{SQT} Life Is Bursting at the Seams

1. So Busy!

During this week as I tried to fend off panic about how to do all my duties, I tried to remind myself that even this spike in busy-ness in an otherwise busy life represents not ill but bounty and blessings.

Instead of doing our chores on Saturday, we took a rare day trip on one of the only days Mary has off of orchestra this school year (see below). That meant doing all our household chores both in advance and on Sunday to make the trip possible.

Then during the week, we had a birthday celebration, three scheduled doctor's appointments, two extra church evening events, our first Science Olympiad meeting, art class, and all the preparations for hosting a speaker in town (for a church event) over Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, we had a contractor in the house doing a planned project, plus he ended up fixing our kitchen sink which sprung numerous leaks and replaced our toilet which died a death after several decades of use (so our family of eight was running upstairs for the facilities for two weeks). Our Internet got cut off for several days due to the aerating of the lawn, so we had that difficulty and then another appointment to have it repaired. Lastly, we were blessed tremendously to learn of some used furniture being sold at a fraction of the cost--which is the best way to furnish a home!--so we pounced on it, which meant an extra trip to an adjacent town to see the items, clearing out areas of our home (as yet unpacked!) to prepare for the furniture, and a third day with an appointment to receive the furniture from the movers.

All of this was on top of our normal schedule of full-time homeschooling, sports and dancing, music, and Masses, and a bunch of us got sick with a respiratory bug.

Many living beings in one home leads to much life being lived! Falling asleep was very quick for family members every night this week!

2. North Carolina Zoo

On Saturday, we took a day trip to the zoo! Click here to read about it!

3. Mary's 11th Birthday

Our first daughter Mary turned eleven this week!

We generally host birthday parties only for 'big numbers' (like 5, 10, 13 . . .), so we celebrated as a family.

Mary is a leader who has an academic bent and especially loves writing poems and lengthy stories. When the writing mood has struck, she will be writing for days in every spare second. When she is not inspired by her muse, you can expect to see her nose in her latest novel--of which she reads several per week. She has been playing violin and piano for about six years now and is in her second year of choir. Mary is my great assistant at babysitting and is very good with small children.

Because it was the weekend of Veteran's Day, the restaurant was festooned with a flag from each branch of the military and the American flag. I was touched and impressed by the table set in honor of POWs and MIAs.

On Mary's birthday morning, she opened her gifts, and that night we tacked on lickety-split cupcakes after dinner before she and I headed out to a church event. (I went above and beyond what I can normally tackle by baking cupcakes late at night out of a box mix and I never even had time to frost them out of the tub of factory-made frosting so they were eaten as plain little things my kids kept calling "muffins." I truly don't understand how you amazing ladies bake astonishing cakes amidst all your duties!)

4. Scholastic Scenes

John has committed to participating in the North Carolina Science Olympiad, so we attended our first meeting (with two little siblings occupying themselves nearby). We are really excited! Check out this video showing what it is like on competition day (but you may want to mute the irksome music)!

Waiting during the STORM meeting

One day, Joseph set up his own experiment he had seen on Mr. Wizard videos. That video series really is fantastic and we've used it much over the years.

5. Thomas

Thomas at four years and a few months is such at such a cute and fun age. He persists in dressing like Mr. Rogers, wearing Mass shoes all the time, and now his special wooden cross. I'm glad it is now cold weather because he has only been willing to wear long pants and long shirts for months.

He has lately been spending his afternoon Quiet Time just sitting at the CD player by the windows and listening to children's audio stories.

He is also passionate about art and is possibly going to spend us out of house and home going through reams of paper. Mama has not had time to teach him so much as his recognizing or writing his letters yet, so it is good he is drawing anyway.

"Train" by Thomas (4)

Currently, Thomas is thinking tremendously about death and asking me many questions. I have watched all my children go through this exact mental development right around age four, so here we are going through it a fifth time. Thomas has just realized that he will die, so he has asked many, many times about if he will die, when he will die, how he will die (he wants graphic details), and, most importantly, if I will be with him. This is coinciding with what I've seen of all my boys, in particular, at this age which is that they are madly in love with their mama. (Thomas goes about the house singing songs about "Mama is my favorite Mama" and "I love Mama so much.")

I am much calmer this time around, so I'm answering sweetly and calmly about how yes, our bodies will die one day, he does not need to worry about that right now (repeat ad nauseum). Our souls inside will live forever and he just needs to be a sweet, good, and holy boy for Jesus so he can go to Heaven one day. Yes, dying is the only way to get to go to Heaven. Mama is with him now and I will always try to stay with him (and more about how he doesn't need to worry about that right now). Thomas has begun asking many questions about Heaven as a result, so we are talking about the mansion with many rooms, but that it is a "God house," not a "house-house" like here on earth. This has got him wondering if our house will die too, and even if it crumbles one day, won't the bricks and wood be here forever? He is very concerned, clearly, about decomposition, be it of body or brick-and-mortar.

Thomas is bringing this topic up several times per day to me over the latest couple of weeks, in a persistent but calm manner. Earlier in motherhood, I would have panicked that he is experiencing a psychological crisis and might have a mental health problem. Now I know that he will be at a state of peace and great understanding within a few weeks or a few months . . . and we all need to face mortality to grow in maturity, even when we are four years old.

6. Christmas Is Really Coming?

The nearby city street decorations for Christmas went up the day after Halloween. I've started receiving emails in my in box from homeschooling blogs about how to plan for Christmas. My insomnia has found yet another reason to keep me awake at night because I cannot fathom that Christmas is only five weeks away.

I'm trying so hard for us to catch up on school and feel like we need to double the length of our school day. Yet meanwhile, bearing down on me like a freight train is

• Thanksgiving (taking a week off for beloved house guests), 
• a thirteenth birthday (big celebration!), 
• St. Nicholas feast day (must order my chocolates, oranges, and gifts!), 
• Christmas cards going out early this year to spread our change of address (Chris handles all of that for me), 
• planning and executing our Advent (a mini-Lent, a penitential season), and then 
• all the Christmas planning, decorating, shopping, and cooking . . . and if people aren't joy-filled all the time, it will be All Mama's Failure.

I so much want these events to be something Mama can be excited about experiencing instead of facing with panic. Do any of my readers have tactics or practices for you to embrace and enjoy the celebrations and seasons without viewing all of them mostly as a combination of late nights planning, lost sleep, tons of work, and extra dishes? I want to take off my Military General's hat.

7. Kolbe Seminar

On Friday, amidst teaching school and moving furniture, I prepared the house for our weekend speaker-guest (doing all our housecleaning during Friday madness instead of on Saturday) and for my absence in order to attend the seminar by the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation: "Evolution and the Culture of Death." It is rare that I go out, so, as I tried to walk out the door on Friday evening, a number of the children were grabbing my skirts, blocking me, crying, and throwing kisses to me. Mama is the heart of the home!

I'm very excited about what should be around ten hours of my listening to amazing scientific lectures while I feverishly take notes . . .


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