Love will keep us together (well, love and a few other things)

When the subway art trend hit popular culture, I was as enamored as the next gal. I was attracted to the funky art styles and even printed a few Eighteen25 fun ones for teacher gifts. I also liked the idea of a family rules type sign for our home. As I searched Pinterest and Etsy, though, I found that the ones readily available for purchase didn't quite reflect our family's attitude. I don't really need a sign in our main hallway reminding us to brush teeth or wash hands. I was looking for something with a little more depth of character.

I realized what I really wanted was a sign that stated the traits James and I wanted our family to embody. Once I decided this, I kept a few index cards of ideas floating around with me. I would jot down a character trait to highlight after hearing a great reading at Mass or after having a conversation with a friend.

Then I discovered Zazzle.com. This site lets you design your own sign and print it in one of several ways. You probably already knew about this site, but here in the House of Lame, we're always behind the 8 ball, so to say. I started working on my design and quickly realized the other very important aspect that bothered my psyche about the ready made subway art - I gravitate toward straight lines and organized design. The cacophony of fonts and squished words in most subway art just makes my head hurt. Enter my own personal, just for our family design.

WellsKrewe is our long time family moniker and is a nod toward my New Orleans heritage full of Mardi Gras Krewes (social groups that host parades). It's this term that friends and family use to refer to the whole lot of us and it seemed perfect for this sign. This sign describes who we are and what we'll become - ultimately the Domestic Church we are called to be.

We strive to be loving, be truthful, be joyful, be considerate, be thankful, be wise, and be peaceful.  If we can successfully achieve these criteria, we'll all be living happily and contented.  James and I have started picking a scripture passage to flesh out each trait. The reading matches how that trait should be exemplified by each of us in our home. For example, John 15:12 tells us, "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you."  While there are numerous scriptures regarding the topic of love, this one simply states what is expected and therefore it's perfect for us.

What traits would your family put on a tailor made subway art sign???

Do you want to build a snowman??

In this house, the answer to that question is NO. NO. NO.

This is week two of snow in an area that typically sees about 2" total per year...and those as light dustings, not as a huge dump. This is day 7 of school closings and all my children would rather be in school around their friends and in their normal routines. My office has shut down for three of the days and the main roads were clear enough for me to travel otherwise. Mr. Neoclassic's office uses the liberal leave policy which is really code for we know it's dangerous for folks to travel, but we're not going to actually pay you to stay home. He's taken a few vacation days to sit near the fire, drink hot tea, and read the paper. I'm sewing more purple robes for our church. And trying to keep my toes warm.

Poor St. Francis seems so cold buried in snow back there!

Snowman #1, sidewalk clearing duty

Snowman #2, driveway clearing duty

For the record, I shoveled the first go round of sidewalks during last week's storm.  Mr. Neoclassic is shoveling a path for the dog through the backyard.  Our poodle does not like snow and it's very funny to watch her daintily pick her way across her man made path through the yard.

Meanwhile....
Family games - check. Family movies - check. School project work - check. Sibling fights - check. Parent tempers - check.

Ah winter - you can officially get the hell out of here.  Except it's too cold to be considered hell.

If a Southern girl suffers single digit temperatures and repeated snowfalls, does she qualify for any sort of advanced LENTEN suffering credits???  I must investigate the possibility.

...and a Happy New Year!

Since my Christmas cards were mailed DURING the Christmas season, as opposed to the Advent Season, I feel totally justified in posting Christmas morning pictures on Jan 1. This blog is only read by those who know me well, so the delay really won't shock or bother anyone, anyway. Irish Jig suffered a cold for the first weeks of December and was diagnosed the Tuesday prior to Christmas Day with Type A Influenza.

Joy, Joy, Joy!

Mr. Neoclassic and I made the decision to quarantine our family.  We had a fabulous few days of games, family jokes, movies, songs, and lots of books. By day three, the Tamaflu had done it's job and Irish Jig was noticeably improved.  With the rest of us on preventative doses of Tamaflu, we managed to avoid subsequent cases.

We generally like to attend the vigil Mass because it gives us the opportunity to focus on Christmas, in it's truest sense, long before the gift unwrapping begins.  This year, we opted not to attend the Vigil, believing that the crowd didn't need any possible germs from us. We did venture out for Mass on Christmas morning, but were very careful to sit in the back and wave from afar!

For the grandparents and various family members, here are some of the Christmas morning gifting highlights.

Waiting for the boys prior to stampeding down the stairs for gifts!

And with one gift, this girl was content and fulfilled.  That did not, of course, stop

her from opening any other gifts....

A box of electrical components, circuits, and robot programming gear.

The expression/ gesture of pure rapture and happiness just cracks me up!

So very joyful in her little nest of Legos, books, and a CD player for bedtime stories.

That last one is really a gift for the rest of us, shhhh!

Zydeco's hand picked gift for his dad: Shakespeare's Insult Generator.

This one kept us laughing all day!

Apparently, she could get more excited...the book to tell her what to do with all the Legos.

A thoughtful gift from Classic Rock.

Because somebody has to help this boy dress appropriately...

The only Mama-handmade under the tree this year.

A crown.  But NOT a princess crown.

(PS - Nana, it has vintage buttons on it from the great box!)

Where's Waldo?!

Auntie M: she's polishing the jewelry box mirror so she can see herself :)

And by loading these pictures, I've realized there is not one single picture of me on Christmas morning!  Oops.  

Our family hopes your Christmas and New Year were fabulous.

Joy to the World

So this post is a bit late...on Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of Joy, we hosted the annual Gingerbread House Decorating event. We opted to "spice" things up a bit this year by having each participate choose a decorating theme. Possibilities included Harry Potter, Star Wars, Frozen, Legos, and the like. Here are the happy house builders...

Hagrid's Hut: complete with pumpkin patch and flobberworms.

Santa's Workshop!

The start of Sponge Bob: that's Patrick the starfish...

Supposedly a Princess Castle. 

She did the whole thing herself this year, so I just Let It Go!!! 

Scooby Doo: complete with Scooby snacks.

: 

Frozen: complete with an Olaf snowman.

Burning off the sugar high playing in the leaves!

Pick up football.  And trash talk, of course.  I love boys!

I believe that happiness is something we create

I stopped blogging (you might have noticed??) for the summer.  It wasn't expected or intended.  It was the result, I have figured out, of not being completely at peace and just needing to step back. My work, while necessary, wasn't fulfilling and I spent a great deal of time feeling guilty for being gone.  Lucky for me, a great husband, supportive family, wonderful kids, and awesome friends helped me to remember that happiness can be created.  And it has been....

A new job will be started in about three weeks.  A fulfilling and exciting position I will be proud to hold.

I've posted several snapshots of a summer well spent by this Domestic Church.  A summer that included the following:

• MAGGIE:  I am pretty sure I haven't mentioned the newest family member.  Maggie the standard poodle sort of fell into our laps and we love every curly, large inch of her.  She was a rescue, but not hurt or abused in any way.  Maggie is wonderfully gently with the children. She loves playing catch and chasing the kids around the yard.  The best part is that she came house trained, leash trained, and command trained.  The only downfall is that I find myself horrifyingly jealous of her long and lean legs.  The short Italian women in me is coveting her neighbor's goods.
• PAINT and MORE PAINT: I finally stopped the family agenda for one whole weekend and managed to paint Zydeco's room.  He's been upgraded to a fabulous deep blue accent wall with the rest of the walls a version of sand.  A gift from Papa inspired the color palette.  Riding the high of accomplishment, we finally picked a color for the kitchen walls.  We'd had various paint sample splotches on the walls for months, so it's nice to have a uniform color.
• SEWING: In order to stay sane, I found pockets of time to cut fabric and plan small projects.  Irish Jig has two new dresses (one involved the piping foot - whee!) and new jammies.  I started a sweet doll for Irish Jig that will become a "Tooth Fairy" doll.  Halfway through doll sewing, I managed to drop a straight pin into the sewing machine.  All sewing is on hold until the machine returns from its tune up. 
• CONFIRMATION:  In early June, we witnessed Classic Rock celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The Mass was beautiful and the Sacrament delivered with such grace. That grainy picture up there is the blessing with oil.   A wonderful family friend stood with Classic Rock as sponsor.  This young man has been a quiet but steadfast mentor to our boys and we feel blessed to have had him walk the journey with our son.
• VISITORS:  We joyously welcomed Nana and Papa (my parents) for the Confirmation and a two week visit.  It was, according to my children, the best visit ever with their grandparents.  My parents would pick them up from school and treat them to lunch out, snowballs, a shopping trip, or just let Classic Rock practice driving them around town.  Nana spent an afternoon teaching me to safely launder delicate vintage linens.  I took notes!  I will post!
• DRIVING:  Classic Rock received his driving permit in December and we've been very good about giving him opportunities to drive.  He's quite a careful and deliberate driver.  While I am eager for him to just get his license already and run errands for me, he has another month before he meets the age requirement for Virginia.  Since Louisiana pretty much handed me a license at 14.5, I appreciate the caution and extra training he's had.
• BIRTHDAYS:  Zydeco celebrated 13 and recently surprised us all by asking to having his longish hair cut much shorter.  While the long hair bothered many a relative (Nana), I always figured he wasn't piercing or tattooing, so what did I care?  Jazz celebrated 10 with a Fiesta themed party that is worthy of it's own post - note to self.  She's taking time each day of her summer vacation to work on a variety of needlework projects and really showing improvement.  Classic Rock embraced 16, his driving permit, a summer sailing trip and a week at the NASA Wallops Island facility.  And, yeah, I celebrated yet another year....
• OPEN HOUSE:  I always seem amazed and surprised that our home becomes the central party house each summer.  The kids' friends are invited over or just randomly show up, and we embrace the chaos.  We serve a lot of lemonade, popcorn, and freezer pops.  We make the children guests do their own dishes.  We listen to many wii competitions and board game disputes debates.  We (me really) try not to obsess about the constant dirt on the floors by reminding ourselves that we know where the kids are, that they are safe, and that we can overhear every little comment.
• GOODBYE:  Our family said goodbye and good luck to wonderful friends starting a new journey.  I consoled Jazz as her closest friends moved halfway across the country on their new adventure.  I indulged extra sleepovers and took lots of pictures to preserve the memories.  I finally created an email for Jazz so that she could keep in touch with her friends.
• FARMERS' MARKETS:  We start every Saturday at either the Smithfield or Williamsburg Farmers' Markerts.  The fresh and local produce drive our menus all summer and force us to try new and exciting foods - 8 ball squash??  We've also discovered the wonderful woman in Smithfield with blue egg laying hens.  Yum!  

Much more has occurred in the Domestic Church, but stopping here allows me more fodder for future posts! Create some happiness of your own -

Today's blog post title from Sugarland's Something More.

I just took up my place in right field

Happy Mother's Day!

My poor little blog has been so ignored for the last month (or more). There are reasons for that and I'll get to a newsy post soon. Today, though, I want to share how my Domestic Church touched this mother's heart.

Earlier in the week, I was asked how I'd like to spend Mother's Day. Getting a wonderfully made breakfast is a given since my boys really enjoy cooking. And I agreed to bacon, making Zydeco's own heart sing. My usual answer to how I'd like to spend a leisurely day is "sewing without the pressures of a schedule." 

But this time, I asked my family to stretch themselves. The company I am working for has a wonderful branch that encourages and supports community involvement and volunteerism. We certainly do both of those in this Domestic Church, in many ways and forms, but the company offers new and various avenues we've not explored.  My family agreed to try something very new.

We donned our logo'd tee shirts and headed across the water to help with a very special Little League game: a game for special needs children. Explanation of the Challenger Jamboree is here. We all stepped outside of our comfort zones to "buddy" a child during the ball game. We played in the field, cheering and offering encouragement while also providing a watchful eye. We stood near home plate while our buddy player swung at pitches or a tee, then ran with them around the bases.

(No pictures of the game because I thought it insensitive to photograph other peoples' children).

Classic Rock, a true football fan, put aside his baseball prejudice and really enjoyed his time in the field with his buddy. Irish Jig didn't ask any questions about why a child walked a little differently or didn't speak quite as well, thankfully. She just accepted the fun offered to her by the small boy we buddied. I love the innocence of the young.

The rock star today was Jazz. She was so nervous and anxious about befriending someone with a special need. Would she be able to communicate? To share? She was buddy to a girl just about her age but with a slower speech pattern. The girl took Jazz's hand and ran her around the bases, laughing and enjoying every minute of the attention. And Jazz relished in giving it to her - all her qualms vanishing in an instant.

Today, I am so very thankful to be mother to these amazing children. I'd like to believe their hearts are generous because of the nurturing from Mr. Neoclassic and me, but I know the hand of God is playing their hearts to His tune. I'm just along for the beautiful, amazing ride.

***
On a slightly humorous note, when I received the logo tees from the HR department, they didn't have a tee tiny enough for Irish Jig.  Knowing she'd feel left out, I pulled a navy tee from her stash and traced her small hand on the front.  I used day-glo orange fabric paint to create a helping hand logo so that hers would mostly match ours.  She was thrilled!  It's the small things that really make us happy, right?

Today's post title is from Peter Paul and Mary's Right Field.  So appropriate since Irish Jig, our buddy child, and I played in right field today.  And, as my parents can attest, that's the position I played during my high school Catholic Youth sports league tenure!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The small people's level of excitement is off the proverbial chart. Continuing with our desire to slow down a bit and enjoy these days together, we used the first Sunday of Advent to find the perfect tree.  We loaded the van with snacks, water bottles, the people and Classic Rock's Christmas playlist and headed across the bridge to the Zuni Tree and Alpaca Farm.  We started by simply running through the fields, as Irish Jig exemplifies below:

Then we tried out our yoga poses: 

Then somebody got "too heavy for my feet!":

Then I played the I'm-older-and-can-tell-you-what-to-do-card.  I love having a strong teenager:

I should mention that in here somewhere, Mr. Neoclassic sawed

through the trunk of our chosen tree.

Then he tethered it to the roof of the van.  That's when we realized exactly how large the tree is.  It's not overly tall - just about seven feet - but it's almost 10 feet in diameter.  Ooops!  It looked much smaller when I declared it "the ONE".  We drove carefully and slowly home, hoping the tree wouldn't roll off the roof in the wind.

Then this majestic beauty was erected in just the right spot to allow for the train track to clear the base.  Zydeco is our chief train engineer since he's the only one who understands how to make the transformer talk to the track.  Probably because he sticks to my father's side whenever my parents are in town!

The girls, especially, check the tree each morning for newly added gifts.  Most are for friends, but they are checking for their names.  The boys are more surreptitious in their snooping, but I know they, too, are checking.  They just don't know that I've stashed their gifts elsewhere until Christmas - hee hee.

We are also gathering in the evenings to celebrate another day closer to His birth.  Classic Rock plays O Come, O Come Emmanuel for us on the piano as we spend time in quiet contemplation.  I knew those years of lessons would pay off!  We also gather at our Advent countdown.  I hope to share that with you soon (spoiler alert).

I hope your family is also slowing down to enjoy the season, the preparations, each other, and the magic.