and again. and again.....eventually you WILL get it. It was sometimes hard to watch Kayla struggle to learn how to do a seemingly simple thing like roll over, but even if she got frustrated sometimes in the process, she always goes back and keeps trying, and eventually she got it. And then she was just so proud of herself. And rightly so.

Lessons learned from babies #3

Lesson 3: Don't be afraid of making a fool of yourself or having people laugh at you. If you laugh too, then they aren't laughing at you anymore they're laughing with you. One of my friends from college, Jim, loves to play with Kayla. He's like a kid himself so they are two peas in a pod. And when they are playing, he'll do the craziest, silliest things, and he doesn't care because it makes Kayla laugh (other people too as you will see). There is something about babies that makes everyone break loose and just do silly stuff that they'd never do for others (ok, maybe Jim would) but Chris will sing crazy melodies and dance around for Kayla and I will make up ridiculous songs about poopy diapers...babies make us more lighthearted. So go hang out with a baby today. And let loose a little.

Lessons learned from babies #2

Lesson 2: You can discover new and exciting things about yourself (and others) everyday if you are willing to look for them. Kayla has discovered her hands and feet in the last few months, and you can see the wonder in her face as she realizes this new discovery is part of her! She can control the movements of her hands and feet and use them to make herself and others (mostly Chris and I right now) smile. We can control the way we speak and act to others as well to make them smile if we take the time to do it.

Lessons learned from babies #1

Lesson #1: Find joy in the simple things. My daughter can find hours of joy in a ceiling fan. She will laugh and squeal and talk to that fan like it's doing the same for her. But it's not. It's just going around and around in endless circles and it doesn't even know she exists. But that doesn't stop her from finding the joy in the situation and living her own life to the full. Find the joy in small things, and they'll start to get bigger and bigger until eventually you've found a whole lot of joy without even realizing you did.