Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday started bright (or dark with rainclouds) and early. We have a tradition of making Resurrection Cookies the night before Easter, but the weather forecast was calling for rain, and the cookies do not turn out well when the humidity is high. So we arose early to make Resurrection Rolls instead. This will probably be our new tradition. I found the rolls are simpler to make than the cookies. They also made a nice breakfast with coffee and sausage.



In spite of the downpour, thunder, and lightning, we had a large turnout at Mass. In contrast with the dreariness outside, the sanctuary was bright, warm, and fragrant with lilies, candles, and incense. In addition to celebrating Easter, we got to see the young ones at Church receive their First Holy Communion. I taught the class this year for the first time, and I was proud of the four young men who received their First Holy Communion.

We came home to a roast in the slowcooker and enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner together. And of course, we took lots and lots of pictures. It was Juju's first Easter!

Diamond Digging

Happy birthday, Mojo! I can't believe my girl is 8 years old already.



For her birthday, Mojo wanted to go digging for diamonds. So we packed some sandwiches and drinks and made a day of it. We didn't find any diamonds, but we did find some other cool rocks. Mojo also got a bag of quartz from the gift shop that she thought was as pretty as diamonds.

Science Fair

Today our homeschool group hosted a science fair. This is the first year we've done this, and I was very pleased with the turn-out. There were 16 projects presented by the children, and I learned some new things about ladybugs, camels, hippos, plants, and diet coke mixed with mentos. :-) We gave out certificates to the children who participated, and we plan to submit a picture to our local newspaper.



This was Mojo's introduction to the scientific method. Her hypothesis was "I think that if I add enough salt to water, an object will float in the water." She tested her hypothesis by placing an egg in one cup of water. She added salt, one teaspoon at a time, until the egg floated in the water. She recorded her observations with the help of Mama and the camera. Her conclusion was that adding 7 teaspoons of salt to one cup of water would make an egg float in the water. Adding more fresh water caused the egg to float between the fresh and salt water. We then learned some interesting facts about the Dead Sea.



Mojo loves science, and she really enjoyed learning about the scientific method and conducting her own experiment. We chose a simple expirement because I wanted her to do most of the work. I helped with taking the pictures, printing things out, and helping her to organize her materials, but she concucted the experiment, made the observations, drew a conclusion, and wrote everything down. She was proud of her work, and I was proud of it, too!

Our First Tournament

For those of you wondering how we did yesterday, it all went pretty well. Mojo is 7 (almost 8) years old, which is the youngest our system will accept children, and she's been learning for almost a year. She tied for 3rd place in sparring and got a participation medal for kata. I was just proud that she was brave enough to get out there and do her kata in front of everyone!



I also competed this year and won 1st place in empty-hand kata, 2nd place in weapons kata (nunchaku), and 2nd place in sparring.

Sibling Love

One of the reasons I decided to have a large-ish family--aside from the fact that babies are just so darn sweet!--is because I wanted my children to have the experience of siblings. I've heard it said (was it Pope John Paul II?) that the best gift you can give your children is another sibling. It certainly has been true in our household. Sure, they fight. Drives me up the wall. But they also learn that life is more fun when they get along. Life is more fun when they share. My girls are blessed with sisters. They are also blessed with learning how to tolerate boys. My boys are blessed with a brother. They are also blessed with sisters to pester. The older ones are blessed with having babies in the house, who will light up each time they walk into the room and reach for them. By the time the babies are older, perhaps they will be blessed with nieces and nephews to babysit. They will learn a lot from each other growing up.

The other day, I witnessed yet another reason to give your children siblings. You know that game that babies love to play when they are sitting in their highchairs? The "throw-something-on-the-floor-and-squeal-until-someone-hands-it-back-to-you" game? Juju discovered this game the other night while I was cooking supper. I groaned. But Gem and Caveman were there in a flash giggling and picking up Juju's toys, and the three of them kept each other entertained for a good 30 minutes. I hope to get a video next time!

Here are some recent pictures of the siblings...

Juju's First Bites

We delay feeding our children solid food until they have good head support, can sit well, show an interest in eating, and are old enough that their GI systems are more developed (more able to digest solid food and less chance of developing allergies.) It's usually around the time that they get their first teeth. Juju has been interested in eating for awhile now and has been grabbing my fork when I am holding him. Of course, we waited until the whole family was home so that we could all see and take pictures and videos. Even though this is my fifth child, these little milestones don't get any less exciting!

Here he is taking his first bites of a mashed banana. You can hear his siblings in the background making a big fuss over him.


Some pictures...


He thoroughly enjoyed his first solid food!

Look What Mojo Did!

Mojo has been asking for about a year now to pierce her ears. We waited to make sure that's really what she wanted to do, and then we decided that she could get them pierced for her 8th birthday. Her birthday is in 2 weeks, but we got them a little early. She was really nervous that it was going to hurt, but she did fine! She only flinched a little. Now she's really excited about her new earrings!
Here she is showing off her new earrings (click on thumbnail):

Lent

As most everyone knows, Lent began this week on Wednesday. Some of you may have read my blog in the past on Lent and what it means to me, but I think it's worth repeating.

Easter is the holiest day of the year for Catholics. It is the day that we celebrate Christ's resurrection from the tomb, His victory over death, and consequently our own victory over death. St. Paul tells us that we were buried with Christ in our baptism (Col. 2:12) and that if we have died with Him, we shall also be raised with Him (Rom. 6:3-11). But prior to Easter, we Catholics (and many of our other Christian brothers and sisters) have a period of preparation that we call "Lent", in which we follow Christ on His journey to the cross. I grew up in a faith tradition which does not observe Lent, and since becoming Catholic, I've discovered that Easter means so much more to me personally after taking the Lenten faith journey.

The word "Lent" is probably derived from the Old English word "lencten", which means "lengthen". The season of Lent falls during the transition of winter to spring in the northern hemisphere, during which time the days begin to lengthen.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days (excluding Sundays). As you may recall from both the Old and New Testaments, the number 40 signifies testing. We use these 40 days to discipline ourselves, to sacrifice, and to reflect, so that we may walk more closely with our Lord. On Ash Wednesday, we receive ashes on our foreheads, in the shape of a cross, with the words "Remember, O man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The receiving of ashes on the forehead is reminiscent of the Old Testament, where men put on sackcloth and sat in ashes as a sign of sorrow and repentance from their sins. Our ashes come from the burning of the palms from the previous year, and they are blessed, sprinkled with holy water, and fumigated with incense. Our liturgical color changes to purple, a color of solemnity and penance.

During Lent, we abstain from meat on Fridays as a small sacrifice. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, we also fast. The fast, as specified by the Church, consists of two light meals and one regular meal, no snacks in between. For some, that is hard; for others, not so much. The Church offers these guidelines as a minimum, but we are called to observe the spirit of the law rather than just the letter. For instance, fish is not considered "meat" during our days of abstinence. I don't care so much for fish, so I will sometimes eat fish on Fridays. However, if I loved fried catfish, I would avoid those catfish dinners with all the trimmings. If I were vegetarian, I would choose something else to abstain from on Fridays.
Of course, children, the elderly, and those with medical conditions are not expected to fast. When I am pregnant or breastfeeding, I will limit myself to just what I need and fast from other pleasures that day, such as sweets, the internet, etc.
It is also customary for Catholics to give up some sort of pleasure or add extra prayers or acts of charity for the duration of Lent. Although, as I mentioned earlier, Sundays are excluded from Lent. That is because Sundays are always a day of celebration of our Lord's resurrection.
On Fridays during Lent, we meet for Stations of the Cross. If we can't make it to chuch, we try to do them at home. Here is a good Stations of the Cross especially for children.

The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. This celebration begins outside with the blessing of palm leaves by the priest, and the singing of "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Then the congregation proceeds into the Church. For the gospel reading, the Passion of Christ is read. The blessed palm leaves are brought home by the faithful and placed in their homes until the following Lent.
At the end of Lent, we celebrate the Great Three Days, or the Paschal Triduum. The first day of the Triduum, the Christian Passover, begins at sunset on Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord's Supper. This feast commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, and includes the washing of feet. After the Mass, the altar is stripped in preparation of Good Friday.
Good Friday is the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated. This is a very somber service. The altar is bare, the holy water is absent from the fonts, and there are no processional or recessional hymns. The faithful make their way to the front where they venerate the crucifix, usually with a kiss.

I am often asked why we give up meat on Fridays, why we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and why we give up some personal pleasure for the duration of Lent. What is the point? What does it do? Is it just some arbitrary, legalistic law? I don't believe so. I have found that when I give up an unnecessary pleasure, I become more disciplined. Learning to discipline myself leads me to greater obedience to Christ. Obedience to Christ leads me into a deeper relationship with Him. Making the committment to fast and abstain during Lent is something that I never regret. The spiritual benefits are tremendous!
And, as I explain to my children when they grumble about no meat, my Lord took a flogging for me. He took thorns in His head, nails in His wrist, a sword in His side. He went to hell and back. My sacrifices seem so small in comparison.

Lent FAQs

Our Homeschool Group

One of the things that everyone wants to know about when they hear that we are homeschooling is socialization. How do we get the kids around other kids? Do they have friends? How do we keep them from being bored at home?
The answer to these questions is yes, our children socialize with other children! We socialize through martial arts, basketball, library story hour, church, and our local homeschool group.

Ever since we've first started homeschooling, we've been part of a fairly large Catholic homeschooling group. It is a great group, and we've done a lot of fun things with them...but it's a 45 minute drive. We are not always able to participate in the activities because of the distance. I've always wished that there were something closer to where we live.

This year, there are three other homeschooling families just in our small church! And from the Department of Education website, we can see that there were about 160 kids in our county registered to homeschool last year. We know that they are out there, but we didn't have an organized group. So a few of us started meeting regularly back in November and have been putting ads in the paper and spreading the news by word-of-mouth. Things are finally starting to take off. Our last playgroup had nine families show up! Not bad for our small town, and I hear that there are many more interested that we haven't met yet. Some of the moms have created an email group and a calendar of activities. So far, we've had park playdates, visited the museum, participated in the Christmas parade, have made crafts, and had a Valentine's Day party. We have planned in the next couple months a science fair, an art exhibit, tie-dyeing t-shirts, and a basic self-defense/stranger danger class for children (which I will teach). We are also putting together a 'yearbook', with pictures of our activities and playdates.

Mojo now has two best friends that she sees several times a week. Caveman has found a little boy his age who loves to wrestle just as much as he does. And I am making some really good friends as well.

We had a float in the Christmas parade:


And here are some pictures from our play dates...

Look what Juju can do!

Wow, this has been a busy week for Juju! He is now a half a year old, has gotten a brand-new tooth, and can sit up by himself for several seconds!



Here are some more pictures we've taken of him recently (click the thumbnails to see the full-sized pictures)...