{SQT} A Rainy Week

1. Rain, Rain, Go Away

There have been sporadic rain and thunderstorms most days this past week, so the weather is even more humid than typically "July in the South" and there are fun puddles to jump in. Thomas tentatively tried a water puddle with his new fire boots from his aunt and uncle.

Thomas (3) in fireman pajamas, boots, hat, and with fireman backpack

2. Kitchen Helpers

We invited over a neighbor lady and her three children for a play date this week. After I directed everyone to bustle around neatening up, my Margaret asked me to step away to surprise me. She set the table with a beautiful cloth and set out crackers and cheese for our guests.

5-year-old warming sausages, 7-year-old making pancakes

3. Bird Houses and Fun

Speaking of hostessing, we also hosted a family over on Sunday after Mass. The boys watched a planned, wholesome movie and then played tennis, while three of the six girls played violin together and then all painted on canvases, followed by making bird feeders out of craft sticks and hot glue guns. (The next day, the boys made their own as well.)

4. John

My oldest fella is enjoying reading through his assigned historic fiction books and writing the literature review sheets for his teacher, doing his geography, and learning his piano concerto. He is still steadily growing his lawn mowing business and has taken a great interest in learning about personal finance, tax law, and business. This week, he and his two sisters eagerly requested attending the first in a series of The Art of Prayer talks at church, and came home with good reports.

He's growing up . . . and some moments mothers can't wait for their children be more mature, and other moments, we sure wish they would slow down. When, in the doctor's waiting room this week, I noticed that my son preferred to read Dave Ramsey's writings than play with the toys . . .

I was grateful that God has blessed me with subsequent little ones so I still have ones who need me in a more babyish way.

Little Thomas still "wakes up hard" from his naps and cries incoherently, so that most days I sit and hold him, with his chubby arms tight around my neck, for a goodly time before he is calm.

Waiting for Thomas to really be awake, just holding him in a chair

I am trying to appreciate all the various ways children need their mamas, at all the stages, from the baby who sometimes get confused and thinks that 3:00 a.m. is morning time to wake up to the preschooler expressing that "I can do it!"

From the Kindergartener who is starting to ask deep questions but still needs to snuggle first thing every morning to the seven-year-old who straddles being one of the Big Kids and one of the Little Guys (and needs to still feel comfortable in both worlds).

From the nine- and eleven-year-olds who are really stretching their wings, venturing out into the world a bit more, and sometimes needing to navigate tough emotions to young adults yet to come, whose needs I can only imagine from my own young years.

5. David

. . . has learned how to throw things! It's so fun.

6. Strings Orchestra

In exciting news, our Mary (9) auditioned and was accepted into Sinfonia Strings, "a selective, audition-only string orchestra that prepares young musicians in the art of orchestral performance." (The next two levels are the Preparatory Orchestra and then the high-school level Youth Orchestra of Charlotte.)

The ensemble practices together three times per month and performs in concert twice over the academic year at the Halton Theater.

We are so pleased with how hard Mary worked, all those practice hours, to polish her Vivaldi concerto, her scales, and to learn sight reading so she could audition, and then to persevere through her case of nerves.

7. Protecting Innocence

We listened to a talk called "Protecting Innocence" by Matt Fradd in the past week and I strongly recommend it to all parents (of all faiths or lack of faith) of children of all ages, from toddlers through high-school. (This is not a talk for children to listen to.)

We listened to the talk through FORMED, an online collection of Catholic talks and audio books which our parish makes available to us for free, but one can also buy the talk through the Augustine Institute here. If it were $50, I think I'd still recommend you buy it, but it's only $3.50!

Already our children have no concept of being allowed to turn on the television, or computer, or any iPad, or any Internet phone without our permission, and already our devices are all kept in the central public area of the house (none in bedrooms, ever), but we're also battening down the hatches by making sure our filters and accountability software are up to date and we'll be having continued, serious conversations about the dangers to be avoided online.



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