Confirmation

The middle son made his Confirmation yesterday.  Our church still does Confirmation in eighth grade (many others have changed the age to high school).  We had 72 Confirmandi.  It was wonderful to see so many young people receive the Holy Spirit. 

Afterward we all went out to eat.  He has numerous life threatening food allergies so this is not something we do often.  We have a hard time finding a restaurant that can or is willing to cook safely for him.  Luckily, we found one.  We had a lovely dinner with family and the best part of that my son was able to eat safely and not have to bring his own food from home.

Catching Up

Well, February has come and gone and I haven't made it here once.  February was a busy, but good month.

My oldest turned 16.  I can't believe he's 16 now.  Wasn't he just born, like 5 minutes ago?  Oh my, it sure seems that way.  Time goes too fast (I say this A LOT lately, but it's so darn true).  He took his classroom driving instruction in January, and had his first in car class today.  Part of me is looking forward to him getting his license, but a bigger part of me is scared.  There's so many new worries to go a long with the drivers license.  But I can't hold him back.  I just have to put it in God's hands and pray a lot more.

Lent started February 14.  I gave up a few things and added in a few things and feel like I'm failing miserably at Lent this year.  I had such good intentions.  But the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  I have a month to do better and to make the most of this Lenten season.

My middle son makes his Confirmation in one week.  We'd like to take him out to dinner, but because of his multiple food allergies, eating out is very difficult.  We are going to call a few places this week to see if any of them can serve him safely. 

Wresting ended last weekend.  He didn't win a single match this season, but since this was his first time wrestling, I didn't really expect him too.  He was disappointed, but he's the type of kid that thinks he can just show up and things will happen.  Other than practices, he didn't really put in any outside work.  I hope he finds the lesson in going the extra mile.  I'm sure it would have made a difference.

There were some family health issues, but everyone is on the mend.

And that was February in a nut shell.

We just got upgraded internet on Friday, and things are moving much better now.  It will certainly make it easier for me to get on the computer and blog more.  I tried to blog from my phone, but that didn't work very well.  Before the new internet, it was very slow and very tedious.  I feel like I'm flying now.  Hopefully it stays this way!

Moving On Up

This weekend has been crazy busy.  And by crazy busy I mean that I’ve pretty much just showered and slept at home, and that's it.  It’s certainly not the peaceful weekend I was hoping for.  We had wrestling meets, 3 baseball practices, a baseball fundraiser, and an open house at school for Catholic schools week.  Normally I would have just skipped the open house (we already go there, so we already know the drill).  BUT the kindergarten rooms were open and one very excited preschooler wanted to go and check them out.  He’s very excited and possibly a little nervous about the whole kindergarten thing.  Technically he could have gone this year, but he just wasn’t ready, so we waited.  The preschool is his safe place.  He's been going there for four years now (mom and toddler class, 3 year old class, and two years of pre-k, one half day and one full day).  He’s looking forward to going to the big school.  But he’s a little nervous about the big school too.  Unfortunately both older brothers will be in high school next year (freshman and junior years), so he’ll be there alone.  The good news is that he’s been there numerous times and he knows some of the teachers and is familiar with some of the rooms.  He's ready.  I think I'm ready.  But it's my baby.  Even though we are both ready, it's still hard to let him go.

School's Back In Session

The boys went back to school today.  I think the older one was relieved, but the younger two were not thrilled.  It's so cold here though.  Part of me is glad that they don't ride the bus so they don't have to stand out in this weather, but part of me wishes they did, so I didn't have to go out in this.  My husband dropped them off this morning on his way to a business trip.  That extra hour in the morning was nice and I was able to get so much more done.  There are days I think that I should have them ride the bus, but then I think of all the time I wouldn't get to spend to with them and all the talks and sing-a-longs we would miss.  I'll be honest, I wouldn't miss all the fighting though.  But I'm sure one day I will.

These boys fight and bicker like nobodies business.  I think the older two are close in age and are posturing for the position of Big Dog.  I think the little one thinks he needs to jump in to secure is place in the family.  I also think he wants to be the Big Dog.  All this testosterone has me completely outnumbered.

I pray this prayer every morning:

Prayer For Peace In Our Family

Lord Jesus, be with my family. Grant us Your peace and harmony, an end to conflict and division. Gift us with compassion to better understand each other, wisdom and love to assist each other, and trust and patience to live peacefully together. Grant that through the intercession of your mother, Mary, and St. Joseph, our family may become a holy family accepting each other, working together in unity, selflessly dedicated to one other and to You. Amen.

And some days I think I should find a prayer for my sanity too.

Winter Rollercoaster

We started off this week with a snow day.  Then mid week temps were around 56 degrees F.  Then Friday was a "snow day" (more like ice day).  We've gone from winter, to spring, back to winter.  Today is on and off snow with temps around 16 degrees F.

With all this wacky weather, someone was bound to get sick.  And they did.  The 5 year old is sick right now.  He started saying last night that his throat hurt and he didn't feel well.  He seemed fine this morning, then started complaining about not feeling well and having a headache.  But he was dancing around the house so I didn't think too much of it.  But by noon, he was couch bound and crying that he was going to die.  So we just returned from Urgent Care and he tested positive for strep.  So he's couch bound again, and he's gotten his first dose of antibiotics.  Now we wait to see who gets sick next.  Since the older boys are at scout camp today, it's bound to happen.  My bet is on the middle one.

I used to love winter and snow.  But now I'm part of the cliche:  "The older I get, the less I can tolerate this snow and cold".  I do not like being cold.  And I detest driving in the snow and ice.  If it were just the cold, I wouldn't like it, but I could handle it.  But having to drive in snowy or icy weather is just too stressful.  I always say that I'm a southern girl trapped in a northern girls body.  It becomes truer and truer every year.

Last year I read the book Winter Meditations by Fr. John Bartunek.  It helped me to appreciate the beauty of winter and the season itself.  I probably should have revisited this book again this winter.  I've actually read all of his "Meditation" books and highly recommend them.  I found helpful insights in all 4 of his books, but Winter Meditations was particularly helpful since Winter is my least favorite season.  But it helped to see why God gave us winter and the reasons why I should appreciate this season.

Ok, I think I just talked myself into getting the book out again so I can revisit some of the benefits of this cold and barren season.

This was our "snow day" on Friday.  It went from 54 degrees at 10 am to 34 by 11 am.  The rain turned to ice and then the snow began.

Today.  16 degrees F with on and off again snow and 40 mph wind gusts.

Back to School...or not.

Today should have been the boys first day back to school after Christmas break.  But thanks to sheets of freezing rain, and now snow, they are home again today.  They have no complaints about extending their Christmas break by a day.

I had quite a few things planned to do around the house today, so this means all of my plans aren't going to happen.  That's OK.  I won't complain about a lazy jammie day.

We took down all of the Christmas decorations over the weekend.  It always makes me sad.  But for some reason this year, it really hit me hard (like ugly cry hard).  Time is flying and the boys are getting older and it's happening too quickly for me.  I started thinking that the oldest will be 16 in one month.  Pretty soon he'll be off to college and our family Christmas traditions may not stay the same.

I know, I still have several years before that happens, but it just hit me that my boys are growing up and things won't stay the same.  To say that I don't handle change well is an understatement.  I know that my job is to raise the boys to become happy, independent, moral men and send them out into the world.  My head knows this.  But my heart wants to keep them little.

These days are short.  And the busyness of the world makes it hard to enjoy every moment.  But I have to remember that I need to enjoy EVERY moment, even the difficult or mundane.  But enjoying every moment doesn't mean holding on to it (or the boys) with a death grip.  At least I have a few more years to perfect all of this and to learn to embrace the change.

Well, Hello There!

Many, many moons ago, I used to blog.  But then life got very busy, and boys became older and were horrified that their photos and activities were plastered on the Internet (friends found my blog and used old photos and stories to embarrass them).  And, well, life changed and the old blog just didn't fit anymore.  So I stopped blogging.  And part of me missed it.  I missed jotting down our life happenings, major events, and fun photos.  I've been thinking of picking blogging back up.  Not for food allergies like before, not to advocate for anything or anyone, but just for me.  And because I feel like I use Facebook as my new blog and I have a tendency to over share there.  So new year, new blog.

Why Prayer, Grace, and Tea?  These three things get me through my day.  This is how I survive, so it seemed fitting for my new blog title.

So here I am.  Still very busy.  But hoping to carve out a little time every once in a while to put some thoughts down and to journal some memories.