We returned from our two-week jaunt to Florida on Tuesday, and I had an info meeting on Wednesday night for my CC group. It was more than a little disheartening when, despite my best efforts to promote the meeting to every group and contact I know, no one showed up for the meeting. My friend D, who is hoping to tutor Challenge A at my location, and I sat and discussed the future of the group, and it truly seemed that it might be best to just give up and either reabsorb into one of the existing groups or possibly even consider something other than CC.
I left the meeting location feeling sad an confused, and decided to go to Adoration to see if I could discern God's will for me in this endeavor. I arrived at my church at 7pm, and happened upon the Marian hour - so I was able to say the rosary with about ten other parishioners, and then stayed on for a bit of silent prayer after that. I asked God to make it very clear to me how I should proceed; I needed a sign, something to point me in one direction or the other, to let me know if I should give up hope or continue working to build my new community.
Driving home, I thought about all the reasons I'd come to choose CC in the first place, and I felt assured that I do not need to pursue another curriculum choice. That left two options: I could either pursue the development of my new group, or join another of the existing groups in my area. I was a little sad to think I could probably not secure a place for my family in my old group, as they are completely full for the upcoming year, but there are two other groups not far from me who would be glad to have me.
I continued to pray and wait for God to show me how to proceed, and yesterday I got a very unexpected phone call - one of the families I'd spoken with, but didn't expect to enroll, called me out of the blue to tell me they've decided to enroll with my group for the coming year. I was ecstatic!
So yes, God is good, and he truly does answer prayers. I am feeling very blessed right now, and more assured than ever that my new group will indeed get off the ground. We don't need to be huge to start, and I might actually be in the hole a little bit given all the costs associated with starting the new group (insurance, location fees, etc.), but I truly think this is what I am meant to do and the Lord will bless this endeavor.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Traveling
Tomorrow morning (hopefully early, if I can wake up and get the kids moving at a decent hour!) we're driving to Florida to spend two weeks with my sister. My niece is graduating from high school! I'm planning to go light on technology while I'm down there so I can focus on spending quality time with the family, so I probably won't post until I get back.
Have a wonderful couple of weeks!
Have a wonderful couple of weeks!
Friday, May 4, 2012
This is me, from A to Z
I saw this on Scientific Nature of the Whammy and loved the idea - so here goes!
A. Age: 38
B. Bed size: King. And it's a Sleep Number bed, which totally rocks - unless the little ones crawl into bed with us at night, in which case I end up sleeping in the middle.
C. Chore that you hate: Mopping. With two kids and three dogs, it always feels like an exercise in futility.
D. Dogs: Three! Ricky, our black lab mix; Molly, our Boston Terror (I know it's terrier, but if you've ever met one you'd understand); and Albert, the poodle mix who is our old man at age 12.
E. Essential start to your day: Hugs from my kids.
F. Favorite color: Dark purple and navy blue.
G. Gold or Silver: White gold, please. Yellow gold doesn't look good with my skin tone, but all the silver rings I wore in high school inevitably turned my fingers green.
H. Height: 5’5″
I. Instruments you play: None. I've always wanted to play piano, but never got around to it.
J. Job title: Director, Classical Conversations of NE Cobb.
K. Kids: David will be 6 in June, and Sophie will be 5 in August.
.
L. Live: Marietta, GA - a suburb of Atlanta.
M. Mother’s name: Sally.
N. Nicknames: Mommy.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Twice - once after each of my emergency c-sections. (Thank you, pre-eclempsia!)
P. Pet peeves: I'm a Grammar Nazi, so text spelling bugs me, as do errors in punctuation and spelling.
Q. Quote from a movie: “Mother is the word for God on the lips and hearts of children everywhere." It's from The Crow, but it's originally a quote from William Makepeace Thackeray.
R. Right- or left-handed: Right
S. Siblings: One sister and two brothers, all quite a bit older than me (they were 13, 11, and 10 when I was born).
T. Tattoos & Piercings: I have four holes in my left ear and two in my right. I also have five tattoos.
U. Underwear: Modesty prevents me from expounding on this topic :)
V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Tomatoes. I know they're really a fruit, but I've always despised them.
W. What makes you run late: My kids and my inability to stop reading things on the internet.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Mostly dental, though I did have a chest x-ray a few years ago when I had walking pneumonia.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Chicken enchiladas.
Z. Zoo animal: Giraffe! Zoo Atlanta had a baby giraffe a few years ago that was literally the cutest thing I've ever seen.
A. Age: 38
B. Bed size: King. And it's a Sleep Number bed, which totally rocks - unless the little ones crawl into bed with us at night, in which case I end up sleeping in the middle.
C. Chore that you hate: Mopping. With two kids and three dogs, it always feels like an exercise in futility.
D. Dogs: Three! Ricky, our black lab mix; Molly, our Boston Terror (I know it's terrier, but if you've ever met one you'd understand); and Albert, the poodle mix who is our old man at age 12.
E. Essential start to your day: Hugs from my kids.
F. Favorite color: Dark purple and navy blue.
G. Gold or Silver: White gold, please. Yellow gold doesn't look good with my skin tone, but all the silver rings I wore in high school inevitably turned my fingers green.
H. Height: 5’5″
I. Instruments you play: None. I've always wanted to play piano, but never got around to it.
J. Job title: Director, Classical Conversations of NE Cobb.
K. Kids: David will be 6 in June, and Sophie will be 5 in August.
.
L. Live: Marietta, GA - a suburb of Atlanta.
M. Mother’s name: Sally.
N. Nicknames: Mommy.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Twice - once after each of my emergency c-sections. (Thank you, pre-eclempsia!)
P. Pet peeves: I'm a Grammar Nazi, so text spelling bugs me, as do errors in punctuation and spelling.
Q. Quote from a movie: “Mother is the word for God on the lips and hearts of children everywhere." It's from The Crow, but it's originally a quote from William Makepeace Thackeray.
R. Right- or left-handed: Right
S. Siblings: One sister and two brothers, all quite a bit older than me (they were 13, 11, and 10 when I was born).
T. Tattoos & Piercings: I have four holes in my left ear and two in my right. I also have five tattoos.
U. Underwear: Modesty prevents me from expounding on this topic :)
V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Tomatoes. I know they're really a fruit, but I've always despised them.
W. What makes you run late: My kids and my inability to stop reading things on the internet.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Mostly dental, though I did have a chest x-ray a few years ago when I had walking pneumonia.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Chicken enchiladas.
Z. Zoo animal: Giraffe! Zoo Atlanta had a baby giraffe a few years ago that was literally the cutest thing I've ever seen.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
National Day of Prayer
Today is the National Day of Prayer. Apparently having a day where the nation is called to prayer is a tradition going back to George Washington. In 1952, Truman signed a joint resolution by Congress declaring an annual, national day of prayer, and in 1988 Reagan signed an amendment to the law making the first Thursday in May the official National Day of Prayer.
I remember gathering around the flagpole in front of my high school with other students to pray when I was a teenager; this wasn't really considered daring, since I went to a private Christian school, but it still made a statement. Unfortunately I lost the habit of private prayer during the ten years I considered myself to be agnostic, but since I sought out the Roman Catholic Church seven years ago I've been working to reestablish it in my life.
During Lent, I read this delightful little book:
First published in 1949, this book by Anglican theologian John Baillie was an incredible resource, and I felt that it deepened my prayer life. Unfortunately, since I finished it, I've struggled to maintain the same depth and sincerity, not to mention remembering to dedicate even a brief time to solitary prayer every morning and evening.
Recently, at the recommendation of several blogs and a number of good Catholic girlfriends, I've started reading this:
I just finished the third chapter, entitled "God and Godiva" and written by Karen Edmisten, which discusses ways to incorporate prayers into the busy everyday life of a Catholic mother. This chapter really spoke to me, and reminded me that I need to get back to the business of memorizing some of the beautiful Catholic traditional prayers with my children, such as the Morning Offering and the Memorare. In addition to developing/enhancing my own prayer life, hopefully these prayers will help my children establish the habit of daily prayer.
Meanwhile, I'm going to make it a point to spend a little extra time in prayer today. I have much to be grateful for, and many things to pray for as well - chief among them, that God will be with me and help me as I develop this new Classical Conversations community that will start this fall. I'm encouraged and discouraged on a daily basis - encouraged because I do have a few wonderful families already signed up, and discouraged because it's slower going than I'd like and I'm truly terrified we won't have enough students to really make a go of it in August. I suppose I need to pray for patience as well!
What will you pray for on this National Day of Prayer?
I remember gathering around the flagpole in front of my high school with other students to pray when I was a teenager; this wasn't really considered daring, since I went to a private Christian school, but it still made a statement. Unfortunately I lost the habit of private prayer during the ten years I considered myself to be agnostic, but since I sought out the Roman Catholic Church seven years ago I've been working to reestablish it in my life.
During Lent, I read this delightful little book:
First published in 1949, this book by Anglican theologian John Baillie was an incredible resource, and I felt that it deepened my prayer life. Unfortunately, since I finished it, I've struggled to maintain the same depth and sincerity, not to mention remembering to dedicate even a brief time to solitary prayer every morning and evening.
Recently, at the recommendation of several blogs and a number of good Catholic girlfriends, I've started reading this:
I just finished the third chapter, entitled "God and Godiva" and written by Karen Edmisten, which discusses ways to incorporate prayers into the busy everyday life of a Catholic mother. This chapter really spoke to me, and reminded me that I need to get back to the business of memorizing some of the beautiful Catholic traditional prayers with my children, such as the Morning Offering and the Memorare. In addition to developing/enhancing my own prayer life, hopefully these prayers will help my children establish the habit of daily prayer.
Meanwhile, I'm going to make it a point to spend a little extra time in prayer today. I have much to be grateful for, and many things to pray for as well - chief among them, that God will be with me and help me as I develop this new Classical Conversations community that will start this fall. I'm encouraged and discouraged on a daily basis - encouraged because I do have a few wonderful families already signed up, and discouraged because it's slower going than I'd like and I'm truly terrified we won't have enough students to really make a go of it in August. I suppose I need to pray for patience as well!
What will you pray for on this National Day of Prayer?
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Playhouse
We bought this cardboard playhouse for the kids a few years ago at Christmas, but my sister bought the same one so we stuck ours in the basement and forgot about it. I saw it yesterday when I was on the treadmill, and remembered that my friend H was bringing her kids over today for a playdate - and what better time to build and color an enormous playhouse than when friends are over!
Hopefully this will keep them busy for a few hours!
Hopefully this will keep them busy for a few hours!
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