Add to the Mix, a Labrador Puppy!

As if I didn't have enough to do already, this adorable pup walks into our lives and with him a renewed spirit of energy. It’s kind of a long story and I have a little time before the twins wake up for a night time feeding, so I will tell it to you.

Six days ago, there was a post on an email list that I am a member of, offering a free chocolate Lab puppy. I didn't respond immediately because I was so swamped I missed it. Well a few days later I was reviewing my messages and my eyes just about popped out of my head. Who would give away a Labrador puppy? There can't be something wrong with him, he's a Lab, who wouldn't want a Lab and free?? Well if you have ever had the pleasure of knowing or having a Lab puppy, you know what the answer to that one is. :)  So I just replied that if the puppy was not yet claimed that our family would be interested, and hit the send button. At that moment, I smacked myself on the forehead, and had a hesitation. What did I just do? Did I just say yes to a pet, a huge pet, without consulting with Giovanni? Yes, dodo bird, ya sure did. 

I kinda couldn't help it. See years ago I had an encounter with a charming chocolate Labrador, Zach. He was an old fella, but he was HUGE! I used to work for a freeway bridge construction company as an administrative assistant, when I lived in California. I was probably around 20 years old, young and dumb. Most of the time I was left alone in a dusty construction yard trailer. And Zach, who belonged to a crane operator, kept me company. 

On one particular day, against the wishes of our construction supervisor, I let Zach hang out with me in the office/mobile trailer. Mid morning a stranger walked in asking for a job. I told him that we never hire from the field, and he should contact his local union for more information. He insisted that I give him more information and proceeded to come closer to my desk. I became a little afraid because this dude seemed like his intentions were more than just looking for a job. Zach, who was lying at my feet sprung up from behind my desk, placed his front paws on the desk and was face to face with the stranger. Needless to say the stranger was scared off by Zach, and split. I think it was a close one for me that day. 

That day is when I fell in love with chocolate Labs. So when someone was offering a puppy free, I just kinda acted impulsively. I did say a quick prayer, God, if it be your will, please let me have this puppy, please let Giovanni say that we can have him. If you know that we cannot handle this puppy right now, it’s ok, but I would really, really like this puppy.

When Giovanni came home, I reminded him about that story, and told him that someone was offering this puppy and showed him the email. I didn't tell Giovanni, that I prayed about it, because I didn't want to add unnecessary guilt. His initial reaction was that he couldn't believe it. But he said, "Yes, if it was free, and there were no other problems. Yes, when can we pick him up?" At this point I had not received a response about the puppy. Matter of fact it took 4 days to hear back from the puppy's owner. Someone had already taken the puppy but returned him the next day because it was just not the right fit for them. (I do know that Labrador puppies are a lot of work and they are a large breed. They require lots of attention and will eat anything.) This was great news for me, and so I admitted to my husband and children that I prayed to God for this dog, and what a miracle it was that He heard my prayers! This was a great opportunity to show my children that we can come to our Father, in prayer and love to ask Him for anything. We can pray that it be God's will, because I think that God would never give us something that would interfere with our salvation. If the puppy could not be ours, then that would be ok, because God knows what is and isn't good for us, even if it was a cute little puppy. 

And so he came to us. He was delivered that day, on a Sunday. If I was made to wait just one day, I would have not slept over the excitement that he was mine! Isn't he just adorable?!

Our Home School Philosophy and the World

A few times a year it gets kinda crazy around here and I start to lose focus on why we do this to ourselves. Yes, I am talking about home schooling our 10 kids. 


I could just send the kids off the local public school or the local charter school. Once, (2009) I even tried a k12 program thinking that it would solve the chaos. That was a big mistake. 


So here we go..."Why do we home school?" or better yet, "Why are we Catholic and home schooling?' That silly question comes to visit at least 4-5 times a year, typically just before Spring arrives.


Our philosophical conclusion came down to this; We are not home schooling to shield our children from the ugliness of the world, but to prepare and arm them with their faith to live in this world so that they will one day, through God's grace, be with Him in Heaven forever.


Now I am not saying that I purposely expose my kids to all the ugliness the world has to offer. No, I do my very best to expose them to the beauty of their faith, how to avoid sin, and if they happen to sin, that we have this wonderful church that has this wonderful sacrament called Reconciliation, and most amazingly that Christ not only forgives us, but he waits for us every day to receive Him at the altar, our precious Mass.


When my oldest son was about 7 years old we took a trip to Long Beach, California. On that awesome sunny day we took a walk downtown to a local burger joint. On our way there I noticed two dudes holding hands. I prayed that  my son wouldn't notice, but being the observant kid that he was, he noticed. My mind sprung back in time, like a flash to when my husband's high school Vietnamese friend told us that in Vietnam, some members of the same sex, sometimes hold hands while walking.(It's true, look it up.) Bam! I was saved from having to go into detail right then and there to explain what was going on right in front of us. I simply gave this explanation and he was satisfied. At least this was sufficient for his understanding at 7 years old.


This topic didn't come up again till he was 12. At this time a few of the neighborhood kids started calling each other "gay" or would otherwise use it as an adjective like. "Dude, your shirt looks gay." At this point I felt he was old enough to hear the truth. So I explained that "gay" has two meanings, one to be cheerful and the other was a term used to describe a homosexual person. You can imagine his embarrassment and that word was not heard from again. 


Now, don't get me wrong I am not a homo-phobe, nor do I teach my children to be either. (When I was a teen mother, my only true friend was a homosexual teen, who used to carry all my books for me during my third trimester while I attended high school, David still love ya honey!) I simply want them to speak gracefully, keeping in mind that God is who we should aim to please with our language, our bodies, and how we express ourselves.


Now, of course I don't look forward to these moments when I have to explain how the world works, but its my job. God give me the grace to do it in a pleasing way to Him and I still always pray that my child's innocence is preserved.

Home Schooling Primary Learners

When I home schooled my first kindergartner, my now 12 year old son Giovanni, I was terrified! I didn't know how I was going to get this little kid who didn't even know his alphabet to put letters together and read words. Basically, if your K level child can finish the year knowing the alphabet, numbers -20, colors, shapes, follow directions, you are doing pretty good. If a K level child can finish the year knowing letter sounds and simple addition/subtraction...WOW! you deserve a real pat on the back. No pressure though, some of my kids didn't start reading till they were 6 years old and in first grade, some of them were reading at 3 and 4 years old.  It all depends on their maturity level. 

A preK friend of mine once told me that Kindergarten is to generally teach children how to follow direction. If a child can't do that, then there will be problems later on for sure. 

I have used 100 easy lessons to, but I generally pulled ideas that worked for some of my kids who needed more kenesthetic approach.

Flash cards and games are easy, cheap, and older kids can use them to play/teach little kids. This will make homeschooling a joy because you will get to see your kids virtues in action.

Spelling Bee Bingo, excellent game! http://www.boardgames.com/spbeebi.html

The Lady Bug Game: http://www.theladybuggame.com/

Boggle JR: http://www.hasbro.com/shop/details.cfm?guid=8EC0B9CC-6D40-1014-8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4&product_id=8627&src=endeca

As for curriculum, I do have a list of good old standbys that have always worked for us:

Little Stories for Little Folks by CHC 

http://www.chcweb.com/catalog/Exclusives/PreReadingAndPhonics/LittleStoriesforLittleFolksCatholicPhonicsReaders/product_info.html

Primary Phonics readers and workbooks

http://intervention.schoolspecialty.com/search/index.cfm

Spectrum Phonics Series (K-6th grade) (better buy is the e-book versions, you can reproduce these)

http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/Products/CarsonDellosa/PID-0769682901.aspx

Starfall is free. You can download readers and the worksheets free. I especially LOVE the ABC worksheets and online letters and sounds videos. But my kids found the writing journal work sheets a little confusing.

http://www.starfall.com/

More Starfall is also great, and its only $35 for 3 users per year. I REALLY like this one. I like that I can sit for a little while with my primary learners all at once and then let them work independantly while I work with another child.

http://more.starfall.com/

Have fun! These years go by too fast.

My Revisitation With Routine Part 1

Before the twins were born, I had a beautiful routine that worked like a well oiled machine. After the twins were born my mom came to visit and did most of the postpartum care, while my husband spent some time off work to help with the night feedings and mostly deal with the other 8 children. My older children did an outstanding job helping with little ones. This is the point where I think it all went wrong. 

I am not talking about all the help I had. Believe me, I thank God for my wonderful mother, my sweet children and most especially my dear husband  every day. Their help was essential. What did go wrong was that I did not have enough confidence in them to keep up my routine, and so I just let it all go. I felt that keeping up with my routine was going to be too much and I didn't want to overwhelm them with the already daunting task of feeding, cleaning, and discipline of 8 children. I thought that everyone deserved a break from the daily grind of chores and schoolwork. It was only six weeks right? What a HUGE mistake. Those six weeks of lax have turned into 12 months of chaos.

During this past year, I have lost confidence in my ability to be the best mom and wife to my family. A small part of it has to do with my relationship with my mother. Again, not complaining. She is a devoted mother, who loves me very much. Parents aren't perfect, I know...but, there are just some unresolved issues there that are difficult to allow resurface (although I know that if I did deal with them, it would probably make things better for us, I think). Most of all lack of preparation, little sleep, nursing twins, postpartum depression, my own health and ADD issues, also have played a big part in adding to the chaos.

All year long since the birth of my twins, I have struggled to keep up with the old routine. And maybe that's my problem. The routine is old, about 6 years old and it may be time to reformulate a new one. I have been debating that one for a while, it’s just hard to let go of something that worked for so long. 

So now onto Step 1; reassess the needs of my family our priorities and start from there. 

Here goes...remember it’s just a start. 

1. God

2. My husband

3. My children

4. A clean home (maybe this should be #5?)

5. My children's education

6. Outside obligations

Twinkies

This picture was taken on the day Francesca and Pia were baptized. It was a gorgeous day. It was cold and rainy. Just before the ceremony, the sun shine broke through the clouds and two rainbows appeared in the sky! Thank you Lord for your abundant blessings and those miraculous reminders that you will never leave us.

Preparation for Suffering for the Sake of Love

Yesterday afternoon, I was thinking about the old Catholic line, "Offer it up!" at the same time that I was getting myself ready to take on another week of prompting and managing my household of 10 children through the week. I know I am going to have moments of pure craziness, and quenching those small fires with mantras, (a mystical formula of invocation or incantation) sincerely of course consisting of, God please help me or Mary, Mother of God, pray for me. 

Monsignor Nestor's homily at Mass this past Sunday, reminded us all to love our closest neighbors, our spouses and children. The plan for this week is to ask God to give me the GRACES to love my closest neighbors, with every ounce of charity that I can muster. (St. Teresa of the Andes, Patron Saint of Problem Children, please pray for me.) Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I am also supposed to do this with JOY! Yes, joy. 

As David Gregson puts it, "The key to joy in suffering is love. The more we love Our Lord, the more we'll rejoice in whatever brings us closer to Him. Suffering can do that. Christ came to suffer, to atone for the sins of the world, and when we suffer, we become like Him, if we offer our sufferings with His, for the benefit of others. The more like Him we become, the closer we come to Him, and if we love Him, that is what we want most of all."

2 Thess. 1:11-12 "To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ."

There is Nothing Under the Christmas Tree?!

Every year we try different ways to teach the real message of Christmas to our children. The last couple of years have been more difficult to fill the void under the tree with the wants and desires of our 10 children. This years wanted things include the latest video game equipment, battery operated hamsters, guitars, bikes, and air soft supplies. All of which would put us in debt of course.

Well its 6 days till Christmas day and not one gift has been placed under the tree. But can you believe it? Not one child has asked why! Has Christmas gone unnoticed?

I don't think so. The kids have spent the days anticipating Christmas day by decorating the tree & house, setting up the outdoor lighted displays, making tree ornaments out of paper, glue and glitter, singing Christmas carols, hot cocoa & cookies, making ginger bread houses, and walks in the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights. So there is no shortage of Christmas cheer in this house for sure!

We of course highlight Advent, the feast day of Saint Nicholas with candy filled shoes, and have even incorporated a Jesse Tree. (More on the Jesse tree later.)

Of course we couldn't just leave the kids empty handed this Christmas. Instead of Christmas gifts under the tree, we bought a gift for the whole family. We are going to the Winter Wonderslam concert with Toby Mac, one of our favorite Christian performers. It was still a hit to the wallet, $36 a pop x's 12, yikes! But we will be rocking it out together and what a memory for all of us!

Yeah, the kids are stoked. Daddy & Mommy are too.