A New Twist on an Old Phrase

So, you've heard the phrase, "My dog ate my homework," right?

Well, after yesterday, Ben's version is:

"My sister ate my homework!"

His homework just looked really tasty, I guess. 

A Glorious October Hike

Yesterday there was a break from the cold wet weather. It was beautiful! The boys begged me to take them hiking, and I agreed. There's no better way to spend a day! I decided to fit Outdoor Hour Challenge #2 into the hike. So during our drive to our favorite local hiking spot, Platte River State Park, we talked about using ears to hear, eyes to see and hands to feel while we walked. We also talked about some of the things we might see, hear, or feel. They were very excited to get started.

The first sound we heard was chirping crickets. The loudest sound was crunching leaves as we walked over them. We also heard (and saw) a hot air balloon and two trains!
Benedict felt tree bark. Some was rough, some was really rough and some was smooth. He noticed that the tree with smooth bark was much smaller than the others and concluded that tree bark must get rougher as the trees grow bigger. Emanuel felt squishy mud under his shoes. He also got to feel something new and exciting. Under the leaves he found some soft, fuzzy green moss. Of course, they weren't just listening and feeling during our hike- they were using their eyes too. They saw many different trees and leaves, a daddy long legs, and of course, the hot air balloon.

For this hike, we decided to try a different trail than usual. We were so glad we did. It was beautiful! After hiking through the woods on a bluff above the Platte River, we descended the bluff and came out in a meadow filled with leaves! The boys rolled in the leaves and threw them at each other. It was a lot of fun! Then

we crossed a bridge and walked along the river and train tracks for a few hundred feet before heading back into the woods. We finally had to turn around and head back because the sun was setting, but none of us wanted to. It was such a beautiful day for a hike and a great location. We cannot wait to go back to explore this trail further! In the meantime, here are a few more pictures.

 

Enjoying Lunch

We all enjoyed our lunch at the pumpkin patch yesterday, but no one more than Isabel!

Emanuel and the Haunted House

Today we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We had a lot of fun doing all the usual things, but this year Ben wanted to try something new. He wanted to go through the haunted house. It's not a very scary haunted house- just a little shed with some black lights and animatronic ghouls making cackling sounds, but I knew even that would freak out my sheltered boys.

In the past I've been able to talk Ben out of going in, but not this year. I told him to go ahead and go through if he really thought he could handle it, but that I had to stay outside with Isabel and Emanuel. I thought it would be way too scary for Emanuel. If he even hears the word "ghost" he's spooked for days.

Ben stood outside and stared at the shack for a few minutes, then took a deep breath and walked through the entrance. After about 5 seconds I heard a yell and he came running out.

"Do you want to skip it?" I asked. "Were you too scared."

"No," he answered nonchalantly. "I just want Emanuel to go with me. Come on Emanuel."

"I'm not scared Mom. I can go with him," Emanuel said and bravely walked through the door with Ben.

I counted. As soon as I reached five, the yell came and Emanuel came tearing out the entrance of the little shed with his eyes wide and arms flailing. He nearly ran past me in his mad escape.

"That is too scary," he said. "That is too scary. I need to go back in."

In he went. About two minutes later he and Ben came out the exit, very proud that they had made it all the way through the haunted house!

Tractors!

Boo!

I need one of these at home...

Nothing like a pillory to keep a kid in timeout.

The First Snow

This morning, we woke up to a surprise! Everything was covered in snow! The kids couldn't wait to get out into it, so shortly after breakfast they threw on whatever they could find and had some fun out on the balcony!

Thoughts on St. Therese and Washing Dishes

I really dislike washing dishes. There are no worse household chores than those involving the kitchen. Unfortunately, this also happens to be the one chore that must be dome everyday, several times a day. The consequences of neglecting kitchen duty are unmentionable. I often dream of buying less food in order to make room in the budget for disposable paper products. Sadly my “green” conscience won’t let me produce that much waste, even for the benefit of not having to wash dishes.

Another option I’ve considered dates back to colonial times. In those days dishes and utensils were rather scarce. Since there were no Walmarts or Williams-Sonomas in the wild forests of Virginia, the colonists had to make their own eating devices. Just one of their methods involved carving indentations in the tables where the food could be set. When everyone finished eating the table was wiped clean and that was that. NO DISHES TO WASH! The problem is, I’m pretty sure my black pressed particle board table would not be very pretty with sawdust colored grooves carved into it. I don’t imagine it would clean up well either, not to mention the fact that my family would think I’d gone nuts! Other colonists would carve a trencher out of a small log (a sort of rectangular shaped bowl) and then the family would take turns eating out of it. Voila- only one dish to wash! Of course, I would still have to wash it between each eater- no one wants to eat out of a dirty trencher- so scrap that idea. No good. I guess my only recourse is just to wash the darn dishes.

A few months ago I read St. Therese of Lisieux’s autobiography, The Story of a Soul, for the first time. I am kicking myself for not reading it earlier- like when I was a teenager! I connected with her on so many levels, but the idea that struck me most was her “Little Way.” God is everywhere- even in the ordinary, simple details of life. Like washing dishes. God has given each of us a task- our daily duty- and we glorify God by doing that to the best of our ability every single day. Every task can be a prayer offered to God. She said, “What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.” The smallest action done with love can be more important than any great deeds a person does for personal glory.

When I was younger I had big plans. I was not going to be at home washing dishes. I was going to be out in the world making a difference. I imagined myself as a type of lay Mother Theresa, feeding and educating the poor in developing countries. It was a dream I had since I was a small girl and it was hard to let go. But God had other plans for me. I was dreaming too big. He still wanted me to dream big, but in a “Little Way.”

“Our Lord has deigned to explain this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lesson the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues.And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord’s living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection.

I understood this also, that God’s Love is made manifest as well in a simple soul which does not resist His grace as in one more highly endowed. In fact, the characteristic of love being self-abasement, if all souls resembled the holy Doctors who have illuminated the Church, it seems that God in coming to them would not stoop low enough. But He has created the little child, who knows nothing and can but utter feeble cries, and the poor savage who has only the natural law to guide him, and it is to their hearts that He deigns to stoop. These are the field flowers whose simplicity charms Him; and by His condescension to them Our Saviour shows His infinite greatness. As the sun shines both on the cedar and on the floweret, so the Divine Sun illumines every soul, great and small, and all correspond to His care–just as in nature the seasons are so disposed that on the appointed day the humblest daisy shall unfold its petals.” (St. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul)

My great works are being done at home, for my family and those around me in my own community. My role for now is to be a wife and mother- the best I can be. I can teach my children about compassion and generosity and love. I can teach the importance of doing God’s will everyday, even when it involves only wiping countertops and cleaning the same dirty dishes everyday, three times per day. I still abhor dish washing. But I can wash them with love for my family and for God and know I am doing exactly what He wants me to be doing.

Caterpiller

We saw a woolly bear caterpillar on a recent walk, which inspired Ben to recite a poem he learned recently (provided I tape it, of course).

Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti

Brown and furry,
Caterpillar in a hurry.
Take your walk
To a shady leaf, or stalk.

May no toad spy you.
May the little birds pass by you.
Spin and die-
To live again a butterfly.

Soccer- Emanuel

Emanuel's first ever soccer season just ended. The beginning was not promising... after only 15 minutes he was ready to go home. That was enough teamwork and listening to the coach for one day. A promise of a treat at the end was the only thing that kept him going for the whole 45 minutes!

  As time wore on and he had a few more practices, he was willing to play for the entire time. They played many games to learn ball handling, such as red light-green light, simon says and many others. Watching three-year-olds play soccer for the first time is alwasy entertaining! When they were finally set up into small teams to play a game, Emanuel got the soccer ball, dribbled all the way over to the next field, and scored a goal! His teammates ran behind him, and not one of them realized they were no longer on their own field! Emanuel is very, very proud that he scored a goal.

 

The only thing better than soccer with friends is treats.