Last week, after breakfast, Joseph was sitting on the kitchen counter watching me wash dishes, just chatting away. Suddenly he stopped chatting and looked at me and said, “Mom, you’re really good at washing dishes. You’re a good girl.” Aww, thanks Joseph…I now have all the encouragement I need.
Outside my window…sunny and beautiful.
I am thinking…sometimes all you can do is laugh.
I am thankful for…beautiful, healthy children.
From the learning rooms…working on fine motor skills with clothespin activities.
From the kitchen…Easter leftovers (there’s even a little cake left!).
I am wearing…black shorts and a t-shirt (yep, it’s already warm enough for shorts).
I am creating…clothespin games.
I am going…to have to go back to the grocery store this week…I forgot the creamer and the chicken.
I am reading…Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor.
I am hoping…for beautiful weather this weekend to celebrate William’s 1st birthday with.
I am praying…for grace and all the beauty that comes with it.
In the garden…a little red strawberry!
One of my favorite things…reading in bed.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Spanish with Grandma Nury, playdates with Walker, a visit from Auntie Leslie, Uncle Dustin, and Alex and William’s 1st birthday on Saturday!
Here are a few pictures I thought worth sharing…
Are you having fun swinging, William?
If it looks like I'm getting into trouble, I probably am.
Don’t forget to visit Peggy’s site for more daybooks!
I have to be careful about everything I say and everything I do. I have the perfect little mimic in my house.
A few days ago I saw my mothering in action as Joseph perfectly mimicked my technique of putting a baby to sleep. He had a little doll who he named Bob and he told me it was Bob’s naptime. So I watched as Joseph put Bob down for a nap. First he picked him up and rocked him gently as he sang “Away in a Manger.” Then when Bob was asleep, Joseph put him up on his shoulder and continued rocking and shhhing him until he could get Bob into his bed (a chair). After laying Bob in his bed and covering him with a blanket (a washcloth), he gently patted his back and shhhed him to sleep. Then, ever so politely, he asked me to please use my quiet voice because Bob was napping.
This was the 1st year that Joseph was able to hunt for eggs. Last year I had planned to do an egg hunt with him, but William was born on Good Friday and all of my Easter celebration plans went by the wayside. So I spent some time during Lent this year finishing my homemade Catholic version of Resurrection eggs and Easter morning after Mass, Joseph hunted for the eggs…
If you’ve never seen Resurrection eggs, it’s a really neat idea. Basically you take 12 plastic eggs, number them and you choose 12 of the main events of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with, of course, the resurrection. Then you put a symbol of each event into the corresponding egg. Here’s what I chose:
1: Jesus enters Jerusalem…a piece of a palm branch
2: Jesus washes his disciples’ feet…a piece of a towel
3: The Last Supper…a piece of bread
4: The Agony in the Garden and Judas Betrays Jesus…a prayer and some coins
5: Jesus is Questioned by Pilate…King of the Jews sign
6: The Soliders Mock Jesus…a purple cloth and a thorn
7: The Scourging at the Pillar and Pilate Condemns Jesus to Death…a rope
8: The Way of the Cross…a small cross
9: Jesus is crucified…a nail
10: Jesus dies…dice (for when the soldiers cast lots)
11: The Burial of Jesus…a rock
12: The Resurrection…I left this one empty to represent the empty tomb on Easter morning
Then on Easter morning, you bury the eggs. The kids hunt for the eggs, but they don’t open them until all of the eggs have been found. Once all 12 eggs are found, together you open them one by one, telling the story as you go. I simply found a picture of each event, mounted it on cardstock with the title of the event and laminated them. The pictures helped me tell the story, but the lack of words on each page allow me the luxury of adapting the story from year to year based on age range (good thinking, huh?) Joseph LOVED it! Definitely worth the time and effort to make them and certainly a tradition we’ll continue!
As part of our Easter preparation, we did a preschool version of the Stations of the Cross Friday morning. We used a beautiful book The Story of the Cross by Mary Joslin to guide us through our experience. I read the description of each station while Joseph matched the picture of the station with the title of the station (I downloaded these from here) and then Joseph read the prayer for each station from the book. The best part? I know Joseph was imagining how Jesus must have felt because when we got to the 9th station and Jesus fell the third time, Joseph very compassionately asked, “oh, Jesus, you fell again…are you okay?”
Outside my window…it’s beautiful and sunny!
I am reflecting on…Josef Pieper’s words, “the rational ‘useful’ world which preoccupies us is but a partial environment for our humanity; we need to be able to transcend the purely pragmatic, the visible and verifiable, and embrace the whole as marvel, as gift.”
I am praying for…Jenny Johnson as she prepares to enter the Catholic Church.
From the learning rooms…Holy Week. We’re reading and re-reading books like The Easter Swallows by Vicki Howe and The Story of the Cross by Mary Joslin, The Best Thing About Easter by Christine Harder Tangvald and The Easter Cave by Carol Wedeven and we’re imagining what it was like to be there.
From the kitchen…it’s pizza night.
I am wearing…jeans and a brown t-shirt.
I am creating…some homemade band instruments for my nephew, Alex, hoping to get back into Leslie and Dustin’s good graces (I sent some pots and pans for Alex a few months ago and I can hardly hear Les on the phone these days…Alex has discovered pots and pans make the most joyful music!)
I am going…to plant the strawberry plants and hang our new hummingbird feeder.
I am reading…Medjugorje: The Message by Wayne Weible and am in awe of Our Lady.
I am remembering…Grandma Nury’s wingspan…
I am hearing…the neighbor’s lawnmower and Joseph practicing a new song he learned on the keyboard.
Around the house…I’ve been doing spring cleaning in bits and pieces. I just washed the blinds (or rather Basic H washed the blinds, I just rinsed them).
One of my favorite things…beautiful spring weather and opening the windows.
A few plans for the rest of the week: The Way of the Cross for children on Friday; dye eggs and bake lamb cake on Saturday.
Here is picture I thought worth sharing…
Don’t forget to visit Peggy’s blog for more daybooks!
Yesterday we took Joseph and William to Kingsville for their first air show. We stayed just long enough walk around and see some aircraft, sit in a helicopter, and watch the first plane fly in the show. William slept through most of it, only waking up just in time to gobble down his lunch before we headed home. Joseph loved the thrill of sitting in the helicopter and is still telling me about the tricks the plane did in the air. All in all, I’d say it was worth the 45 minute drive!
There were about 2 minutes between the first picture and this one...apparently the car ride wore him out!
Just in time for lunch!
Every Tuesday we have a special visitor. Grandma Nury comes to teach Joseph Spanish. A few weeks ago to celebrate the beginning of Spring, we focused our Spanish lesson on spring time words. Combined with painting, it was a delightfully fun lesson!
Joseph’s Spanish paintings are now hanging in the playroom…such a beautiful way to review!
Sundays are the perfect day to just be. A few weeks ago after Mass, we went to visit Grandma Nury and Grandpa Larry. We stopped by with the intention of just saying hello and playing for a few minutes, but we were lured into staying a few hours by the gentle sway of the hammock and the opportunity to play catch with Grandpa. William and I napped in one hammock, while Grandma Nury and Walker rocked in the other. Joseph and Dax played ball with Aunt Jessica and Grandpa Larry. There was no rush to move onto something else. No commitment to steal away our time. It was just Sunday. And we just were.
With Every Intention 
