Listening in on children's play

"Today is the feast day of all feast days!"

Gaudete Sunday

Our family tradition is to decorate for Christmas on Gaudete Sunday.

Here are some moments from our day:

Lil' Chef and Bumbershoot

Mr. T

Squeaker

Dear Husband helping pass out ornaments

A Family Tradition:  Taking turns placing the angel on the tree.  This year was Squeaker's.

The Christmas village that was given/inherited from my husband's Grandmother.

Little People Nativity set keeps the girls busy.

Lots of Hair likes to grab all the Mickey Mouse characters and give them kisses.

Waiting for Baby Jesus.  Are you preparing?

The Three Kings making their way across the mantle.

An empty manger on the prayer table.

the finished tree

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

The End of Taper Week

This week has been a total recovery week for me.  I want to be strong for my next half marathon on October 9th.  I'll be running with my mom, my little sister, and her friend.  I'm still holding out hope that a good friend of mine will join us too.  We have a super cute outfit planned ... (stolen idea from another runner's blog, but she said to.)

I've started a part time job.  I know, you're thinking ... When do you have the time?  I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home.  They set me up with a laptop and I'm able to connect to their networks via internet.  I'm a mechanical engineer by trade ... I've just been a domestic one for the last ten years.  The work that I'm doing is 3D computer modeling.  I was surprised how fast I was able to come up to speed with the software.  I work in the early morning hours before school on non-running days, during nap/quiet time, and after dinner.  My goal is 18-20 hours a week.

What to do with the extra money?

1. Increase the running budget =)
2. Build up our emergency fund from 3 months of living expenses to 6 months
3. New tires for the van
4. Start a vehicle fund  -  Hubby's truck is a '96 and the Sienna is '05   We are at full capacity in the van and would need to go bigger if there are babies in a future.

Speaking of babies,  Lil' Chef asked me the other day if I may be pregnant.  I asked her why she thought that.  "I was hoping that we would have a baby next year."  LOL.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that my fertility hasn't returned yet after Lots of Hair's birth.  I did say that if God willed it; we would be very happy.

Here's the graph that she made a year ago:

Notice the stationery that she drew it on; The Couple to Couple League. 

The Couple to Couple League (CCL) is an international, Catholic, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and teaching fertility awareness (natural family planning) to married and engaged couples.

Hubby and I were NFP teachers for almost nine years.  It works, people!

What happened to my kids?

The morning started off nice with a P90X Core Synergistics workout.  I need to strengthen my core more in order to improve my running.  Wow, what a workout!  After my shower, I had some time to sew before the kids and I started school.  (Yes, I get up early)  When I sew, I do not sit in a chair but on a exercise ball.  I definitely did a core workout, because I noticed that it took more effort to sit upright to sew.

After sewing for an hour, the kids and I started school.  I'm not sure what happened, but everyone was focused.  When I asked something of someone, I got "Yes, Mom.  Right away, Mom"  Where are my kids??  We were finished with school before lunch today!  Granted, there's been a bit less of work because we are finishing up various things as the school year comes to a close.

Next I hear, "Can I watch Lots of Hair for you, so that you can sew some more?"  Um, ok?  So I did a bit more sewing before lunch.  I had only to make my own lunch today too.  The older kids fixed lunches for everyone else.  After lunch, Lots of Hair went down for a nap.  I announced that I was going to go back down to sew some more.  Lil Chef was practicing the piano when Mr. T came up to me and asked if he could do her chores.  Um, ok.

So far, there's not been any fighting.  This is amazing.  Lately, we've been focusing on treating each other as if they were part of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, & Joseph).  Today, I see fruits of our labor.  What a blessing today is!

Children Are a Blessing

Lately, I've been waking earlier than the household to get my workout done before husband goes to work.  My almost eight year old, Mr. T, lays in our bed with the baby, Lots of Hair.  Sometimes though, Lots of Hair wakes up and her sister, Trouble, joins her.   So Mr. T brings whoever is awake downstairs and occupies them until I am finished with exercising and a shower.  I have been so grateful to have older children helping out with the younger ones so that I can improve my well-being.