Eastertide

Happy Easter!  Yes, I know it is almost over, but the last few months have been a blur of packing and then unpacking.  There is still some organization that needs to happen, but it can wait till fall if it must and I finally feel settled both physically and mentally most of the time.  I am loving our old rambly house in the city.  Having the boys home all day, every day is delightful and challenging at the same time.  It is more delightful now that we are past the chaos of moving!

I have great hopes and plans to write a few more substantial posts soon, but for now here is a glimpse at our Eastertide.  We arrived in Milwaukee during Holy Week and the movers came Maunday Thursday.  We went to Easter Services at the Episcopal Cathedral, which was a lovely Easter celebration.  The boys loved the incense and bells.  Hearing the familiar liturgy was such a gift that Sunday and every Sunday since.  We all feel pretty at home in every Episcopal church we've visited because so much is familiar.  

We are enjoying the new house and it is really beginning to feel like home.

We enjoyed a stop at my parents farm on our way to Wisconsin.  New lambs were a highlight.

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Isaac made the cupcakes for Saint Athanasius Day.

We had a 'cloud' cake for the Feast of the Ascension and met up with Friends for a hill picnic and read the Ascension story.

Athan turned THREE!  I was rather emotional about it.  He is such a sweet little guy and I'm sad to be leaving the toddler stage.

This is the Egg Hunt at the Cathedral.

Keeping Easter for six weeks is sometimes a challenge.  We now have Eater Plates we use for snacks and most meals through the six weeks and Easter napkins or picks for in Muffins are always a simple way to remind us of the season.  

I'm sorry for the long lag in posts.  The blogger app refuses to work on my new ipad (which has replaced my computer).  Anyway, I'll keep working on figuring out how to add images, and it will still probably be awhile until I'm in this space very frequently.

Our family's news is that we will be moving to Milwaulkee where Jim has accepted a job as Director of Spiritual Formation at Saint Augustine Prep.  Aug Prep is a new school coming to the south side of Milwaukee this Fall.  We are passionate about the vision for this school and the opportunity to help put a high quality Christian education into the hands of children who wouldn't normally be able to afford it.

Right now, we are awaiting the last few things to fall into place and will be headed west over Holy Week.   My Lenten discipline for the year is giving up my home and all that it has meant over the past four years.  This home has brought us such joy and stability; it has been restorative to a soul that had been blown about for close to a decade.  This is perhaps the hardest thing I've ever given up and I daily find myself in tears.  That said, we have a beautiful and old house awaiting us and I cheer myself by planning how to make it home.  Mostly we'll miss our community here.  Our church really feels like family and we have been blessed by sweet and deep friendships in this place.  I am grateful that this calling has been so compelling as it has helped to stay us as we say goodbye.

The Graditude Tree

This year I didn't get my branches out for a gratitude tree, but instead used the chalkboard I recently painted in our kitchen to make a tree of Thanks.  I'm loving it and the boys are too.  We haven't been particularly planned about when we add things, but occasionally jot something up there.  I love how Athanasius (2), will come and get me and tell me to put something on the tree.  His last addition was "Bumpy Road Tractor Haybales", which I'm pretty sure was meant as one thought, no commas needed.  (He's in the rather obsessive vehicle and farm phase all my two-year-old men have gone through!)

It isn't anything spectacular, but for the sake of sharing the idea, here is 2016's Gratitude Tree.
At the beginning: (Saint Francis is still hanging from his celebration in October.)

A week till Thanksgiving (I took this a couple days ago):

Together we Give Thanks

So, I made these felt leaves back when I was nursing newborn Rowan (now 7!) with the intent of using them for our Gratitude Tree. They are cut from felt and hand sewn, except for the button hole, which I did on my machine (I love making button holes!)  However, I never really liked them because we would write what we were thankful for on a slip of paper and then tucked it away where it couldn't be seen.  So after using them one year, we switched to using water colored paper to make leaves with clearly visible notes of gratitude. But, then I had these seventeen sweet pocketed leaves with no use.  I've simply hung them on a cord as a banner the last few years in the house.

We spend the first week of November focusing on All Saints and All Souls Day.  Mostly that means an all low-key All Saints day gathering of some sort and reading through our rather large selection of books on the lives of saints.  After thinking of the Saints, I wanted some readings to draw us to Graditude during the last weeks of November as we end the year.  So I began writing out the passages, prayers and books to share on slips of paper and then I remembered the leaves and was delighted to find that there were seventeen leaves and I had planned for seventeen days (isn't it marvelous when things work out like that!)  I realized that the white slips I had written the readings on wasn't pretty in my leaves so I grabbed some wet-on-wet watercolor paper (I always have some handy) and rewrote the passages.  We hung the leaves above the table and the boys are enjoying taking turns choosing a leaf and finding our reading for the night.  Rowan and Jonah have done the reading thus far, which is so very precious!

Here are the readings I chose:

Notes:
BCP = Book of Common Prayer
                   
The two Thanksgiving books I wanted to make sure all six of us read and made a slip  for are Thanksgiving Story by Alice Danglidesh (we ended up reading it in two parts) and Thank You Sarah! by Laurie Halse Anderson.

And here are the leaves hung above our table on hemp twine:

Giving Thanks at the End of the Year

As I was discovering the church year and beginning to practice it, I was a graduate student in Canada.  I loved that the Canadian Thanksgiving was in October, because, honestly, I struggled with the fast turn around from American Thanksgiving to Advent.  I love Thanksgiving, but Advent always starts a few days later and I just couldn't seem to flow from one to the other.  Either Thanksgiving (aside from the feast) was ignored and Advent prepared, or we'd focus on giving Thanks and Advent traditions started a week late.

However, this has changed in recent years. There are two reasons for this.  The first (and less interesting reason) is simply that I'm no longer building traditions in the same way I was in the early years of parenting.  Yes, I'm always scheming and adding things to our seasons as my Pinterest boards attest.  But, if I did nothing before the first day of Advent this year I could pull out a box marked "First Week of Advent".  I would unpack a few items and we would be off and running in a matter of minutes.  Unfortunately, this isn't something you can do much about if you are new to following the church year and are in the days of little ones underfoot while you build traditions.   (Note: If you are in the early stages of tradition building may I suggest that you attempt to build at least some traditions that are easy to duplicate in subsequent years, so you aren't coming up with a new attempt at it every year.  For example, it is lovely to pull out the Jesse tree and simply begin without making anything new.)

The second reason I now love the quick transition between Thanksgiving and Advent is that I've realized how fitting Thankfulness is at the end of the liturgical year.  It has only been in the past few years that we've put more focus on the end of the liturgical year and less on the end of the calendar year (we still toast on New Years, but make much less of it as an end of the year celebration, because January 1 is also the Feast of the Holy Name.)  Adventis the beginning of church year, which means late November is the end of the year; it is a perfect time  to reflect on all that we have been given and experienced in the past year.  I think ending the year with grateful heart is ever so much more important than ending it with resolutions.  In this light, ending the year with a feast of Thanksgiving and the Feast of Christ the King (a day to give thanks for the most precious gift of the Son and his reign) is so wonderfully fitting.

A Springtime Birthday Crown

While I have four all-boy boys, my sister has three fairy-princess daughters.  Each of them are named for a flower and so their birthday crowns are likewise adorned.  Here is the latest, which I managed to get to to her just after her second birthday while we were traveling this summer.  I really enjoyed making this crown and I'm sad that the photos didn't turn out very well, but you can get the idea.  

Happy (belated) Birthday Mariella Violet!

Back to School

Well, I didn't mean to be silent over the summer, but life with our four boys is very full at the moment.  It isn't super busy in the run around sense, but I just often find that when I might have time to write my mind is too full of other things to allow myself to settle.  However, the last two days have been a bit quieter as school has begun again.

I continue to be thrilled to have our boys at Veritas.  It is a thoughtful place and the habits they are forming are truly growing them in a gentle and meaningful way.  Jim is back as well and enjoying a calmer year with many classes he has taught before and one new challenge in leading the senior thesis projects for the first time, which feels just about right.  I even found myself wishing I could go 'back to school' yesterday.  That said, the little boys and I have been enjoying a few quiet days of games, stacks of books, and lots of puzzles (preschool/my work at preschool will begin in a couple weeks.)

Here are a few first day shots.

Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam

Ordinary Time

I wrote a reflection on ordinary time for Grow Christians that was posted yesterday.  You can find it here.  (Also, it is a really fun site to browse!)

The Great Green Growing Season

Oh, there are no words to express the goodness of this earth that nourishes growing things.  The fact that dry seeds come to life and produce food and beauty that sustain us is truly good.  I've been pondering the miracle of growth often lately as I wonder through my garden and watch my four boys who are growing like weeds.  

Yes, this creation is very good.  

Saint Barnabas

Yesterday was St. Barnabas' feast day.  We didn't celebrate last night as I simply didn't have time to think it through.  But today I made some marscapone brownies and Jonah read to us about St. Barnabas  while the rest of us drew cupcake toppers of St. Barnabas after dinner.  Isaac and Rowan really liked that he is often depicted on or beside a small stack of stones and there ended up being stones everywhere.  If nothing else, I don't think they'll forget how he was martyred anytime soon.  Here's hoping we all remember to be follow his example in building the kingdom and encouraging others as well!

Red Hot Pentecost!

I was so excited to be part of the Pentecost celebration at church Sunday.  I had made white clay doves (cookie cutter type) and written the fruits of the spirit on them.  They had a hole to string red balloons through.  Someone else made red hand kites for the kids and we bought a couple cakes.  It was the first time these things had been done at our church (as far as I know) and I was really excited to celebrate together.  But alas, we ended up with a nasty little virus and decided it was best for everyone to stay home on Sunday.  

So I'm grateful for a week of red at home.  I hung banners Monday and got out our shoe box of decorations and we will enjoy them through the week.   Here is a glimpse of our Pentecost celebration.  How are you celebrating?

The boys painted the red paper like flames on the banner across the door.  The banner hanging behind it is from my mom's stash of Red fabrics.  

This banner was our Saints and Seasons group project earlier in the month.  We each brought a yard of red fabric and cut it into strips.  We then tossed all the fabrics in a pile and tied them on twine to make banners.

While Isaac and I drew the other day I made lunch box notes for the older boys.  

And we had Red Velvet cheesecake cupcakes.  My boys insist on calling them Pentecost muffins, but there is nothing muffiny about them - they are definitely dessert!  The cupcakes are from this recipe and have my very favorite frosting - a whipped cream cheese frosting, which is so light and delicious (I half the sugar). 

A Tour of the Godly Play Room

This month many spare moments have been consumed with finishing our Godly Play room.  It helped to have the training we hosted mid-April as a goal.  As with any space, it will never truly be done.  We'll be adding stories, supporting materials and larger banners in the coming months.   But the space feels complete on another level, the hardest work is done and now comes the fun of tweaking and enriching the space.  I love the Natural light in this room and the collection of different natural woods (pecan chairs, birch tables, pine and birch-look shelves...)  Overall, I really love the space that many hands have worked together to create for our little ones.

Much of how the room is laid out (especially what is on each set of shelves) is diagrammed in the Godly Play books.  However, I will point some things out as I know that not everyone reading here has those books available.

This is the view when you enter through the first door.  We've been using this as our threshold.  Because the room was made from two smaller classrooms there is a second door, which I think  we will use next year as it enters more directly to the circle where we start our time together.

In front are the focal shelves.  Our Christ candle, Nativity and Risen Christ, and the Good Shepherd go across the top shelf.   On the shelves underneath are the baptism set, world communion set, circle of the church year and liturgical cloths.

On either side of the focal shelves are the Christmas and Easter shelves.  I love that these shelves highlight the importance of incarnation and redemption.  I'm dreaming of adding creation shelves as well to highlight that doctrine too.


One of the things I love most about Godly Play is the visual time line that the children see and work with each week.  On the top shelf of this set of six shelves are what are called the core stories.  Creation, the Ark, The Great Family (Abraham and Sarah), The Exodus, The 10 Best Ways, The Tabernacle and the Temple (on the second shelf down util we can get another set of shelves), and the Exile.

On the floor in the corner is the desert box, which is used to tell many of the Old testament stories.

Turn the corner and you have the New Testament stories.  The Gold boxes are parables.  The last set of shelves hold the red Pentecost set, one lonely Saint, and "the part not yet written" (a blank journal).  I'm so excited that there is an empty book that the children can write in and can physically see that they are part of God's great story.  I gives me chills to think about how we are gifting our children not only with the the great story God has written, but also with what I hope is a deep sense that they are part of this story.

The sheep skin is for a reading nook that I hope to make more inviting over time.  Our rugs are under the 'observer chair' and need a box or basket to live in.  Yes, still more to be done.  

This is the view of the other side of the room.  

These are our practical life shelves, which aren't typically in a Godly Play Classroom.  I have a feeling this space may be needed as our collection of stories grows, but for now, it is a nice collection of options for the children.  The basket of Jerusalem blocks have been an interesting addition and I'm still not sure how I feel about much of the work that is done with them.  Oh, it is fun work, but not always very purposefully responsive.   

These are our art shelves.  Each class has folders above the shelves where their work can be left from week to week.  The shelves hold watercolors, brushes, beeswax crayons, water, scissors, pencils, pens, prismacolor watercolor and colored pencils, glue, markers, oil pastels, Plasticine, play dough, cotton balls, fabric scraps, clipboards and clay.  Smocks are hung to the right of the shelves and drying shelves for clay and paintings are above the smocks.

These are our cleaning shelves.  Water, tissues, rags, cleaning spray (water and peppermint oil), and a watering can for our growing garden are currently present.  I have a running wish list for these shelves in my head.  The basket on the drying shelves above the cleaning shelves has things the adults might need to use or supervise children using in the classroom- stapler, wet wipes, permanent markers, and tape.

This is the hallway outside the classroom.  

We use the hallway space as storage for feast items, extra matzo, teacher books, extra supplies, seasonal items, etc.  It saves space and decreases clutter in the room.

And here is the room in action.  It always feels a bit lonely without the children. There is such a sense of joy sitting and being present while they go about their work.  

The yellow lantern is for our birthday song, which I'd love to share at some point.

Easter Morn

Happy Easter!  We told our boys (who were super excited to look for their Easter baskets) that they could wake every one in the morning by yelling "Alleluia!"  What a lovely way to wake up in Easter morn!  I'm hoping this is a new tradition (though I wouldn't complain if they wanted to sleep in a bit later.)

He is Risen!