Tradition, Tradition....Tradition!

"Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof is one of my favorite songs, and the theme for this post.  You only need to watch the first 1:40 of this video...unless you love it too!

The first week of Advent is almost over, and I thought I'd give you a peek into some of our family traditions.  I remember very distinctly that after I had my first child, I had the sudden frightening realization that if we wanted to have traditions, any traditions, that it would be our job as parents to set them in motion.  Some of them would come naturally, springing from our own childhood traditions, but everything else had to be our own creation.  In typical fashion, I spent plenty of time with my nose in "those" types of books websites, and blogs...the ones with titles like, "Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom" or "A Year With God," etc.  I consider myself a really good imitator, and not such a good initiator, so I can't claim to be the genius behind any of these traditions...But we have morphed many ideas into what has become our "typical" first week of Advent.

The first Sunday we always hang up our Jesse Tree.   I've tried numerous versions over the years, but finally broke down and got the one from Leaflet Missal.  It was a lot of work last year to make each of the ornaments, but it was super fun for me, and this year, we have them all made!  (Well, that's a lie.  I just plain tuckered out at the end of the season last year, and so I think we have only one wise man!  I plan to make the rest this year.)  The girls really love sticking the ornaments on after we read the stories.  It's also a great way to really help them see the Jesus' birth is the fulfillment of the promises God started making long, long before he sent His son.  We've added a new book to our morning devotions after the Jesse Tree readings, which I really like.  The girls never want me to stop reading, so that's a good sign too!

On the first Sunday of Advent, we also roll our own...

...candles.  (What did you think I was going to say?!!??)  I stumbled upon these candles somehow, and after three years of using them, consider them the be-all-end-all Advent candles.  They are pure beeswax, burn slowly (as long as you roll them tightly enough) and are beautiful as well.  They are also fat, so they stick well into candle holders.  Not to mention, it's always a fun project to roll them out each first Sunday.  I've made it my own Advent tradition to order two kits every year and pass one along to friends.

We always put out a little bit of our decorations on the first Sunday.  The manger scene (without key players, since they haven't arrived yet!), some small knick-knacks, the wreath on the front door, etc.  I also convert the "holiday blocks" I got for Christmas one year from the "Merry Christmas" logo to the more Advent appropriate "O Come Emmanuel."  I truly believe in the "waiting" behind Advent, and so we don't get our tree until Gaudete Sunday (the third and pink candle Sunday.)  It is nice to watch Advent unfold in our home little by little, whispering, "He's coming.  He's coming."

Our school room gets a makeover for Advent as well.  The new liturgical calendar goes up, and the prayer cloth changes sides from green to purple.  (My mom custom made these cloths for me years ago--one is green and reverses to purple, the other is white and reverses to red.)  Our favorite Advent saint, Nicholas, makes his appearance in various forms in the school room as well!  Academically, we lighten up our load during Advent.  (We used to take the entire month of December off, but Caeley hated schooling into June, so we're taking a shorter break this year!)  We dropped our usual geography studies, which I detailed in a previous post, and instead are doing Elizabeth Foss' "Christmas Around the World" program.  I LOVE IT so far.  I ordered the girls a coloring book to do along with the readings, and it's a nice way to still feel like we're doing "school" but doing it in the spirit of fun and Christmas.  Thank goodness for people like Elizabeth Foss who have done so much leg work so that the rest of us can beg, borrow and steal.  We have also dropped Spanish for Advent.  It isn't that it takes so much of our school time, but it takes a lot of prep and planning on my part, which I just need to put into other things during this busy time of year. 

Every Sunday in Advent, the family watches a special Christmas movie.  Sometimes they are classics, the old-school Frosty and Rudolph, or other times more modern movies like "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas."  The last Sunday of Advent is usually reserved for a religious movie depicting the actual Christmas story.

Lastly, and usually sometime during the first week of Advent, we travel to Baltimore to see the best train display and the best Santa, which we've been doing since Caeley was a baby.  The train set-up is worth the drive in itself, but we also get to see our very best friends from Baltimore!

Can you guess why this is my favorite scene???

Ailin loved pushing the buttons to make little lights light up or toys move in the display!

How do we have six kids now between us?  There used to be TWO!

This is just the beginning of a very special season.  There are so many wonderful traditions to continue, and new ones to start!!!  Happy Advent!!

Preparing Him Room

We have had a much needed break from our school routine this week. I honestly think that I needed the break more than the girls, as half way through the week Caeley said to me, "I can't wait to get back to school, Mom," and meanwhile I was just getting into the vacation groove!  For me, this "vacation" has not only been a time for house projects and school planning, but also a time to look forward to and prepare for my favorite time of year---Advent. 

My new prayer spot.

Although I didn't realize it, all week I have quietly been preparing.  I thought perhaps it was just my OCD at work, as I tackled a gross-closet-clean-up-project every day this week. No more disheveled coat closet belching jackets, gloves, hats and scarves when opened.  No more downstairs bathroom pantry/closet/storage/linen space confused about its identity. And best of all, the office and school room closets are cleaned out, ready for another trimester of school and for the stashing of Christmas presents.  In addition, we moved the futon frame out of my office, put its mattress on the school room floor so we can now ALL sit and read stories there, and moved the gigantic living room chair into the futon space in my office.  I now have a comfortable, special place to sit and pray in my "mom cave," and we have a nice, BIG spot waiting for a Christmas tree (for the first time ever in this house!)  These seem like such minor changes, but by about mid-week, I began to realize the connection between all these physical space changes and how they really mirror how I see this coming season. 

Next to my chair: our wedding picture, and the painting my Aunt Sara
gave us for our ten year anniversary.
(It's  of the mansion where we held our wedding reception.)
My prayer books are tucked behind...

Cleaning for me is not just therapeutic because I hate messes in my personal space.  Although I do, it is certainly more than that.  I feel that I can breathe and function more clearly when things are simple, sparse, organized.  When my environment makes sense, it seems easier to make sense of my soul.  Of course, I can also find things when I need them and the girls can function more independently, but I also feel a sense of freedom to concentrate on more important things.  I feel prepared for what life throws at me.  The questions and surprises are simply less daunting.

This afternoon Caeley and I went to confession together again, and it felt the same way.  It felt like decluttering. Being forgiven of your sins, no matter how big or how small, is like letting go of some things to make room for the more important things.  Like major cleaning and reorganizing projects, you often wait until things are in utter disarray to go, and perhaps it would've been better to tackle the project months ago.  But the reality is you didn't, and the important thing is to just tackle it, especially before it gets worse.  Maybe you haven't "cleaned out your closets in years."  Maybe you haven't been to confession since your first confession when you were eight.  Maybe the thought of going into a confessional makes you want to puke.  Or cry.  Or scares you so badly that you are paralyzed.  Or you are too embarrassed to admit that it's been so long.  Or you are taking your no. 2 pencil and bubbling in "Letter D: All of the Above."  But once you clean out your soul closet (and if you're like me, maybe get some new labels and bins for organizing things), you'll have so much more room for all the graces waiting for you.  When you open yourself up to God and a right relationship with him, all the hats, gloves and scarves won't come falling out, hit you in the face, and keep you from growing closer to Him.  More of your life will make sense.  There might be questions, and even surprises, but you will be able to handle them with the graces you've been given in the sacrament. 



Tomorrow is the first day of Advent, and the beginning of a new liturgical year.  There will be some changes to the mass, with the new edition of the Roman Missal, and so tomorrow will feel like a fresh start for ALL Catholics.  It would be a perfect time, as individuals, to take advantage of this fresh start by doing a bit of our own soul cleaning.  What a special way to enter this new year by receiving God's forgiveness for all the "mess in our closets."  What a special way to "let every heart prepare Him room."  As my daughter said coming down the stairs of the church today, "Confession is scary, but when you're done, you feel as light as a feather!"  


If you're scared, or don't know where to start, here are some links to help you.  (You can really Google anything these days!  As a disclaimer: I found these links on Google, and can't vouch for the other content on these pages. I just thought they looked like a good, basic place to start.)   


http://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-examination-of-conscience.html


http://www.ncregister.com/info/confession_guide_for_adults/


Here are some tips: http://romancleric.blogspot.com/2006/12/20-tips-for-good-confession.html


(My own personal tip: if you are really, really embarrassed to attend at your own parish, just pick a random parish where you are more anonymous for your first "biggie."  Also, if you haven't been in a million years, you aren't the first person in that position, so just tell the priest that!  He will be kind with you, welcome you back, and maybe even walk you through the process if you stumble and forget!)


To find the nearest place to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, visit http://www.masstimes.org/

Omlet Eglu Cube Coop: Review

I wanted to take a moment to review the Omlet Eglu Cube coop.  Before I bought it, I spent a lot of time searching reviews, and I wanted to put my own out in Cyberspace in the hopes that it will help someone else make the decision.  This is a super long post...if you want the bottom line, scroll all the way down!

Advantages

1.  It's plastic, and while that may scare some people who really really prefer traditional wooden coops, there are MAJOR advantages to a plastic coop.

A.  Virtually zero maintenance.  No wood to treat, stain, retreat, repaint, etc.

B.  No warping, bending, twisting, or shifting of wood, which can make the doors loose and the chickens vulnerable to predators.  (This happened with our first coop.  The main side door got so warped it didn't hang right and a raccoon was able to get a paw in and knock the whole door off.

C.  Super easy to clean.  The main back door and the top door come completely off.  The roost bars, also plastic, remove completely, and the bedding trays beneath the bars slide out.  You can scrub and hose this thing down in minutes, air or towel dry it, and it looks brand new.

D.  No nooks and crannies for mites to hide.  In fact, mites prefer to live in wood, so the chance of getting a coop infestation of mites in this case is virtually nil.  (Mites are super annoying.  Trust me.  They can make chickens very sick, are hard to diagnose until they are a real problem, cause decreased egg laying, and are very hard to get rid of if they are laying eggs in the cracks of your wooden coop.)

2.  It's easy to put together.  I put this thing together myself, and granted, it took three hours, but I don't consider myself to be the most handy person in the world.  The directions are easily laid out, the parts make sense, and as long as you have a power drill to use for the screws, you are all set!

 3.  This thing is completely predator-proof.  For anyone who has lost pet chickens to predators before, this brings a huge peace of mind.  There's NO WAY an animal can get in this thing, unless you go out of town for weeks, leave the thing stationary, and allow some animal days and days of digging a tunnel under and around the wire that's in place to deter predators.  The little door that pulls closed at night is not something any animal could open, so EVEN if a night predator could get in somehow (all night dig party?) he'd be stumped at the door!

4.  Movable.  If you want to be able to give your chickens fresh grass every day, without completely free-ranging them on your lawn, the Omlet Eglu is for you!

5.  Leak-Proof.  I waited to write this review until the coop had survived a serious rain.  It's been raining for a couple days straight now, but last night took the cake.  It was such a violent rain that it sounded like a tornado outside our house.  I was really worried that the coop could not withstand such a deluge.  When I checked this morning, there was not a drop inside the entire thing!  There were some reviews that stated otherwise, but based on my own observations, and what other folks have said online,  I think Omlet tweaked the design of the Eglu to fix any previous problems.  There are these little channels along the cracks where the doors hook together.  The channels do just that--they channel any water that gets into the cracks down through the channels and out these little drain holes.  Truly ingenious design.

5.  Doubles as a brooder.  Let's say you want chickens.  But you have no extra bathtub in which to brood the baby chicks.  The body of the Eglu, with the roof removed, a heat lamp hanging down, and the egg door and roost bars removed will double as your chick brooder.  I was able to successfully brood all ten of my chicks through their first seven weeks.  At that point, they were ready to be outside.  Most smaller coops do not offer this luxury.  This saves you money on additional brooding supplies/housing.   (I did have to place a wire mesh screen over top once the chicks realized they could jump and flap quite far.  They never escaped with the screen on.)

6.  You can get inside it.  I have little trouble getting completely under the wire area to do chicken duty.  My children get inside with ease.  Yes, you have to stoop, but it is possible.  You can tend to the chickens, handle them for taming, hand feed them, etc. all while inside their safe zone.  You don't have to risk letting them out of their coop to do any of that.  (I could see this being especially useful for someone who wants chickens but who also has a dog!) 

7.  The feeder that comes with the coop is ingeniously designed.  It's shaped just perfectly so that the feed doesn't get wet in the rain.  For someone who spent my first chicken journey wasting tons of wet feed from a traditional feeder, this is a huge relief.  I should mention that I keep an additional large tarp over the first three feet of the run so the chicks have more rain shelter (and soon, snow shelter.)  I keep the feed and water under the tarp, and think this is probably a good idea.  The way the feeder and waterer attach to the wire cage is also very handy.

8.  Kinda cool.  Okay, no one buys a chicken coop because it's cool, but this one is kinda neat looking.  I wish I had a red tarp instead of the ugly, old silver one on top, but I don't even think they make red tarps!  Aside from being cool, the design of the Omlet Eglu, the way it raises so easily on its wheels, the interior design, etc. is just smart.  It's clear that the company is full of chicken owners or is very good about listening to the suggestions of customers.

9.  Resale Value.  Because the coop is plastic and easy to clean, this is a coop that will hold its value if you decide your chickening days are over.  I would not consider buying a used wooden coop.  There's just too much potential for mite infestation in older wooden coops, and it's too hard to clean any bacteria or disease that might carry over from the other flock.  However, people are actively seeking used Eglus because they are so pricey new.  I see this as a nice insurance policy when you are putting down the money for one.

Disadvantages

1.  Cost.  For real.  But see #9 above.  And already, after only eight weeks, this baby has been worth every penny.

2.  With the additional three foot extension, you really do need two people to move it.  My eight and a half year old daughter and I can move it fairly easily.  It seems harder to move right now because our grass is ridiculously long and the ground is soaked and muddy.  The "ease of moving" element will have to be looked at again when those conditions change.

3.  Size.  The website says this coop (with the extended run) is suitable for ten chickens.  I would say more like six if you are keeping them enclosed in the run all day.  I can tell already that ten full grown ladies are going to feel much more crowded than they do now, at seven weeks old.  I'm lucky that I'm home all day, and can let them run in the enclosed garden area or out in the lawn with us around.  Otherwise, they would need more exercise than the coop affords as is.

4.  Waterer.  I'm not a huge fan of the waterer.  The design is different than the one I thought I would get (with the drinking nipples.)  Be aware that some companies show pictures of what must be an old version of the waterer, while the one pictured above is what they are sending currently.  It is a LARGE receptacle that hangs on the wire fence next to the feeder.  It has two big openings, but is VERY deep.  (See picture above.)  Chickens use a funny scooping method to drink, and it doesn't make sense to me why a waterer for chickens would be so deep when they can't "suck" up water.  It is extremely heavy to fill and carry, and I think they should look at improving this for later models.  I do like that it is ONE piece, and easy to clean, but also wish it had a substantial handle.  The website claims that it can hold enough water for ten chickens for days, but not if they can't actually angle their heads down properly to scoop the water up!  We shall see.  Maybe my chicks are just small and it looks so awkward!

5.  The "tarp" that comes with the coop.  It's fairly sad---just a tiny green piece of fabric that covers really only the top of the wire.  It doesn't provide much wind buffeting or shelter from the rain.  Omlet should consider producing and marketing a specialized tarp, with reinforced grommets and hooks for the wire cage.  It could let in light (more eggs!) but not wind and rain.  It should be much bigger than the one they provide.   I decided to swap it out with this old tarp from the shed, and will see how it does.  Ideally, I'd like it to provide a bit more wind protection, but we'll see.   

Here's my coop with the ugly tarp.  Keeps them dry though!  

Bottom Line

This is an amazingly designed, functional, aesthetically pleasing coop for the small backyard chicken owner.  It will house your flock from birth until they are full grown.  It's easy to move, easy to clean, and is completely predator and water proof.  I would add a more substantial tarp to cover more of the extension, especially if you get snow in the winter, and I would like to see them modify the waterer.  I also don't think it is for full-time containment of ten chickens without additional exercise.  That said, if you're willing to lay down the cash, or lucky enough to find someone parting with one used, there's no way you'll be disappointed with the Omlet Eglu.  

Term 1: A Look Back at History and Geography

I think our history studies this term were so much fun.  For Caeley (Grade 3), we do both Ancient and U.S. history, while Meara (grade K/1) is just learning about seasonal events and holidays.

I wrote my own Native American Unit Study based on a compilation of tons of online resources and books.  While it was certainly an "overview" and meant to last only twelve weeks (the length of one "Charlotte Mason" term), it could easily have been fleshed out more and used as a year long study.  Unfortunately, I am feeling like we're never going to finish US History, so I'm trying to move us along!  Here is a copy of my unit plan and the activity sheet that is meant to go with it.  Feel free to use it, as we all know that homeschooling is about begging, borrowing, and stealing!  :-)

Native American Unit Study

Native American Unit Study Activity Sheet

For Ancient History we have been plugging along through Story of the World Volume 1: Ancients.  I love it!  In fact, I love it so much, that last year we spent an entire year on it and only made it through about ten chapters!  I decided we'd continue this year with it, but move at a much quicker pace!  The beauty of it, especially if you have the teacher's guide/workbook, is that you can really dig as deeply into the topics as you want, or just do the bare minimum, which is still a great survey type approach.  There's also this wonderful website where you can find even more information and projects to do (beg, borrow, steal!)  We're finding a much better balance this year of doing some things, reading some of the books, but not doing or reading everything.

In addition to these "curricula" we also use a timeline book to place the historical figures we encounter along the way.  I use the Homeschool In the Woods Historical Timeline Figures or pictures that I snatch from Wikipedia and print them on Avery "Full Sheet Label" paper.  I collect all the figures for the term on one page as we go through the term, and at the end of the term we "review" what we've learned by putting all the stickers into the timeline book.  It would be better to do it as we go along, but because the label paper is so expensive (so we need to fill a page before printing), and I abhor the thought of using glue in a timeline book that's so nice, we do what we have to do.

For Geography, we are constantly doing map work as it comes up in our Ancient History and US History studies.  We also read Holling C. Holling's Tree in the Trail this term, doing the accompanying map work laid out in the guide by Beautiful Feet Books.  Originally I thought this would be too much, but because the book ties in perfectly with our Native American unit, and because Holling C. Holling's books are truly amazing, educational works of art, I wanted to include it.

Last year we started a "Fifty States" scrapbook, which we are are continuing this year.  It's one of the things that I think we will be happy we did after the fact, but it's a lot of work and time.  The idea sprouted from something I saw online, but also from my favorite book.  We read the Sleeping Bear Press book on each state, and Caeley tells me what she found most interesting for each state.  We make stickers of those people, places, events, etc., pulling the images from the Internet, and put them on card stock.  She colors the state page from a Fifty States coloring book, and the two pages lie face-to-face in our book.

Because of how much time we invested in this last year, I knew I couldn't drop it this year, so we will continue and finish it by the end of this.  That said, I don't think it's a project I'll start from scratch with Meara.  Instead, it will be a "family treasure" that we add to as we encounter other people, events, etc. from the fifty states.

It seems like we are doing so much for history and geography, and I admit, we are.  In fact, it's probably too much.  However, I know that History was NOT my strong suit during my own school days.  In fact, I hated it after being scarred my freshmen year of high school.  I feel there's so much I missed along the way, especially in Geography and US History, and so I really want to make sure I do these things well with my children.  For now, Caeley seems to be enjoying the work, though she claims Grammar is her favorite subject.  Does that surprise you at all?

I hope to post more updates by subject later in the week!

The Little Joys

Just a quick post to honor my favorite holiday,  Thanksgiving.  Here's a pictorial peek at the past couple of weeks, and some of the things that have brought me such joy.  

Meet Elizabeth, the most docile, sweet, soft, and beautiful chicken.  She is sleeping on Caeley's knees, soaking up the sun on one of the warm days we had recently.  She likes to be cradled like a baby, belly-up, and scratched on her neck.  It puts her right to sleep!

See what my children look like when they are unsupervised?  Apparently they have the Photo Booth program on the iPad down pat!

We started taking the chickens out of the garage for exercise.  They were really scared at first, and used me as "base."  I certainly don't mind being "mommy hen."  They don't call me Chicken Lady for nothing!

By far the best picture I've ever taken.  This is THE reason I love fall and I love living where we live.  This is the church we were married in and this is one of the last trees around that still has leaves.  

If I had had something better than my iPhone with me, these pictures could've been really cool!

Crunchy, colorful leaves!

Stay a while!

The Grand Applesauce Adventure!  My first time making applesauce.  Spent all day Saturday with two of my friends and we got about 80 quarts done!!  I can see why families, particularly mothers and daughters, aunts and grandmothers, etc. were so close in the olden days.  Spending all day together at tasks like this gives you lots of time to talk, tell stories, and learn about each other!

The chickens being introduced to the garden and helping fertilize before Spring!

Can you see 5 chickens?

Meet Frightful and Nelly.  Two of the biggest scaredy cat chickens ever.  But they have cool feathers, so we'll let it slide.  (Frightful got her name because her feathers have grown in all weird--they stick up on end instead of laying flat.   She looks frightful and acts frightful!   Nelly is named after the phrase "Nervous Nelly.")

FINALLY OUT OF THE GARAGE AND ONTO GRASS!  I was going to wait another week to move them, but the temperatures look decent this week, and we were ready to have them OUT.   Our garage was beginning to smell pretty nasty.  The chickens were completely confused after the move.  Here they are wondering what is going on.  

Their new feeder and waterer, which they won't knock over about 50 times a day.  They are also big enough so I won't have to refill them 2 or 3 times a day like I was doing with the chick feeder and waterer!

The view from the brooding area down the ladder into the caged area.

These Leghorns are so precocious---always the first to try new things, the first to come over when called, the first to get the sunflower seed snacks.  They need a bit more taming, though, and are super prone to flying away.  I am anxiously awaiting the day when their bodies are a little heavier and their wings can't take them so far!

Friends by the First Fall Fire! 

Lunch at Panera--one of our favorite "city treats."

I hope that you have found joy in some of the little things in your life lately!

If Today You Hear His Voice...

The idea of "listening to God" is quite a common theme in Scripture.  I am no Scripture scholar, but I know some, so clearly that makes me qualified to make such a blanket statement.  All kidding aside, we DO sing about this idea in the Psalms at mass.  There are many popular memory verses from the Bible, like the old "Ask and you shall receive" verse.  (Matthew 7:7)  And there are tons of people in the Bible who make it their mission to seek God's will in their lives and listen to Him.  I think it's more of a rarity to be aware of this theme in our everyday lives, though.  Not only do we rarely take the time to notice what He might be saying to us, sometimes quite loudly and quite clearly, no one actually thinks about how alarming it is when you knock and the door is opened.  It's so alarming that, most of the time, we tend to deny that God directly answered a request, and instead attribute it to something like "coincidence" or "luck."  It can also be tempting to misunderstand what it is He is saying, brush it off completely, or just forget about it.  But three times this week, I have had what really felt like God's whisperings in my ear.  On the one hand, his words have brought me such comfort, and on the other hand, it is terrifying to me that HE is paying attention to little 'ole me.  Part of me wants to slink under a rock with the realization that Oh goodness, He does see me.  (He's seen me at my best and worst!)  He knows my heart.  He knows what I need.  And LOOK, He's giving it to me.  That can be both a liberating and paralyzing realization. 

The first "encounter" happened at mass on Sunday.  I entered the church with a very heavy heart, and came to God with a very specific question before mass started.  To tell you that the question I asked Him was so specific that it would take a true miracle for Him to answer it directly is an understatement.  And it was answered directly and specifically, by the husband of a friend, who spoke to me before mass started.  I didn't realize God was answering me until the first mass reading was read, and as the lector started reading, tears filled my eyes.  I got goose bumps.  Did this friend know what I asked God?  How was that possible?!!??!!  No, of course not.  He was simply moved to say something to me.  Something that God must have wanted me to know, so He used this person to speak to me.  Freaky.  And awesome.

Later in the week I managed to sneak away to mass without the kids.  It has been a rough week emotionally, as I've been dealing with some interpersonal conflict in my life.  Again, I entered the chapel, had some quiet time with God, and asked him to PLEASE give me a sign so that I know what he expects of me regarding the issues I have been dealing with.  What am I to do??? I asked him.  Mass began, and I realized with some annoyance that the priest had decided to read completely different readings than those assigned to the mass that day.  I think when there's a feast day (it was St. Elizabeth of Hungary) the priest can choose different readings.  Anyway, I was annoyed until I was utterly hit over the head, a-la Three Stooges, by the timeliness of the readings.  In both cases, with the first and second readings, it was clear that God was again answering me very specifically.  Do this.  Think this.  Act this way.  For this is what a daughter of Mine does.  Oh man!  Twice in one week???!!!  Okay, God, I hear you.

Again this morning, God reminded me that he is with me in my struggles.  He reminded me that He knows I'm seeking answers from Him, and there's really no way to deny what He's saying or blame it on coincidence.  I reluctantly woke up after a rough night with a teething toddler, thinking I probably wouldn't get my morning prayer time in.  I had just poured the hot water over the tea bag when I heard her on the monitor.  (No, not Him on the monitor, although that would make a much better blog post!)  I go upstairs, bitter with the realization that after I try to get her back to sleep my tea will be way over-steeped, but whatever.  I needed the extra caffeine.  She didn't go back to sleep, of course, so we came down with ten minutes to spare before I expected to be interrupted by the older two.  I said to myself, "Forget it, I'm putting her on my lap, and I'm saying my morning office whether it's the best prayer time I've ever had or not.  Whether it counts or not."  So I did.  And of course, God saw what was on my heart, offering me more words of wisdom and consolation in the words from the morning office.  (If I had given up on my prayer time, I would've missed this encounter with Him, another encounter that solidified my previous feelings that He really has been with me in a very special way this week.  I'm glad I didn't skip it!)

I feel like I asked.  And I feel like I received.  I knocked.  He opened.  It's scary to realize that God does hear us.  That He does listen to us and knows the "thoughts and reflections of our hearts."  And while there are plenty of times in my life when I've been mad because I've not heard Him say what I wanted Him to say, when I wanted Him to say it, that doesn't mean He isn't there.  He does not forsake any one of his children, and I think that's what faith really is.  The belief that no matter what, whether we are able to hear His voice or not, at least we are asking to, at least we are constantly seeking Him.  And when we do hear Him, whether through friends speaking to us, or through Scripture, or prayer, or in the silence of our hearts, the only way to repay Him for opening our eyes enough to see Him, our ears enough to hear Him, is to listen.

Making Stock & Taking Stock

In all my "Soup on Saturdays" posts, I've been remiss in not mentioning the key to great soup: homemade stock.  It seems like such a simple thing, but I think it's an culinary art form that has been somewhat lost.  It's not hard, and if you haven't been doing it, just try it once and see the difference it makes in your soups.  I bet you won't go back to store-bought stock again!

First, take bones.  Beef bones or chicken bones.  Preferably with some good hunks of meat left on them!  Place them in the biggest pot you have.

Add at least 3 onions, 3 or 4 carrots, as much garlic as you can handle (I do at least 5 cloves), some celery, and fresh cold water.  (If I use a roasted chicken carcass, I include the roasted onions and garlic from the roasting pan, too, which makes the stock AMAZING.)  Some people put herbs into the mix, but I don't bother.  For me, this simple base works so well, that I'm afraid adding too much would ruin the magic.

Place on the stove to boil.  When the nasty bubbles (brown if it's chicken stock or blackish if it's beef stock) come to the surface, skim them off.  Apparently they spoil the stock.  Not to mention it just looks gross, and who wants to eat that???!!!

Yuck.

Turn the heat down to a low simmer.  Cover.  Now here's the secret.  Simmer for at LEAST 24 hours.  I know that seems ridiculous.  And like a fire hazard.  But I promise it isn't.  (I remember the very first time I made homemade stock.  We lived in Baltimore.  We had a gas stove.  I couldn't believe I was supposed to leave my gas stove on low all night.  So I woke up paranoid at least three times that first night to check on it.  The second time I made stock, I only woke up once.  By now, I'm fairly confident that I won't burn my house down.  And it helps that I have an electric stove!)  The long simmering time allows all the delicious marrow from the bones (the vitamin and mineral store-house!) to really permeate the soup.  It also makes a really RICH, dark broth.  If you check it at 12 hours, it won't be nearly as dark as it will at 24 hours, and the darkness is what you want.  The darkness is the flavor.  (Think of French Onion Soup, and how rich and dark the broth is....)

My finished beef stock.

Turn off the stove after 24 hours.  Let the stock cool down until you can safely ladle it into jars.  I freeze mine in old spaghetti sauce jars in 2 cup portions.  A large pot will make somewhere around 10-12 cups of broth, more or less.  With a few simple ingredients, you can provide yourself or your family with weeks, if not months of delicious soups!

It's not a difficult process, but it does need to be given time.  And as we approach the season of Advent, I'm reminded that pretty soon we will be 'waiting' in a very special way for the birth of Jesus.  I'm reminded that I need to step back and 'take stock' of my life and where I'm at mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Advent is, after all, the official New Year of the Church, a time to start over, begin again, and experience a bit of our own rebirth.  (What a truly new year it will be with the new Roman Missal coming out!)

The way I see it, the entire purpose of Advent is to "prepare Him room."  I need to ask myself if my focus is enough on God or too much on the little things.  How easy and tempting it is to be distracted by all the Christmas shopping, baking and decorating!  While those things have a rightful place in the Christmas season, they shouldn't be the focus.  This Advent, I'd like to make the Sacrament of Reconciliation more of a priority in my life.  That nasty stuff rising to the surface of my soul soup needs to be scraped away too!  I'd like to try to make it to at least one additional weekly mass and take time out of my day for quite prayer time.  These are simple ingredients.  I dare say that too many more ingredients might spoil the magic, just as with the stock.  But they are are do-able with a bit of sacrifice and focus on the right things.