Christmas 2010, plus a "God" Conversation with a Three-year-old

Hello again, and happy 2011! I decided to take a bit of a hiatus from blogging to refocus, work on items for my little stall at the Crop Around the Corner, and just, well, take a break. This is not a resolution, but I do hope to be back in this little space on more of a regular basis. Now that I've been absent, I have plenty to share! :)

First up, the holidays. My husband is a teacher, so we enjoyed a wonderful two weeks with him being home. We did not go on any big vacations or outings, but we did go to the various parks in our community and enjoyed being together as a family. I, of course, enjoyed the company of my husband as well as the extra help with the boys.

We fed our friends, family and neighbors with special Christmas goodies:

and fed the birds with Winter Solstice treats:

Ben enjoyed his cleaning tools from Grandpa and Grandma:

and Matthew and Buzz have been inseparable since Christmas morning:


We're now back to our usual routine, and that's a good thing. We love the holidays, but that's partly because they're once a year, therefore making them very special. There's something to be said about the routine and consistency of the rest of the year.

Now, I feel the need to document the following conversation before I forget it. Although it is a personal mother/son discussion, I decided that it was well worth sharing:

This evening I was reading Matthew "The Little House in the Big Woods" (picture story version) as his good-night book. There was a picture of Pa with a gun in the forest. Matt asked me what he was doing, so I told him, "Pa is hunting. He is going to kill an animal and use its meat as food."

Matthew just stared at the picture. I asked him if that made him sad. He thought about it for a minute, then responded, "that doesn't make me sad. God made animals for people to eat. They need to eat meat." He then went on to tell me all about how God made good people and bad people, and the good people are fighting the bad people, but it's ok. When I asked him who told him about this, he said that no one told him.

Matthew then told me, "God made a baby. A king was going to kill the baby, but the baby got away and was safe. The baby was Jesus."

Again, I asked Matthew how he knew this. After a couple of minutes he told me that he heard it in the "big church." He said it like, "duh, Mom, this is where I heard it. You should have known that."

Wow. We go to church, but I have to admit that it's not on a regular basis. We're Episcopalian, so there isn't much fire and brimstone in the teachings, and Matt is only in the sanctuary (the "big church") for about a third of the service. As a Christian, I am proud of my little man and the lessons he is learning from being at church roughly once a month.

As a parent, I am awed (and a little frightened!) at how perceptive he is. I wanted to share this because it is very telling about how much children really do listen, perceive, and pick up on, even (especially!) if we don't think they're necessarily paying attention. It's made me think about the conversations I have in front of him, the words I say sometimes say when I think he cannot hear me, and the music I occasionally listen to in the car. I'd like to say that all of the words I speak in front of my children are positive, uplifting and moral, but they are not. I'm not judging myself too harshly, but now I am more aware. I am also thankful for the above conversation and will hold it in my heart always.

Blessings,
Katie

My Little Dream

Except for a patch of Swiss chard, our harvesting is now complete. There will always be room for improvements, but I am happy with how our garden turned out this year. Pat built be five 4x6 beds, giving us 120 square feet of gardening space. We now have a crisper full of carrots, onions in the garage, peach jam and butter, not to mention the fresh veggies we enjoyed throughout the summer. Matthew even brought up the peas today and how he wants to plant more tomorrow. :)

As much as I enjoyed our garden, I'm looking forward to the reflective and cozy times of winter. I'm hoping to also get in some skiing this year, which is something I truly enjoy but have not done since having the boys. I've also been thinking ahead to next year's garden! I have so many plans and often need to slow myself down. For example, my mind has currently been filled with visions of chickens and goats. Now, there is no way we could have goats at our home due to county regulations, but chickens are another story... Not wanting to jump the gun, I'm going to be spending plenty of time this winter researching raising chickens (and trying to talk my husband into allowing me to have a few!).

I have a dream of owning a couple acres of land with a log cabin nestled between some pines (with chickens and goats, of course!) While this dream may not become a reality for another five to ten years (if ever), I feel that I can still hone into my country-living skills here on my quarter-acre. Fortunately, there are many books currently out detailing precisely that--urban homesteading. The latest issue of Mother Earth News highlights the following: "Although many people dream of buying several acres in the country, you can start homesteading wherever you are...In fact, many aspects of homesteading work as well in the city as in the country. Solar panels, straw bale building, heating with wood and collecting rainwater are all possible in the city or suburbs."

Even though I'm not yet in my log cabin, making fresh goat cheese and yogurt while collecting eggs, I feel like now is the time to practice my homemaking/homesteading skills while enjoying my neighborhood and own little quarter-acre! :)

Blessings,
Katie

Neighbors

Today was one of those days.

Everything started out alright until the usual sibling squabbling. After Matthew tackled Ben for the umteenth time, he was sent to his room for time-out. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but when he came out and turned on his favorite tv show, he realized he missed the opening theme song. Tears, kicking, and screaming ensued. I tried to reason with him that he missed it because he got a time-out for tackling his brother, but as most parents know, there's not much reasoning with a three-year-old.

Due to his tantrum, he missed his bus. After he calmed down and we were all dressed, we got into the car only to find that it wouldn't start. Ahh, that's because Matt played "driver" while I was cleaning out the car yesterday... After turning off all of the lights he had turned on, I borrowed a neighbor's vehicle to take Matt to school.

I returned my neighbor's van and had been home for about half an hour when I slammed Ben's pinkie finger in the door leading out to the garage. It was awful. Back we were at our neighbor's house asking to use her van. She offered to drive us to the doctor's office after loading up her three-month old and three-year old. The nurse at the doctor's office advised me to go right up to the ER, so our neighbor graciously drove us up there.

Meanwhile, Matt was due to come home from school on the bus. My husband was on his way home, but he wasn't going to make it to meet the bus, so I called another one of my neighbors. She picked Matt up and kept him at her house until his father arrived.

Ben's finger was not broken, just badly bruised, and for that we are very fortunate. This incident also reminded me of how fortunate we are to live in a neighborhood where we actually know our neighbors, consider them friends, and do not hesitate calling on them for help. Many people do not associate with their neighbors or even know their names. They wish to live independent, separate lives and go about their business unbothered. We all desire independence to some extent, but humans were not created to live alone, being isolated from one another. We are social creatures. Asking for help also places one in a humbling position. I believe that by humbling ourselves before others opens the door for others to ask us for help in their times of need.

I am thankful for my neighbors and feel extremely blessed by them.

Blessings,
Katie

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality."
2 Corinthians 8:13,14

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:18

Home

The above picture was taken last week when I was driving home from Santa Fe. Both of the boys were asleep in the car, for once I had my camera with me, and the sight was so breath-taking that I just had to pull over. I often forget, or perhaps just ignore, what a beautiful part of the world we live in--wide open space, gorgeous skies, little pollution or litter, and NO strip malls. Since both my husband and I grew up here in northern New Mexico, we sometimes fantasize about moving somewhere else--no where in particular, just someplace different. Then I stop for a moment (or pull the car over) and realize that we're in just about the perfect place, especially for this time in our lives. I feel not only content, but extremely blessed.

Contentedly Home

Several weeks ago, at our first garage sale of the season, I purchased the book Calm My Anxious Heart for twenty-five cents. I do not believe that I am necessarily an anxious person, but I do have issues with contentment. One point author Linda Dillow made really struck a chord with me:

"Single women look at married women and wish for a husband. Married women look at their husbands and wish for different ones. Childless women long for children, and mothers long for the day when their kids will be in school. Is it even possible to be content with your role in the here and now?"

I love my husband and my children dearly, but ever since I left my teaching job to be a full-time homemaker, my mind has often been filled with "what if" thoughts, resentment of my husband working while I'm at home, and even jealousy of my working friends. The thing is, when I was working and we were having great difficulties keeping pregnancies, all I wanted was to have a family and be home with my children. I'm not trying to start a working mom vs. at-home mom debate, but what I am trying to do is be content and thankful for all that I have, including (especially!) my roles of wife and mother.

My previous blog was titled "Thoughts During Walks." I still enjoy going on walks with my family and on my own, but I have found myself spending more and more time at home. Lately I've been working on our vegetable garden, and I've been trying my hand at a little decorating (we moved into this house a little under a year ago). I also enjoy handcrafts and reading, and of course, just being. My younger son recently turned one, and I cannot believe how quickly his first year went. I want to savor each moment.

I do not want this space to be idealistic or unrealistic. I'm not a supermom by any means. I am just someone who wants to celebrate her home, the space in which she spends most of her day, and be content in all things.

Many blessings,
Katie