Daybook 4-11-11

Outside my window...

It is dark, the day is over.

I am listening to...

the dog licking her paws...it is very quiet at last.

I am wearing...

brown socks, brown slacks and a brown sleeveless shirt.

I am pondering...

my schedule over the next few weeks...

I am reading...

Toys and Everywhere Present

In the kitchen...

it is clean...yippee...although that does also mean there hasn't been a lot of cooking done in there. I am hoping to try my hand at prosfora this week, without my nouno...we'll see :)

I am thinking...

that I will be very sad when all of the services for lent are over.

I am creating...

decorations for our new school room. We recently relocated our school room and now we are creating some things to go on the walls. Most recently completed was a board which displays the Prayer of St. Ephraim.

Towards a living education...

lots of math this week with Teaching Textbooks and lots of living books to read. Along with a few quick nature study trips.

Beauty in the home...

little by little we are working our way through our home decorating and adding personal touches. Although we will have been here one year later this week, we still have lots to do.

The domestic church...

we have attended many things at church this lent...6th hour, Compline, Pre-sanctified liturgies...God willing we will continue for the remainder of the lenten season. We are also reading From I-ville to You-ville.

I am hoping and praying...

that we will be able to make some progress on a huge project. Also for a dear friend's grandmother.

In the garden...

my dear husband has showered our bare beds with rose bushes. So lovely to see their blooms and remember my dad.

One of my favorite things...

confession...as strange as it may sound, I love confession and the lightness that it brings to my mind and soul.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

as many church services as possible, lots of dance classes, lots of hockey practice, lots of hockey games, piano, violin, cleaning, bills, and school.

A picture thought to share...

The beautiful view from our hotel room in California. We had a spectacular view of the Disney fireworks!!!

Blessings!!!

theresesophia

Finding God in the Panic

A few days ago marked an anniversary for me. Nothing to be celebrated...but a day that marked 10 years of having panic attacks. A whole decade. If you've not experienced a panic attack then be thankful. If you have, then you know where I'm coming from and I am so sorry you know this pain.

For years, I have been trying to find a root cause...

- too much caffeine

- too much sugar

- not praying enough

- too much going on in my life

...and the list goes on and on. But after 10 years of searching, I still have not found one magic answer that has relieved me of this thorn. A crippling thorn which prevents me from being the mom I want to be and the person I know I could be.

Sometimes, I manage to go for awhile without having one. The days become routine and I start to feel like I have a life. And then one day, without warning, the fear grips me...I know this is it...my last minutes on earth and there is nothing I can do about it. It would seem that after facing this for a decade now, I would know, know that this is just a feeling not a reality but these feelings are irrational, not to be talked away with rational words. And then for weeks, I struggle to maintain control in the face of constant stress and panic but an attempt to control a panic attack is like attempting to control the tide.

But the message I give today is one of hope. After a very difficult, panic-plagued month, I found a bridge to a less panicked day. Not a cure for panic attacks, but a way of dealing with a painful thorn. A combination of three things that helped me out of a pit of despair...

1. Sunshine/Fresh air... with the winter months, I neglected something that is so vital to creation. As I crept out of the cocoon of our warm, cozy house and began to spend time out of doors, I saw a dramatic decrease in my attacks.

2. Do something (especially for someone else)... if it were an option, I would hit the bed at the first sign of anxiety but that is not my life right now, so I would sit quietly and suffer through the storm. But what I have found is that if I can get myself moving, give to someone else, do for someone else, I am able to leave the storm and move past the destruction.

3. Give thanks... In the book, "One Thousand Gifts" the author talks about the "hard thanks." Giving thanks for those things we wouldn't really consider gifts - pain, destruction, illness and death. Could I really give thanks for a panic attack? Ummm...the answer to that would be NO. But what I did realize is that each panic attack brought me to God, praying, praying hard. And that brought me to thanksgiving... thankful that with each panic attack I turned to God, relied on Him. At first, relied on Him to take away the panic attacks but now I see that He was waiting for me to give the "hard thanks." Thanks for a pain that would bring me closer to Him. That even in the pain, God could make the blessing if I would but thank Him for the opportunity.

Are my days of panic attacks over? Unfortunately not. But I pray that if you do suffer from panic attacks that these things may bring you comfort. That these things may bless you as I have been blessed!!!

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)

Blessings!!!

theresesophia

An Advent Calendar for Orthodox Christians

I first saw this adorable project here. So I clicked over here for all the details. I just love crafty bloggers :) So cute I just had to try it!!! What I really love is that this project wasn't locked into the typical 25 numbers found on every advent calendar on the market. With an extra 15 buckets, I could create an advent calendar with the 40 numbers needed for an Orthodox Christian advent.

I wanted something super easy so instead of drilling holes, I decided I would look for a peg board. After a trip to the local chain lumber yard, I had this...

A can of green spray paint later...

After it dried we brought it inside to continue with the project...

I went to the dollar store and sure enough...look what I found...

While I was at the dollar store, I looked for stickers that I could use to number the buckets. Sure enough, they had alphabet and number stickers...in RED. I bought several packages and then each bucket received a number...

Now here is where I deviated from the original in a big way. See this advent calendar also serves as our Jesse Tree. By searching the internet for FREE clip art images, I was able to find most objects suggested by this group. I printed the small images and then used M*d P*dge to affix the image to the correctly numbered bucket...

And the buckets ended up looking like this...

Using pegboard hooks I purchased at a local hardware store, I arranged them in the shape of a tree and hung the buckets in order.

Ta-Da!!!

So, here is how we use our advent calendar/Jesse tree. At the beginning of the season, all buckets have the numbers facing out. Each day, we read the reading of the day and one of the children turns the bucket over to reveal the image for the day. For each day, the children are to do something nice for someone else (but they cannot tell the person "this is my nice thing I'm doing for the day"). They then write down what they have done on a slip of a paper and place it in the bucket for that day. On Christmas day we will gather all the strips of paper as our gift to Jesus Christ for His birthday.

Now, just so you'll know this was a fairly inexpensive project even with my changes. The pegboard cost about $1.75. A can of spray paint $3.50 and the hooks were $0.16 each, which came to about $6.40. 4 packages of stickers for $4.00 and 14 packages of buckets for $14.00.

Fun crafty project from a minimally crafty mom.

May God bless you abundantly this Christmas season!

theresesophia

Daybook 12-7-10

Outside my window...

It is dark and cold. It is supposed to be bedtime :)

I am listening to...

my husband play PS3 and my son helping him

I am wearing...

socks, black sweat pants, and my favorite Stars "sweater"

I am pondering...

the power of prayer.

I am reading...

Safe Haven

In the kitchen...

still not quite sure where that is. Probably need to go to the grocery store before I get too excited about trying to make a meal :{

I am thinking...

about our school updates for the coming semester and the things that need to be done to bring about some positive changes.

I am creating...

a Christmas project that I will share here this week!

Towards a living education...

we have hit a major shift in how we need to do school. I have been teaching the way I wish I had been taught but that is not necessarily how my children learn. I am revising lots of our curriculum and am working towards creating the best learning environment for them rather than ME.

Beauty in the home...

we have been working on decorating our home for the Christmas season. Simple touches to most rooms to bring the season alive... a tin small tree in the washroom, a music box nativity with a few small ornaments on a shelf in the dining area, a festive bow and towels in the kitchen. The tree is up and the kids and I decorated it on St. Nicholas day... a wonderful tradition to continue.

The domestic church...

Liturgy yesterday for the feast of St. Nicholas. A reading each day to take us through the season, from the Children's Bible Reader based on the list found here. And the project I've been working on...

I am hoping and praying...

for a very close friend of Princess. Her name is Rachel and she and Princess dance together. She suffered, we believe, an aneurysm last Monday. She was doing well and improving quickly although she had lost movement on her left side. She had a horrible set back yesterday but appears to be improving today. If you could pray for her and her family, I know all prayers are greatly appreciated!!!

In the garden...

the leaves have been raked and it looks lovely. The husband and Stinkbug put lights out for Christmas and the lights make me smile every time I see them, even when they are not on.

One of my favorite things...

Princess's dance teacher. She has been such a loving example to all of her students. She has been at the hospital by Rachel's side, much of the past week. She has comforted the students that are hurting and calls to give us updates when there is news of setbacks or progress.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

dance and hockey of course, several trips to the hospital, a trip to the homeschool store, Christmas shopping, school, and definitely a trip to the grocery store.

A picture thought to share...

Blessings!!!

theresesophia

Daybook 11/29/10

Outside my window...

is a beautiful autumn day. A little cool, a little damp, and very windy.

I am listening to...

the clock ticking and the wind blowing the leaves.

I am wearing...

my favorite pj bottoms, a cami, and my favorite robe.

I am pondering...

how long I should let the children sleep after a very exhausting weekend.

I am reading...

2 books that I just started last night. So new I don't know the titles and I'm not going to walk to the bedroom and find out right now :)

In the kitchen...

WHAT KITCHEN??? This house has a kitchen? Hmmm...maybe I need to find it this week?

I am thinking...

that I need to stop thinking and just start DOING!

I am creating...

a gift for someone that I should have finished a year and a half ago. And if I can get to the store, I have a project I want to create this week that I will share here.

Towards a living education...

in between all the kids' activities this past week, I did some tweaking on our homeschool. I'm looking forward to getting it started. I've got lesson plans done and will update their binders as I meet with each of them today. Another post I need to share.

Beauty in the home...

I'm really looking forward to decorating our home for Christmas. So much to do though! On second thought perhaps this would be the perfect time to have a simple Christmas. Hmmm...that might make for a good post as well :)

The domestic church...

looking forward to liturgy on Tuesday with dear friends. We have been enjoying our advent time during school. Look for a post on what we are doing for that this year.

I am hoping and praying...

that I will be able to inspire my children this Christmas season to deepen their relationships with Christ and to share their love of Christ with others.

In the garden...

lots of leaves to be raked. As strange as this may sound, to me this is a blessing of fun because we've not ever had enough leaves to be raked before.

One of my favorite things...

being able to watch my children do the activities they LOVE. Nothing makes my heart swell like watching them (and I did get to do a lot of that this past weekend).

A few plans for the rest of the week...

school - lots and lots of school, liturgy, hockey, hockey, hockey, dance, dance, dance, raking leaves, cleaning up, cooking, shopping for Christmas decorations, and adding some Christmas spirit to our home.

No picture thought to share this week...I've been too busy living it :)

Blessings!!!

theresesophia

Daybook 10/19/10

Outside my window...

is another beautiful day. The sun is shining and there is a slight coolness to the air.

I am listening to...

the tick of the school room clock and my fingers on the keyboard, the children are all still asleep.

I am wearing...

my favorite pj bottoms and a cami.

I am pondering...

so many things... routines, cleaning, homeschooling, parenting, marriage...the list goes on.

I am reading...

Water for Elephants (which so far has been surprisingly good...it was a recommendation and I'm not always too sure about those :) and A Beginner's Guide to Prayer (it's time for me to do some spiritual reading too).

In the kitchen...

I've actually cooked this past week and am looking forward to spending more time in the kitchen this week. A very dear friend introduced me to Relish and I am loving the ease and simplicity of having my grocery list prepared and having all I need on hand to create new meals for my family.

I am thinking...

that I am so very blessed to have a wonderful husband, 4 great kids, an awesome puppy, lots of wonderful friends, and a God who loves me.

I am creating...

a clean and organized home, and it feels really good. Maybe I'll get to that sewing desk before Christmas :)

Towards a living education...

I am loving the lesson plans I created which fit so well with our lifestyle. Lots of reading and math this week. We are really focusing on the Odyssey this week so hopefully we will all have a better understanding of it :)

Beauty in the home...

Still working on the kitchen this week, but it's almost done. And the washroom is better than I could have imagined...I almost don't mind doing laundry...ALMOST, I said.

The domestic church...

we celebrated the liturgy of St. Luke yesterday and Fr. Chris said some prayers for my dad. A beautiful day. I'm looking forward to resurrecting our prayer time, or at least MY prayer time.

I am hoping and praying...

for God's forgiveness.

In the garden...

the children planted some flower boxes to go in front of the kitchen windows.

One of my favorite things...

getting a book I have been wanting in the mail. Now I need to finish what I am reading so I can start on it... Remember thy First Love.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

trying to keep it simple again this week - school, hockey, dance, music lessons, rehearsals, cleaning, cooking and bills.

A picture thought to share...

Memory Eternal!!!

Blessings!!!

theresesophia

Daybook 10-11-10

Outside my window...

a dark, cool evening.

I am listening to...

the hum of the tv and a "cop" show

I am wearing...

pajama bottoms and a cami

I am pondering...

how slowly the days pass while the months and years fly by.

Ia m reading...

Bag of Bones

In the kitchen...

looking forward to actually doing some cooking this week. The cooler weather has me anxious to do some baking as well.

I am thinking...

that I want to get my sewing machine desk put together this week and set up my machine...I'm ready to sew.

I am creating...

two blankets for hockey, actually Rosebud will be doing most of the work while I supervise.

Towards a living education...

we are back to hitting it hard after some light weeks while we had visitors. Focusing on math and reading this week and especially adding in more literature.

Beauty in the home...

kitchen almost complete. Hoping to finish up cleaning projects at our new home this week along with organizing our paper monster.

The domestic church...

is quiet this week.

I am hoping and praying...

that I will feel God's peace this week and next.

In the garden...

the roses are blooming.

One of my favorite things...

reading at night with my youngest.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

planning to keep our schedule simple this week - the usual hockey and dance, along with a focus on school, cleaning and cooking.

A picture thought to share...

Blessings!!!

theresesophia