Book Suggestions?

I am really excited! I am about to take a full week break from my part time job for the first time in three years! With some leisure time looming ahead, I am dying to dive into a good book (or two!) Somehow I feel out of the loop of good reads recently and could use a few suggestions. I am in the mood for something Elizabeth Gaskell/Jane Austen/complete chick-flick and easy reading type of book. Maybe for variety, I would love something a little more thought provoking and beautiful. Have you read anything recently that you would recommend?

Difficult Concepts for Sam:

1) Why does Mommy have the arbitrary rule of, "Baseball bats are only for hitting baseballs, not your sister?" Chasing a screaming sister through the house is so much more lively than a ball.

2) Mommy does not appreciate the fact, that toilets are just as good as sinks for handwashing. Plus, the toilet is at a much more convenient level.

3) Gravity is really hindering to one's flying capabilities, even if you jump from really tall objects.

4) By the time Mommy finishes reading "Madeline" to Rose, she could have been reading "Gossie," three times over! It is so unfair that Rose's books take so much longer to read!

5) The Priest never includes me, even when I ask, "Bite?" and open my mouth to receive the Eucharist too. He only smiles, but I didn't ask for a smile.

Life is so unfair.

Five Love Languages

I just recently finished reading the book, "The Five Love Languages of Children," by Gary Chapman. My husband and I have been huge fans of the original book, "The Five Love Languages," since we were dating. We discovered what each of our primary languages were and discussed how to speak the other person's language in a way that made them feel the most loved. We come back to this discussion, along with the discussion on temperaments, quite often. It is always fun and enlightening!

As Rose Marie continues to grow, I have been watching her begin to truly express herself. The thing that has been the most interesting is watching how she expresses love. I have known since she was little, that physical touch was not necessarily how she felt the most loved, nor how she gave love. It seems that right now, at this little stage in her life, she is expressing her love for others through acts of service. It is so beautiful to watch! When Jake comes home for the weekend, she does not always run to his arms, but quickly asks, "Can I get you a drink? Do you want me to take your shoes off? Do you want a snack? Let me put your suitcase away for you!" During the week she talks about how she can't wait for Daddy to come home so that she can "take care of him." She is so attentive and so nurturing.

The book was so helpful in reminding me to pay closer attention to how Rose Marie is loving. It also pointed out that most children do not show their primary love language until the age of five, which is why until that time, it is crucial to purposefully speak all five love languages to the child. We should always be striving to speak all five languages anyway, but I think knowing what a person's primary language is, can help to ensure that you are saying, "I love you," in a way that speaks loudest to their heart.

For now, the book was a gentle reminder to express my deep love for my children in many different ways. I making more of an effort to try to speak each of the five languages to each of my children throughout the day. Some days are better than others, but it helps me stay focused on what is the most important thing...cherishing and loving my babies.

Sam's Words

In so many obvious ways, having a boy is drastically different than having a girl. One of the ways I didn't think I would see a huge difference was in vocabulary. Here is a list of the words that Samuel can say typically to/about the right thing.

1) Jesus (I had to thrown that one out there first...I think it is the only redemptive one!)

2) Dead (Yup...and I have no explanation for you.)

3) Car

4) Pee-pee (Somehow he talks about his pee-pee a lot recently...maybe I need to think about putting him on the potty.)

5) Yeah-please

6) No

7) Mama

8) Stuck

9) Bug

10) MINE! (This word is the most clear and usually said in the biggest voice he can muster. I suppose it is a necessary word when you are the second sibling.)

Ripple Effect

Okay, I really love this commercial. It makes me smile every time.

Month of Mary

The Church in her wisdom, has dedicated the entire month of May, to Our Lady. This has come at such a crucial time for me. I am sad to admit, that in the past, I have often allowed this month to pass by without much thought about her. This month, I already find myself clinging to Mary.

I am completely embarrassed to admit this, but I have never had a strong devotion to the Rosary. I actually LOVE the Divine Mercy Chaplet instead. I will say the Rosary, but for whatever reason, I always felt somehow distanced from it. Since the beginning of this month, I have been making a concentrated effort to get back to the Rosary...and it has been amazing! I am not going to tell tales, and say that I am saying the whole Rosary everyday. No. I have found that I am out of practice in sitting still for a whole 15 minutes and mediating in silence. So, I have given myself more reasonable guidelines, and I am saying only a decade at night. I LOVE this! It is the perfect amount of time for me to give my full attention to the decade I am praying, without my mind wondering about the fifty-million things it has a tendency to drift off to. I hope that as my practice at silence and true mediation comes back, I will add decades back in.

Right now, I feel so close to Our Lady, and it has been such a long time since I felt that. I find myself thinking of her when I cook, when I reach for the babies (especially when I give comfort) and as I clean. I find myself seeking her advice on mothering, more than ever before.

I am praying that this month will be fruitful, not only for me, but for all of you lovely ladies as well! :)

Here are some of my favorite lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "The Blessed Virgin Compared to the Air we Breathe."

Be thou then, O thou dear

Mother, my atmosphere;

My happier world, wherein

To wend and meet no sin;

Above me, round me, lie;

Fronting my forward eye;

With sweet and scarless sky;

Stir in my ears and speak there;

Of God's love, O live air;

Of patience, penance, prayer;

World-mothering air, air wild;

Wound with thee, in thee is led;

Fold home, fast fold thy child.

P.S. My big regret this May is that we do not own a statue of Our Lady. I truly hope by next year we will have one, so that we can set up a special place of honor for her.