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Be merciful and mercy shall be yours.
Spiritual reflections, family, home educating typical and special needs children ~ Dedicated to: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn. "Rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulations, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12 Certe bonum certanem! Fight the good fight!
One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to stay home and start the morning with me in the kitchen and the children watching the Macy’s Day Parade – 85 years strong – wow. My husband preferred to not travel on Thanksgiving, or go to both parents’ home, because he drives SO MUCH all week and doesn’t have many days off at all for much of anything. He works Saturdays at his regular job – and in retail in the evenings, and you know retail doesn’t take time off.
So on Thanksgiving we enjoy the entire day together as a family, and toward the end of the day, we begin to decorate for Christmas. We opted for a small slimmer tree (it already has lights on it), and it is less fuss for the children to easily and successfully decorate with charm. We have our nativity and Advent Wreath ready. Tomorrow marks the first day of Advent, and we have a small purple taper candle waiting within the wreath to be lit.
I am grateful for my church, Christ’s visual church on earth for all the spiritual helps it provides to improve our spirituality during this hard yet joyful journey. I am not a shallow fleeting person in the least, and the more breadth and depth of spiritual enrichment and knowledge at my disposal, the better. Christ himself was not shallow by any means, and he shows us in the gospels the deep spiritual and physical demands a soldier of Christ must take on.
This Advent I anticipate and wait to honor the Christ who was born into a family first before accepting his ministry at large in the name of His Father. Knowing Jesus was born a baby and into a family certainly makes our Lord less lofty and more accessible to any humble person.
May God bless you richly this Advent Season!
I fell upon this book by way of Pinterest where everyone is “pinning”, you know :)…….I love finding new thoughtful wise edifying (did I say inexpensive) and worthy gifts. This seemed to be one, and I loved reading the “look at me” pages on line at Amazon.
lessons for my baby daughter
(a life list for every woman)
Try to know what is bubbling around in your heart
Don’t underestimate your father’s ability to understand you
Give lots of hugs to those you care for
Offer your seat to elderly and pregnant people
Whenever possible, take the train……
Appreciate the weather….
It goes on with description after each caption, all very sweet, beautiful and thoughtful.
By Jaime Morrison Curtis author/blogger of Prudent Baby (at prudentbaby.com)
…and this lovely and strong and insightful article by Elizabeth Foss gives hope to raising children and sending them out into the world….
http://www.elizabethfoss.com/reallearning/2011/11/what-im-never-going-to-tell-you.html
Tempting products I love to smell and live with are popping up all over as the Christmas season is quickly approaching. Some of the descriptions are so delicious and emotion-evoking. I find this one particularly interesting (it’s a beautiful product if you’re looking for a special gift).
Snow Angel Shower Gel (Philosophy)
The product description reads:
What is it: The snow angel shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath is infused with a fresh snow scent that's created to bring you a sense of childhood joy during your shower or bath.
.<snip>
Why is it different: Feel like an angel amidst the snow as you lather from head to toe with snow angel shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath. This luxurious, moisturizing formula gently cleanses and conditions skin and hair. The pearlized blue hue and fresh, clean scent capture the essence of a fresh snowfall and evoke the childhood joy in us all. <snip>
That…..”essence of a fresh snowfall and evoke the childhood joy in us all…” I thought was interesting. So I was briefly reflecting on childhood joy….I never grew up in the first decade of my life with “seasons”…having been born and raised in southern California in the 60s. It wasn’t until we moved to SLC Utah in the 70s that I experienced first hand the first snow in my life. And wow, what a snow!…A LOT of snow, as you can imagine – so true of that geographical location. I remember loving the quaking Aspens and pines and the fresh mountain air so much, but being torn between the beautiful state of things where I lived, and yearning to be with my family who had relocated to my mom’s home state of Ohio in the late 80s. And so it is I left that beauty behind and am now raising a family in Ohio (which by the way, has it’s copious amounts of snow).
While these beautiful products from Philosophy (a company I love to love), have wonderful rich descriptions of their products, and the scents do live up to their names, I recall being happy taking a bath with Fuzzy Wuzzy soap in the 60s :) Anyone remember that?
So, while I sit in bed blogging, nursing a fall cold and playing Angry Birds….I am also internet shopping for Christmas, looking ahead at my leisure from the comfort of my home. One item I know for sure my children will remember, (besides SNOW!)… like I remember Fuzzy Wuzzy soap from my childhood …will be this comforting shower gel they use again and again….Gingerbread Man also from Philosophy.
This is the Super size, but it also can be purchased in some smaller cuter decanters!
Between Snow Angels and Gingerbread Men (and girls), and Sugar-Plums…and the snow I know will come…I’m already looking forward to creating warm and comforting memories with and for my family.
This year as I’ve mentioned before has been very different and in many ways while seemingly freeing….difficult and challenging. I suppose I have traded what appeared to be freedom (unSchooling), for a schedule that is rigorous and demanding. Traveling to therapies and working on homework in regard to them has taken up a lot of our time. My son with OCD/anxiety dreads the weekly trips…one of his phobias is driving, and having to drive 45 mins from here – sometimes 3 to 4 times a week – is his worst enemy faced. To say it has been very hard is an understatement. My nerves have been frayed on most days, and I’m sure my stellar low pressure has been up. There is also the pending fear of hearing:….I’m nervous! I’m nervous!…I want to go home…let’s go home…. (when we are but 5 mins from our destination). I hear it weekly. It’s hard to go into facilities with a son that is in tears and shaking terribly as if a ghost just snatched him up. People look at us like…..what is that about??…..I feel like hiding….it’s quite an awful feeling but I have now been so embarrassed and humiliated by these scenes, I’m not sure there is much more to endure. And so it goes…..
One thing that has kind of lightened the doom and gloom of these trips is we are closer to all the wonderful stores that we don’t have in our rural area. So, on occasion we have been able to subject my poor mother to traveling with us and our odd behaviors (er ahem cough cough), and visit one of our favorite places TARGET. I have enjoyed “getting out” although it is always stressful…..but yet, I do get to see what’s out there, buy some badly needed items like clothing for all members of the family, and household goods, and get away with a wonderful Starbucks coffee as we leave. This TARGET store has a Starbucks in it…..lucky me. So, I endure.
We are plugging along with school…rather slowly….but they are learning. I guess this year, all I can ask is for some progress in academia…..but more progress in helping these boys beyond their disabilities and disorders. Some days it’s more than I can bear, and yet, I am bearing it….not patiently some days, not gracefully…not happily…..I am not proud to admit many days I fail terribly at all of it. I hear myself saying, I am not a nurse, I am not a maid…I am just a mother…I’m not cut out for this above and beyond the call of duty….and yet, it seems to be what God is calling me to do. So the little things…like a brief moment of normalcy the suddenly appears…I appreciate and revel in greatly. A beautiful sunset, a pleasant breeze, the golden colors of fall……and the smell of the coffee brewing in what seems to still be night…..are all much more appreciated in my corner of the world.
I have a few close mom friends who help me stand my ground and stay sane; I hope I give them some sanity on those crazier days too. I just know we all understand one another. Another area I am very grateful for – simple friendships that are honest and trusting. These women know me…I mean really know me….pretty much inside and out at this point ….there is not much we intend to hide or leave concealed as we are all using every bit of our mom strength to overcome the afflictions and hardships that find us. God must have known we would need each other and He found a way to cause our paths to cross and stay connected for a very long time now.
Well, I’ve over stayed my blog time…….Time to sign off and get little folks to bed….Busy day again tomorrow….not needing to travel as far, but off to enjoy our home school co-op with other families.
God bless!
Oh my…I think last week really tuckered me out…I have yet to recover from all it’s busy-ness.
So today my son Mark tells me…(as I yawn…) “ …Mom, just say the magical words of the Mickey Mouse clubhouse: Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!!!”
(Okay, so I’m trying this…..) :) haha!
Well…..I think I might try some of this instead!!!! Wish me luck!!
Awesome segment on how the Ipad with special Apps is helping with Autism….
From 60 Mins, Oct 23 segment, CBS
“Rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulations, be constant in prayer” Rom 12:12 Yours in Christ, Kimberly Hahn
1. Take one day at a time, and take that day positively. You don’t have control over the future, over today, or over any other day, and neither does anyone else. Other people just think they do.
2. Never underestimate your child’s potential. Allow him, encourage him, and expect him to develop to the best of his abilities.
3. Find and allow positive mentors: parents and professionals who can share with you their experience, advice, and support.
4. Provide and be involved with the most appropriate educational and learning environments for your child from infancy on.
5. Keep in mind the feelings and needs of your spouse and your other children. Remind them that this child does not get more of your love just because he gets more of your time.
6. Answer only to your conscience: then you’ll be able to answer to your child. You need not justify your actions to your friends or the public.
7. Be honest with your feelings. You can’t be a super-parent 24 hours a day. Allow yourself jealousy, anger, pity, frustration, and depression in small amounts whenever necessary.
8. Be kind to yourself. Don’t focus continually on what needs to be done. Remember to look at what you have accomplished.
9. Stop and smell the roses. Take advantage of the fact that you have gained a special appreciation for the little miracles in life that others take for granted.
10. Keep and use a sense of humor. Cracking up with laughter can keep you from cracking up from stress.
11. There is no 11th, silly. (See the 10th).