Raising Saints & Martyrs

As we slowly progress back into the groove of school, we get more organized for the year. I am organizing the girls with 3 inch binders, and myself with a 3 inch binder and some smaller 1.5 inch binders as well. We have the house organized for homeschool as well. When we moved in I bought a china cabinet, we use it for school books and crafty stuff at the moment. Here is a quick look into how we will be organized for the year.

Kids

Each girl has a notebook for a reading log, and will be given prompts for book reports, journaling, and reading logs. In each notebook she has three reading logs, once she reaches a goal she will get a pizza dinner with Mom.

Each girl has a 3 inch binder. Each of these binders will have the following tabs for classes:

Language Arts
     Vocab/Spelling
     Grammar/Writing
     Literature {Boo}

History
     Each week/unit has a sub-tab for work

Science
     Each chapter will have a sub-section for work
     Field trips

Geography
     Sub-sections as needed {we have never worked with this, so this will be a work in progress}

Math
     Basic notes
     Laminated speed tests

Religion
{I have not yet found a curriculum I love though}

Language
{Second semester we will be adding a language!}


Mommy

I have 1.5 inch binders for each girl. These will be used as daily attendance reports, test storage, and final book reports. Sections:

Laminated school year calendar
List of subjects and corresponding books {for Dad's house}
Copies of weekly lesson plans for each child
     Kind of like this, but for a whole week because they need it for Dad's place
Pre-printed copywork and pages as need for Dad's place
Copies of current grades for Dad
Laminated copy of all websites and current passwords

I also use {for my own personal use and planning} the Well Planned Day planner.

33 Days. That's all it takes.

I enjoy my rosary. So much so that I have several, and intend to make more. I am becoming increasingly interested in the different types of rosaries available to pray on. I want my own children to have an interest in revering the Holy Mother. I want them to look at her as I do and see a woman that God saw fit to not only bear, but raise His Holy Son. I am in amazement that such a person has ever even lived.

I want to be like her. I want to have her grace. I want to feel her love.

I want the same for my own children. I want them to know this level of grace exists.

I am rereading 33 Days to Morning Glory. I also found a podcast I plan to use as well this time around.

Join me for the next 33 days. Consecrate yourself to Mary.
Join me and make this a retreat for your own homeschooled children.

I will leave you with how I taught my children to recite the Hail Mary with meaning:

Hail Mary, full of grace 
The Lord is with thee

God filled Mary with grace. She loved him. She followed God at any cost.
God is with Mary during her pregnancy, experiencing every moment she experienced.

Blessed art thou amongst women,
Blessed is thy fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

God blessed Mary with a child. God gave her himself.
Jesus grew within her to become man, like us.

Holy Mary, mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.

Even God sees Mary as the Holy Queen. He sees her as his mother.
Mary prays for us daily. She answers our prayers as she sees fit. 
Mary prays for the sinners. She pulls you in and loves you to redemption.

Amen

   
     I am in a book club at church, well rather through my moms' group. We read a book a month throughout the school year. I get a lot of great books to read, and even some amazing ideas for books to read in the summer. I thought it might be fun to tell you what I am reading, and what I am getting out of it.
     Right now I am reading Everybody Needs to Forgive Somebody by Allen Hunt. We read it last month for book club, but since I had my children that night I did not bother reading it. Plus, I put it off because I know I have someone to forgive. Well, it was a great book. I was caught up immediately, from the moment he began discussing Jesus and his forgiveness of those who crucified him.
     Well, crap. How could I not finish it. How could I not try to forgive the man who hurt me to my core. Fine. I read the book, I loved the book, and I began to try to forgive. I couldn't. It was not even a remote possibility. I harbor ill feelings, sure, but I am not angry. I do not feel I need to forgive him. I sat down and assessed who needed the forgiveness.
     I began questioning myself and those around me. I didn't blame him for leaving me because I left him. I didn't blame him for cheating because...well, okay, I blame him, but I am not angry it happened anymore. When I think back to why I am so damned angry I think about the following:

I left, I was relieved he cheated because it meant I could finally leave.
He hurt my children and I was horrified that I let him.
My daughters were "used to it." Perfect, I couldn't even protect them against words.
I was relieved a marriage of 10 years was not valid in the eyes of the church.

Double crap. I wasn't mad at him. I don't care enough about him to harbor feelings that require me to forgive him. The way I see him and his mistress: It is their issue to take before God, not mine. They are not sorry. And, I could not care much less. I am happy. I am mad at ME. Wonderful. Because we all know self loathing and resentment are so easily healed, right? Well, this was what I needed because now I am in that place. The place where I get to heal from the wounds I caused myself. I no longer blame myself, but I still have not fully forgiven myself either. It is a day by day prayer process.

We all have someone to forgive. I challenge everyone to find who they need to forgive. Ask yourself the questions I did:

Who do I blame?
Who do I no longer trust that I need to trust (of course I no longer trust my former spouse, but that is not an issue because I do not need him in day to day dealings)?
Who do I want fully in my life, but push away?

Pray daily on your journey.

I am a mother of girls. I have three of them, I am used to them, there are no mysteries about girls, only facts and eggshell walking. I am a girl. I know how we think, what we want, how we work.

What I do not know is boy. Anything boy.

An amazing thing happened last night; Boo laid next to me in bed while I was reading 33 Days to Morning Glory and asked if she could do the retreat with me.

Mind. Blown.
She is 12...well, this month she will be 12.

It was at that moment that I realized what a wonderful life God has given me recently. I have three amazing daughters and the son I wanted so badly. All four of my children are relatively healthy, not counting the Epilepsy issue. They are all very intelligent children, and very well adjusted. I am lucky enough to be able to work from home while I attend school, all while I homeschool Boo and Bear. From the depths of my heart, I am grateful. I love my life as it is now, and I have God to thank for that.

Personal accountability..

Sometimes I wonder if I have any at all, then I remember I have four children. Of course I have personal accountability, how could I not? I started this month with my date book all set for the month as usual. At the front of the month, in bold letters was "NO EXCUSES."

Ok. Sure. Not. I am half way through this month with nothing to show for it; I am ok with that. I am a mother first. So far this month, my household has has had some bumps. Homeschool is killing me, but it is worth the suffering. Bear loves doesn't totally hate it. She already jumped to the next grade level in math! I am thrilled for her. Boo injured herself a few times in sports. She is a rock star though and she just gets right back up.

Ok, so here is the deal: being a Catholic, or being Orthodox is rough. We are not quite as outside the circle as, say, LDS or Witness, but, we aren't quite accepted either. Know what I mean?

What I have compiled is a list. Well, a list or two really. I am creating, and will make available to anyone who needs it, a list of Catholic curricula, a list of Catholic-friendly curricula, and a list of anti-Catholic curricula. I will also have a secular list available, but that doesn't need lumping into the religious groupings.