Sunday, December 27, 2009

Merry Christmas! Christ is Born - Glorify Him!



Merry Christmas!  Christ is Born !  We have had a very enjoyable Feast day and some great quality time as a family!  After we returned from our spiritually renewing trip to Marietta, we had a few things to do to prepare for Nativity.  As the time drew near, we continued to read to Sophia about the Birth of Christ and have really tried to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas.

We had waited until the last minute to put up our tree.  We usually put it up much earlier, but the Little Man of the house can be quite inquisitive and we envisioned him not only taking off the ornaments but perhaps knocking down the whole tree.  Sophia helped us to decorate it and put up our stockings...and lo and behold, Demetri has not ruined ONE thing !  Thanks to my brother-in-law, we were even able to hang lights outside for the first time! We had never had an electrical outlet on the exterior of the house...until now!







We had a few days to prepare our ornaments for the Ornament Exchange that we signed up for over at Orthodox Mom (thank you so much to Sylvia for organizing it)!  I am not overly "crafty" or creative, but I did find a great idea HERE and we made some Apple Cinnamon scented ornaments.  Sophia really enjoyed the whole process.  She helped measure the ingredients, mixed them with her hands, helped to roll them out and cut the shapes. She especially enjoyed decorating them!  We used the star-shaped cookie cutter and once they were baked and dried, Sophia decorated them with glitter-glue and then pasted an icon onto each ornament.

Getting ready to roll out the dough for the first time!



The finished ornaments!  


She made homemade Christmas cards and signed her own name.  She was SO independent and excited when we started making the cards, but once we did the first 3 or 4, she said "This is hard work"!  We brought them to the post office together and off they went!  We sent out 7 ornaments - which meant she would be getting 7 packages in the mail herself!  She was so excited each day as a box arrived in mail for her.  They are all on the tree, but I will take a picture of the ornaments collectively and hopefully post them soon!  Many thanks for all the work that went into these precious ornaments!

Well, she enjoyed the whole process of making these ornaments so much that I decided I would let her make some Christmas sugar cookies.  Again, her favorite part was putting on the sprinkles!  (mine too, I did a few of my own)!




We attended services of the Blessed Nativity of our Lord and then enjoyed the fellowship of our Church family.



Demetri venerating the Icon of the Nativity, with the help of his Nouna


family snapshot after the Divine Liturgy

Christmas Morning we spent at home enjoying some family time, opened a few gifts and played with the kids.  We spent the rest of the day at my sister's house with our family for a wonderful day of laughs, fun, and a delicious festal dinner !



Christmas morning
Working on her new "cube" puzzle, while Demetri plots to steal a piece!


Loved the skates that Yiayia got for her, wore them all day!
(even while playing with Demetri's new BeBop Band)!


Definitely posting this without permission....but I love how silly we 
can be when we're together!


I hope and pray that everyone enjoyed their Christmas!  Christ is Born - Glorify Him !




Friday, December 18, 2009

A little road trip


We recently returned from a wonderful, spiritually renewing and fun trip to Marietta.  We were very blessed to have some dear friends of ours lend us their mini-van...which made the trip so much easier and more enjoyable!!  The kids were real troopers!  After going through the long drive, they came with us to Bible Study that night, an agrypnia (all-night vigil) the next night, Holy Unction the next, then Divine Liturgy and an evening prayer service that same night !  We had a wonderful and uplifting time, perfect for this time of year as we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord !

Catching a few zzzz's during Bible Study




our faithful teacher and Spiritual Father






With Olympia's help, she got to do her FIRST Gingerbread house too !!



Sunday, December 6, 2009

On the Feast of St. Nicholas




We have been reading about St. Nicholas in some new books that we purchased for Sophia.  The Life of Saint Nicholas The Wonderworker (St. Nectarios Press) and Saint Nicholas - The Real Story of the Christmas Legend are 2 of our new book acquisitions.  The little lady has really been enjoying reading them at night at learning about this beloved Saint of our Church.  Thanks to Sylvia I have a list of a few additional books we'll be getting as well.  


Before going to bed last night, we had the children put out their shoes in anticipation of St. Nicholas bringing them some "goodies".  Although we never took part in this tradition as children, I really think it's a wonderful idea to do with our young ones and I am so glad that we have started to do it in our own little family.  Sophia was so excited when I reminded her this morning to go check her shoes.  They got some gold/chocolate coins, Orthodox icon flash cards (goarch.org), and a book as well.  I wasn't sure if she would actually connect the coins to the stories that we had been reading - but when she saw them she said "like the girls who wanted to get married"!  


Oh....and as you can see, she couldn't decide whether to leave her shoes or her boots - so she left both ! 






Friday, November 27, 2009

She taught me a(nother) lesson !




Last week I was changing Demetri's diaper and talking to him throughout the process (trying to keep him on the table)!  In my babbling, I said "uh-oh, looks like we have to make some more wipes for the little man".  We cloth diaper - and use cloth wipes.  Sophia has watched me whip up a quick batch of "wipe solution" more times than I count.  I was preoccupied so I hadn't noticed that she had gone into the bathroom across the hall.  When I came out of my son's room, there she was... mixing and shaking the little jar.  I noticed my little bag of "stuff" on the counter and the bottle of lavendar oil looked almost empty.  (I've had this same bottle of oil since Sophia was born and we began our cloth-diapering journey).  "HUH (gasping), SoPHIAAAA, what did you DOOOO?" I said behind my gritted teeth.  She calmly got off her footstool and said "Mama, you didn't say Thank You"...and she carried her wet wipes to the changing table.  Choking back a tear, I followed her to the room, gave her a hug and told her how thankful I was that she was such a "big helper" to me!

Since that day, I have noticed so many more times that she is "helping" me.  I've really tried to make it a point to show her my appreciation and let her know what a great job she is doing.  I can see the joy in her little eyes when I take notice and make a big deal out of something she has done for me.  It is precious.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Sophia's stewardship in the kitchen

Sophia was very disappointed this past Sunday to hear that her Catechism class had been cancelled. She looks forward to Sunday School and just looked so "bummed out" when I told her that she would have to wait until next week.  Then my koumbara asked her if she wanted to help in the kitchen when the kollyva came over after the Memorial Service...her eyes just lit up.  "Help" and "kitchen" are two of her favorite words!  She mixed, stirred and even served it into a hundred dixie cups!  She felt so important  helping and really took it seriously....and didn't spill even one kernel of wheat!


A great day for a party...and a pony!

Sophia has a little friend that she just adores...and this weekend was her 3rd Birthday Party!  How exciting!   She had been talking about it all week and practicing to sing "Happy Birthday"!  I didn't tell her until a few days before, but there were going to be a few surprises at the party.  They were having a petting zoo, which consisted of sheeps, goats, bunnies, a pig, guinea pig, ducks...and best of all, a PONY.  She immediately said she couldn't wait to ride the pony.  I was tempted to start taking bets as to whether or not she would actually ride it.

She was a little anxious when we all went out back to see the animals.  Her little friend showed no fear and jumped right up on "Barney" (the pony).  Pretty soon all of the children had gone on Barney.  We decided to put Demetri on and see how  he liked it.   He LOVED it and went on twice.  After that I told her that Barney was going to have to leave soon, so if she wanted to ride...this was her chance.  She quickly said "I wanna ride him now".  She got on and didn't look back....and then went a few more times!  She loved it.  She also got the gutts to go into the petting zoo area with the animals.  Baba took her, so I wasn't really close enough to see if she actually TOUCHED anything - although she will say she did!!




Friday, November 13, 2009

Teddy Bear Picnic




Today was the annual Teddy Bear picnic at our public library. Sophia was so excited about it all week.  She had all her snacks picked out to share with her friend, her teddy bear was ready to go...and she was really happy that Demetri was going to be a part of it this time.  Last year, when the picnic took place...I remember that I was just finishing my 40 days and it was one of the FIRST public places he went.  I carried him in the sling and he slept the entire time. But this year was a lot different. I venture to say that the little man has just as much fun as his big sister - if not MORE!






Sophia helped me pack her lunch (pb & j), some fruit snacks, drinks, crackers - and plenty of extra for her little friend.  She picked out her 2 blankets - her Noah's Ark and a Teddy bear blanket.  The library had it set up very nice again.  They had their normal story and song time inside.  The theme was....Teddy bears, of course.  Then everyone got to go outside to enjoy the picnic.  After the children ate, there were plenty of activities to enjoy.  Ring toss, bean bag toss, tunnels to crawl through, play tents, parachutes, balls and nets.  The kids had a wonderful time. It was a great day.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

MaMaaaaaa, He's WALKING!!!

Since his birthday a few weeks ago, our little man has been taking 2 or 3 steps here and there.  Of course, he didn't really need to walk by himself since his big sister was always right there to pull him along!  Yesterday, he began to walk all over the house!  He would actually make it from one room to another.  This made Sophia SQUEAL with delight, "MaMaaaaa, he's walking"!  She has been eagerly awaiting this day, since I've been telling her that one day he would be able to walk by himself and play with her more!  So, now that he can walk on his own two feet....he decided he would just start standing in his little push-wagon instead of using it as a walker!


Monday, November 9, 2009

St. Nektarios



Today we commemorate St. Nektarios in the Orthodox Church.  The children and I started our day by attending Divine Liturgy.  In the simplest of terms, I was able to share with Sophia the story of this beloved modern-day Saint.  She prayed with me and helped to light our "candili" this morning.  There are so many AWESOME books and resources about St. Nektarios...I am currently reading Saint Nektarios - The Saint of our Century, by Sotos Chondropoulos.  A wonderful book!

I will share with you the story of the end his life here on earth. The entire article can be found here.


One afternoon of September 20, 1920, a nun by the name of Euphemia brought a little rassa-clad old man, who was convulsed with pain, to the Aretaieion Hospital of Athens, a state hospital for the poor. The intern of the hospital asked the nun for information about the little old man to enter into the hospital register. "He is a monk?"
    "No. A bishop."
    The intern laughed sarcastically. "Leave off the joking, Mother. Tell me his name so I can put it in the register."
    "He is a bishop, my child. He is the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Pentapolis."
    "For the first time in my life I see a bishop," muttered the intern to himself, "without Panagia, gold cross, and -- most significant of all -- without money!" "Indeed he is a bishop," repeated the nun. "The Metropolitan of Pentapolis. This metropoly belongs to the Patriarchate of Alexandria. He is the Most Reverend Nectarios Kephalas. Some time ago he left Egypt and came here, close to you, as a matter of fact, because he directed Rizarios School. For some years now, however, he has lived as a monk in the convent of the Holy Trinity on Aegina. There he became gravely ill and in spite of his protests, we brought him here." She then showed the intern his credentials which proved him to be the Metropolitan.
    The intern of the hospital, amazed by everything he had heard and seen, shrugged his shoulders and told the nurses to place the sick man in a third-class room where there were several beds for the destitute. The doctors diagnosed that the sick little old man was suffering from severe systitis, a disease of the bladder. For two months the Hierarch Nectarios Kephalas lived in the midst of terrible pains, and at ten thirty in the evening of the eighth of November, 1920, in peace and at prayer he gave up his spirit unto God at the age of seventy-four.
    In the final days of his life, the Saint was kept in the ward of the incurable in the midst of many poor, sick people who were about to die. Next to his bed there was a man who had been paralyzed for many years. As soon as the Saint gave up his spirit, a nurse of the hospital and the nun who had accompanied him prepared his sacred tabernacle for the transfer to Aegina for burial. For this purpose they dressed the Saint in clean clothing. When they took off the Saint's sweater, they placed it on the bed of the paralytic to get it out of their way and continued preparing the Saint's body. And O, strange wonder!, the paralytic immediately began to gain strength and arose from his bed healthy, glorifying God.
    The day he reposed, the whole hospital was filled with such a fragrance that all the patients, nurses, and doctors would come out in the halls to ask where such a fragrance was coming from. For some days after, they could not use the room where they placed his relics because of the fragrance, even though they kept the windows opened, so strong was the fragrance. This room is now a chapel dedicated to the Saint.
    They took his relics to Piraeus and put them in the Church of the Holy Trinity while they prepared a small, wooden coffin. From there they took him to Aegina where they gave him a simple burial at the Convent of the Holy Trinity.
    Some years later, as is the custom in Greece, his grave was opened to take the relics out. When they opened the grave, what should they see but that the Saint was whole and fragrant. Not even his vestments had changed in any way. It was just as if he had fallen asleep and been buried that very day. They had not told the people of Aegina, because he had already worked many miracles and become very beloved, and a very large crowd would have gathered -- even from Athens and other places where he was known -- for the opening of his grave. So, early in the morning, as soon as they were finished with the Divine Liturgy, as it was dawning they went and began to open the grave. At the same time there was a taxi coming by on the road below the convent. Inside was a woman who had been to some resort place. She was not a woman of good repute, but of ill repute and many sins. As soon as they approached the Holy Trinity Convent, there was such a fragrance in the air that she told the driver, "Stop. What is that fragrance?" So he stopped and looked around. "Oh," he replied, "here is the convent of the Holy Nectarios. What else could such a fragrance be but that they are opening his grave today, and the fragrance is coming from the grave. For many times a fragrance came from his body before they buried him. And even from the grave it comes sometimes." Immediately she opened the door of the taxi and ran to go and see. She went up to the convent at the moment that they had opened the coffin and found the relics whole. She was very moved by this and by the fragrance, especially. She began to weep and publicly confess her sins. Thus she was corrected and became a prudent and Christian woman in her way of life. His body remained marvellously incorrupt for more than twenty years, continually distilling a delicate, heavenly scent.
   But whether for our sins or some other reasons, some years later the relics of the Saint dissolved, and what we have now are his holy bones. They encased his holy head in a bishop's mitre and opened the top so one can kiss the crown of his head. The other parts of his relics, which have much fragrance, they put in a silver box. This fragrance has continued ever since to rejoice the faithful who come to venerate his precious relics with the assurance that Saint Nectarios has been received by God into the abode of the righteous. His veneration was formally recognized in 1961. The list of his miracles grows longer every day, and his shrine in Aegina has become the most popular place of pilgrimage in Greece.

Most Holy St. Nektarios, pray to God for us! 

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Learning to "create" and "pretend"...

I'm not quite sure what I expected.  I think I had somewhat of a vision of my children, neatly sitting at the table and coloring (NOT eating the crayons, tracing her hand on the closet doors or the table that I painstakingly stained for her room).   I thought she would understand that when you paint with the watercolor paints, the cup of water that I gave to her was to rinse the brushes - NOT WASH THE PAPER!   I had no idea that I was supposed to specify that the three different containers/colors of playdough were SUPPOSED to remain three different colors - not end up as three containers of a putrid purplish color blob !

First time Mama - with a lot to learn!

Well, after boxes of crayons (too many to count), tons of water spills and a decision that she could do WITHOUT playdough...our little artist is learning and emerging!  She has shown such an interest in such things now, that I've had to actually start a little supply cabinet !  It's filling up quickly with all things "Arts and Crafts"!  We also bought her a great easel from Ikea for her Nameday gift this year.  I have to admit, I think it is such an awesome thing to watch.  Just watching both of my children grow and learn is something that I never envisioned as being THIS MUCH FUN!  I love doing things with them, teaching her a little bit of something - and then watching her take that and do her own thing.  Come up with new ideas, play make-believe, tell stories, role play, build things...it's all such a wonder to me.  To think....this is just the beginning of the fun!  Motherhood is such a Blessing!  


Our little artist 


Showing off her new finger puppets!  


We started fingerpainting by using Color Wonder paints by Crayola! 


Even Demetri enjoys scribbling on the easel !  He does, however, still eat the chalk if you aren't looking!

Monday, November 2, 2009

"Where's Noni"????

Well, it's been a great two weeks...but Noni and Granddad (my inlaws) have departed to return home.  I was completely prepared for the dreaded question..."Where's Noni?"  I made sure to get up and out of the house early, load us with a list of errands to do and follow that with some fun stuff for the rest of the day.  So far, it's only been somewhat effective!  But we can't complain, we had a wonderful time. Two full weeks of 1st Birthday parties, Nameday celebrations, Church services, sunshine, beaches, pools, restaurants, parks - all quality family time.  Sophia didn't give her grandmother a minute to breathe, as if she is her own personal little playmate!  (Pretty sure Noni didn't mind a bit).  The little princess also got to eat WAY MORE macaroni than any toddler should eat over that period of time, lots of snacks and even the forbidden GUM from Noni.  We will miss you guys and we're already looking forward to our next visit together.  Are we counting the days yet???


Wheeling her own ladybug suitcase....a "traveling gift" from Noni





My two guys...after Divine Liturgy on his Nameday



All ready to hit the beach




Enjoying a meal together



Saturday, October 24, 2009

1st Birthday Celebration for my Lil Man!

Well, tomorrow is the little guys 1st birthday!  I can't believe an entire year has passed!  We had a wonderful family celebration today for him.  My inlaws are in town visiting and they brought with them some delicious and nostalgic mini-hot dogs for the family to grill....all the way from Woerhles in Massachusetts!    We had a picnic-style party at the park and the weather was perfect for it!  He was surrounded by the love of his crazy family!   We decided to take a few snapshots as soon as we got there - and I am so glad we did.  Demetri was a typical boy and was filthy, full of dirt, scraped knees, etc. within minutes of arriving at the park!






Yiayia helping with some big steps! (he is not yet walking)



Birthday Boy with is Nouna



My father-in-law took control of the grill (thanks Granddad! ) and everything came out delicious!



Thanks to the Russells (who brought the horseshoes), the men had some fun playing horseshoes!



And of course, no journal entry would be complete without a little picture of the Birthday Boy eating some cake!



A great day overall.  Tomorrow is his actual birthday and we will be attending Divine Liturgy in the morning. After that, we are going away for a few days and will continue to celebrate and enjoy my inlaws visit.

Monday, October 12, 2009

My Slinging Little Girl

Our little girl has started showing more of an interest in playing with her dolls lately.  She feeds them, reads them stories, blesses them with the Sign of the Cross, dresses them...and she even wears them.  She spent much of her little life in a sling, mei tai or wrap - so it seems normal that she would want to wear her own babies too.  Pictured below she is using a sling and a mei tai that her Yiayia made for  her!    Nonetheless, I still find it endearing to see that she is mimicking what she sees me now do with her little brother.  She is really at that fun age of playing make-believe, role-playing, "cooking" for me, playing dollhouse, etc.  I love to watch her play this way.






Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Dorofy and Dorofy

The box arrived and my little girl was SO excited, the way she normally is when her Noni sends her "presents"!  So, we sat down after lunch and started opening all of her new treasures.  She got excited with each thing she pulled out....cute skorts, new skirt, shirts to match, sweets...and THERE IT WAS!  I thought to myself "well, my mother-in-law has FINALLY managed to send a bad gift"!  I've never had to deal with this before. All of her gifts are always wonderful, fun, thoughtful...perfect, most of the time.  Except for now.  I see a fishbowl.....gravel.....and I'm pulling out the tissue paper.  I see a Petsmart receipt.  Yup, this must be the voucher that I go and pick up her first goldfish. Wonderful.  Toddler + Infant + Goldfish.  You are seeing where this could end, right?
Well, we'd like you to meet "Dorofy and Dorfy" (Dorothy and Dorothy...my little girl couldn't think of 2 names right away, so I think they both got named after Elmo's fish, Dorothy).



My mother-in-law had quite a laugh when I told her what I was thinking while opening her package.  However, I will also add this:  A few days later, our little angel took Dorofy out of the bowl to wash her with papertowels...put her back (still covered in wet papertowels) and proceeded to feed them Cheerios in their bowl!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

My view from the kitchen...


Ahhh, the signs of an active day!  Now if you know my little girl, you know that is probably the worst sleeper EVER!   Naps?  ha!  So, to see her rosy little cheeks glowing as she peacefully sleeps is a beautiful site.  We love that the weather has been so nice lately! We've been able to spend so much more time outdoors and she is getting a lot more physical exercise...which we all love.  I have high hopes for many more satisfying days such as this one!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cousins and Friends

My youngest niece turns 11 today!  WOW!  It is so true what everyone always said when I was pregnant with my first, "the time goes by way too fast"!  It does.  My sister has two beautiful girls, both pictures below with my daughter.  I can remember as if it were yesterday. She called me so many miles away to tell me she was pregnant!  I remember the birth of both of them and can still picture them in their nursery beds.  Here they are now...."big cousins" to my children.  Over the years, between then and now, I always felt a bit of sadness when it came to her children and my "future" children.  While she  is younger than I am, she found her soulmate and had children much before I did.  I was sad in my own way because I had always envisioned our children growing up together, playing together, learning together.  I wanted them to be close since my sister and I are so close.  I had wanted our children to share in that love and joy.   I feared that if there was a big gap in their age they would miss out on that.  I really couldn't have been more wrong.  God is awesome and knows what is best for all of us!    Her oldest is over 10 years older than my daughter - and they are unbelievably close.  Both girls have such a special relationship with my children.   They are awesome.  Unlike most kids I know their age, they are always so willing to get out there and play with Sophia at her level. They are selfless when it comes to her - and in return, they are Sophia's most favorite people in the world. Mine too!  Everything is always more fun if "the girls" are there with us.  I couldn't agree more! So, today's little post is just a "thank you" to them...and a Happy Birthday, of course!



Wednesday, September 23, 2009

TV...or not TV....THAT is the question.







Even before we were married, my DH and I were never really "tv people".  We do have a television and basic cable.  He watches football, baseball, etc - whatever is in season...and occassionally we watch a "This Old House" episode or something of that nature.  So naturally, when my daughter was born, I made it my strict mantra "NO TV" for my child.  She will read, play, sing, run...but not watch that "junk".  My thought process on this was simple.  I didn't want  her being exposed to all the negative things that were shown on television - shows, commercials, inappropriate behavior, dress, language...you name it.  I certainly did not want to allow anything bad into her little mind.  And so it went...my tv-less child.  We would occassionally get a video from the library and we even have a few of our own which she really loves.   Every so often I allow her to watch a special show in the morning if I am really in a rush to get ready - Sid the Science Kid is her favorite.  She is quite proficient with the computer and we do allow her limited time to play on that.  She enjoys playing Sesame Street and the PBS website .  She can watch slideshows of our family photos.   That was the extent of her electronic entertainment.

Well, last week my little girl was sick (wasn't everyone?).  We put her on the couch so she could rest during the day, of course.  Coloring, puzzles and dollhouse only lasted so long.  So....enter PBS Kids.  Channel 3.  Sesame Street.  Curious George.  Word World.  I had to start watching some of these shows with her to get her through the day.  The shows were cute. The content was good.  There were learning segments, letters, numbers, life lessons...not too bad.  It was even nostalgic for me!   We got through those few days,  thank God. PBS shows in the morning and some videos that she had gotten for her birthday if necessary later on in the day.  It was a television frenzy!  She couldn't wait to watch the "next" show or movie.  Harmless?  Maybe.

It's been a week since she recovered.  The first few days were a shock to me. She would wake up in the morning and take her chocolate milk, head to the couch and say "what can I watch now?"  When I would tell her "nothing" and try to explain that we only watched a lot of shows because she was so sick, she told me her tummy hurt!  GASP!  That little picture box thing was so powerful (dare I say evil?) that my innocent little girl was going to pretend to be sick now ?!?

For the next few days I had to wake up and immediately DO something, get out of the house, have a plan....because if I didn't , she was asking me to watch something.  Amazing - she wanted to watch something more than she wanted to play with all of her birthday presents!   It was really quite a struggle for me the first few days.  I was actually feeling like a horrible mother for even letting her sit and watch it for so long to begin with.

So, why I am I thinking about all of this and why am I writing about it?   I know that some of my friends and family think I'm a little odd for not having her watch tv or not letting her get caught up in all the mainstream, character toys, etc.  I ALWAYS get comments like "What's wrong with Sesame Street"?  "Is it a sin to watch Clifford?"  Well, no...I actually LIKE Sesame Street and I think that there are a LOT of good things for kids to learn there.  I was brought up watching Sesame Street.  It's not ALWAYS the content of the shows that we have to be careful about...but it is the DEPENDENCY of watching them in general.  Isn't the same true for adults?  How many of us used to watch "the Soaps"?  Would you miss a day?  I know many who would video record them so as not to miss out on a single hour of these make-believe lives.  I can even see my little girls temparment change when she watches more than a short segment. She gets whiny, cranky, lazy, doesn't want to play with anything else...I call it "brain-mush".  It can become a habit so fast...and THAT (in my humble opinion) is something that we need to be mindful of for our children, just the same as WHAT they watch.  As an Orthodox Christian mother, I want to be sure that she isn't exposed to anything that is inappropriate and not pleasing to God....for the eyes are the window to the soul.    Even if we were to put aside the fact that we shouldn't allow them to fill their mind with garbage and noise...we  must remember that we could be letting them set up habits that could last a lifetime.   There are so many children today that don't know what to DO if they aren't in front of a television, listening to their iPods, playing a video game.  We, as parents, are responsible for paving the way for them.  If it was this APPARENT after just a week with my little girl, just think of how much of an impact it has on children after a year, two years, etc!

Every year there are more and more gadgets.  Every year it seems like younger and younger children are "needing" these gadgets.  I know 8 year olds who have cell phones, 5 year olds who can't go anywhere without a portable gameboy, 6 year olds who watch a movie every single time they get into mom's minivan!  It's crazy!

"We will put the devil in our houses inside a box and his horns will be on the roof."  St. Kosmas

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Divine Justice

"There is no greater joy than the joy you feel when you accept being wronged.   I wish everyone would wrong me!  Honestly, the sweetest spiritual joy that I ever felt was inside the attacks of injustice.  Have you any idea how much joy it gives me, to be called, "deluded"?  "Thank God", I say to myself; "I will receive wages from this insult, whereas if they called me a saint, I would be indebted".  Nothing is sweeter than being wronged!            


-- Elder Paisios 




I have spent the better part of the last two weeks really battling how I am ACTUALLY feeling and  how I WANT to be feeling!   Ahhh, the "spiritual struggle" (my "askesis" in Greek).  

I am a victim. Yikes, I don't even like how that sounds.  My car was burglarized, my diaper bag/purse was stolen. My window was crushed. My wallet is gone.  My personal affects.  My children's things.  My bank accounts frozen, closed, reopened, frauded!   I feel violated....and mad.  I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone what an aggravation this whole thing has been.   As if the above wouldn't be enough, I find out yesterday that these criminals DID actually use my identity to take money from our account...all of it - and THEN some.  Well, I had been handling the whole thing quite well until this new curve in the road.  NOW I was really mad, disgusted, depleted.  I was starting to unravel.


As my husband and I are handling all of the details back and forth via emails, he takes a moment to tell me this:  


"my love!  It is not for us to be troubled within these trials and tribulations in life.  By troubled I mean despondent, angered, fearful, stressed, etc. We move on through patience, calmness, trust, peace, humility; excepting "all that comes to us throughout the day." Our growth in life-our Faith comes
through times like this. These are perfect examples, or as the church shows us "temptations" to ascend or descend."




He reminds me to re-read Elder Paisios' talks on Divine Justice for encouragement and guidance.  I LOVE that we are there for each other in these times of struggle!  What a Blessing he is to me. 


I can't lie - I didn't flip a switch and become thankful that I was robbed.  I wish it were that easy. But I am fighting the temptation to react to this in a way that is not pleasing to God.  







Sunday, September 13, 2009

Our sick little Monkey!

As I said in a previous post, our little girl turned 3 this past weekend!  Unfortunately, she also woke up sick the day of her party.  She was still quite a trooper and put on her best for most of the day.  It also rained for majority of the day, so many of our party plans were "squashed".  Despite being crammed in our little house, I think everyone had a pretty decent time.
I did indeed attempt to make the "monkey" cake that my DD requested.  I am not much of a baker, per se...but I said some intecessory prayers to St. Euphrosynos and gave it my best shot.
At first peek, it appears I used WAY too much cake to fill the pan! I decide to press on and cut the top off to continue baking.  I'm thrilled that this works.  When I take the cake out and flip it (a new endeavor for me in and of itself), it is revealed to me that this cake does not actually LOOK like a monkey when it comes out of the pan....and that I have a lot of work to do.  

It is my first time using one of these cake decorator things and it takes me a while to get the hang of it.  But eventually, at the midnight hour, our little monkey birthday cake is done!   

As for our own little monkey....she was looking a bit worn out by the time it came time for cake!