Make safe the way that leads on high

"O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel." 

This is my favorite verse from one of my favorite Christmas carols ever. It us so true and there is SO. MUCH. MISERY in the world. It's not exactly a difference in feelings. It's not a happiness with Emmanuel/Jesus and sad without Him. Because if you follow Jesus the same things that happened to Him will happen to you and life might even be hardER because of how He uses you as an instrument, to be light in darkness, etc (see: St Francis of Assisi prayer). And it's hard to feeeel happy when you go through persecutions and crosses. But it's the MEANING and how you start seeing everything differently that is different. 

Misery is how you talk to each other. Family members making fun of and insulting one another. It's how you serve. Or in this case how you don't serve others and victimize yourself and think you have it worse than others. It's how you look, with prying eyes or with envy. It's how you touch. About a million things rush up in my head when I think of the misery people cause through touch: self-harm, or harming others, rape and violence.  

Heaven starts on earth and so does hell. Some people are living in a hellscape. The only way out is Emmanuel, born today. To be born in my heart and in yours. 

For the second time we spent Xmas Eve just the eight of us. It was calm and we didn't open any presents which helped focus on the other, more important parts of Christmas. De futuro gostaria mesmo de fazer voluntariado em família no Natal. We went to mass and then tried my best to have a "Bethlehem dinner"(pita bread, store-bought hummus, hard-boiled eggs, olives, etc). I was going to make chicken kebabs, but didn't get to it. I really wanted to set up a table on the floor, like a mattress, and sit on pillows on the floor, to be more middle eastern and something different for us, but the babies 👶 👶 couldn't understand it wasn't for jumping on. 

We made this White Christmas Sparkle Cake 🎂 and I put the baby Jesus that was missing from our nativity scene. We sang happy birthday to baby Jesus and then sang carols around Him and a candle. And yes, Adelaide has ice on her head because Dimas hit her with a statue if Our Lady. He probably deserves coal in his stocking for the siblings he inflicts pain on everyday... but he might get presents instead. 🎁 😊

Merry Christmas!

O meu verso preferido de uma das minhas canções de Natal preferidas Veni Emanuel diz: "torna seguro o caminho que leva ao alto e fecha o caminho para a miséria". É tão verdade e há TANTA.TANTA.MISÉRIA no mundo. Não se trata duma diferença de sentimenos: felicidade com Imanuel/Jesus e triste sem Ele. Porque se segues Jesus, as mesmas coisas que aconteceram a Ele provavelmente acontecerão a ti e e a tua vida pode até se tornar MAIS difícil pois Ele te usa como instrument. (Para ser luz na escuridão, etc, ver a oração de S. Francisco de Assis). E é difícil sentir felicidade durante persecuções e cruzes. Mas é o SIGNIFICADO e como começas a ver tudo de maneira diferente que muda. 

A miséria é como se fala uns com os outros. Familiares gozarem uns com os outros e insultarem-se. É como serves ou não os outros. Vitimizas-te e achas que a vida te corre pior que aos outros. É como vês: com curiosidade sobre a vida dos outros ou enveja. É como tocas. Um milhão de coisas vem à cabeça quando penso na miséria que se causa pelo toque: magoar-se a si próprio ou aos outros, violação e violência. 

O Céu começa na Terra e o inferno também. Algumas pessoas vivem já no inferno. A ÚNICA sáida é Imanuel, nascido hoje. Deixar nascer no meu coração e no teu. 

Pela segunda vez, passámos a vespera de Natal só os oito. Foi calmo e não abrimos prendas, o que ajudou focar nas partes mais importantes do Natal. No futuro gostava mesmo de fazer voluntariado como família no Natal. Fomos à missa e fiz o meu melhor para fazer um "Jantar de Belém" (pão pita, humus, ovos cozidos, azeitonas, etc.) Queria ter feito kebabs de frango, mas não tive tempo. Queria também ter feito uma mesa no chão e sentar em almofadas, mais ao medio oriente, mas os bebés não conseguiram perceber que era uma mesa e não um trampolim. 

Fiz um bolo e pus o menino Jesus que faltava ao nosso presépio. Cantámos-lhe os parabéns (e o Daniel, sempre o comediante, respondeu por Ele: "obrigado meus amigos, do fundo do meu coração sagrado..." ;)). Depois acendemos uma vela e cantamos musicas de Natal à volta d'Ele. Na foto a Adelaide tem gelo na cabeça porque o Dimas bateu-lhe com uma estátua de Nossa Senhora. Ele provavelmente merecia carvão na meia ;) mas teve prendas mesmo assim. 

Feliz Natal!

Reflections on the coronavirus crisis pt 6: Life is a crisis

My husband has said many times during these past months: let's not decide or do this or that because we're in the middle of a crisis. To which I answer: when are we not in a crisis? Life is a crisis. 

I know it's more seasons of calm and crisis, waves that come and go... But you can never quite get your footing before another one comes. That's built into life. It's supposed to change us, open us up, transform us. 

I've learned during these months to rest a little each day during established prayer times, exercise, creativity and bonding with my husband and kids. And not wait for "that calm time" that will supposedly come during vacation or after a crisis. It's not gonna happen. 

"He continued: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10)

Master list here: https://martajuliemaria.blogspot.com/p/isolation-reflections-and-ideas.html?m=1

80% preparation, 10% doing it, 10% cleaning up

Really fun activities from the Homegrown Preschooler

I have found that my life is 80% preparation, 10% actually doing that thing you prepared and 10% cleaning up after. 

A meal: meeeeal planning argh, grocery store, putting groceries away, chopping, boiling / actually sitting down and eating / dishes

These fun activities: planning, writing lists of supplies to buy, actually buying them, prepping /actually having fun and taking these pictures / cleaning up

Going out: Preparing diaper bag, changing a million diapers everyone decides to poop in five minutes before leaving, getting jackets, putting on shoes, preparing snacks and water, driving somewhere / actually being there / coming home, taking off shoes and jackets, cleaning snack recipients 

Can anyone relate? 

Now that we are in Advent it seems all the more appropriate. I guess that's the way life is set up. Childhood and even adulthood is always "studying for something", "preparing for something", waiting for your kids to grow a bit, etc. etc. 

Happy Lent

Still on the "life is bleak" subject... Happy Lent! The word Lent means springtime and I really do look forward to a time of stripping down, rebirth, new life. Warmer weather. This Lent is especially good timing, as I am sure we will come out the other end of it totally different. And with a three-month-old baby, which is a lot better than a one-month-old baby! 

Christmas wonder

Merry Christmas friends! 

I have been pretty busy, out-of-town, sick and absent from blogging, but I finally feel like things have calmed down a bit. And just in time, because I'm almost 39 weeks pregnant (yikes!). 

Auntie Leila says in her book that Advent is the perfect time to start living the liturgical season, incorporate traditions or prayer as a family. And inspire wonder. Even though our Advent was crazy, Addie stopped napping and we've had countless fights over this fact, and I only incorporated about 25% of my plans (as usual)... looking back, I see it has been a special time for us. I had everything prepared from last year (except for stockings I am still working on learning how to knit...) that was easy to take out one day and set up, including Christmas books and nativity sets to play with. On most days we were able to light the advent wreath and sing "O Come Emanuel" before dinner, even if the house was a mess (see pic above) and it involved extra set up and clean up. But the look on Addie and Davy's faces as they watched us... motionless... sing the song was priceless. And I put in some special requests to family members, so they got some very exciting gifts I hope they will enjoy (see pic of Addie excited about her bike). 

A happy 12 days of Christmas to you!

I will be stressing over to-do lists and trying to run last-minute errands before our own baby Jesus is born. 

Sandals, sweat and outdoors

(Happy June, month of the Sacred Heart)

Hello there. There has been a rather long hiatus in these blogging parts, I know. We took a two-week trip to the East Coast USofA (a liiiiittle last minute, it's how we roll I guess). It was craaaaaaazy but really good, too. I will definitely write some posts on that soon.

It involved some also last-minute planning, packing, indecision on whether to go or not (!), doing taxes we had forgotten about the day before... things that take up time you could otherwise we blogging with. And today marks a week we've been back, but it has taken a week to adjust to the jet lag and somewhat clean my house.

Even though we had only slept three or possibly four hours our first night here (adorable kids woke up at midnight and had so much energy I thought for sure they had taken Redbull shots!), we went to the beach the next morning to make sure they would know when morning was and get lots of sun (in hopes they would soon figure out when night was...). And we've been trying to get out during the day since. We finally got two peaceful nights back to back.

We got some rain and chilly weather on our trip so it was nice to come back to summer heat. I like winter when it comes, but I am so ready for sandals, for sweat and for outdoors.

Happy weekend to you!

Flowers for Mary

Only when I saw this post by Auntie Leila did I remember I had a little vase for our prayer corner for flowers for Mary in May. Otherwise I would've forgotten. That's the thing about minimalism: it helps you appreciate and use what you have more. I don't consider myself much of a minimalist, but I'm always striving to be more and more.
I feel like I live in a reasonably clean house which is pretty organized, but if you ask my mother she would tell you I live in a pigsty with subminimum living conditions. ( ;) ;) wink wink mom)
Minimalism is a constant task, especially if you have to deal with kids clothes and toys. Yikes. This past weekend I was able to switch cold clothes for warm clothes in our closets and tidy the office a little bit and it instantly improved how I felt about our house. I tried explaining to my husband that staying inside and organizing was more therapeutic for me than going outsider for a walk but he just can't understand it.

Seasons of life and manna in the desert

(Picture of smoothie cups I looked everywhere for... one of those things that are cheap and easy to find in the US and difficult to find in Portugal.. argh. And a picture of my unfrosted cakes made the day before Addie's birthay party.)

I had this wonderful idea of looking at Jessica's very first posts from 2007 at her blog showerofroses.blogspot.com. I say wonderful because her blog is one of those you read and feel bad about yourself and how little you do and how dirty your house is. I couldn't even read it for a while when I first found it, it was too perfect. Then it occurred to me, what was her house like when she had just two or three very small children, like me? And it was reassuring to see her bad-quality pictures and not-as-beautiful-house. I especially liked this post called, "Super Woman... or just Super Tired?". I don't feel super tired, because I sleep instead of doing things. But I feel super overwhelmed.

Sometimes I get worried that I don't know what our near future will be like. I really don't know where we will live, whether we will finally have a backyard and a kitchen that is open to the living room. I really don't know if my kids will go to homeschool, a half-day school, a hybrid school, a forest school, a Catholic school. I don't even know what I want. Then I remember that I didn't know what our life would turn into when I got pregnant for the first time. I had no idea what being a mother would change in me when Addie was a baby and where it would take our family life. God gives us what we need to know at a given moment, and not our whole future all at once. Like manna in the desert: it's good for the day but you can't save it for the next day. God gives us what we need, but we can't hang onto things and control our futures.

I also sometimes think that it's good that Addie and Davy are so small they need little or no schooling. Because I am so overwhelmed figuring out cooking/cleaning, routines and family traditions, making smoothies so Addie will eat more varied fruit, etc. that I don't have time to "teach them stuff" or to take them places. I can't imagine having to drop them off at school, sports or instruments. Which I would love to do in the future... but it would be unthinkable at this stage in life.

So I guess motherhood has seasons.

Hello spring

Some (*normal*) people think of food to accompany events they're planning. I sometimes think of events to accompany the food I want to make. I saw this cake on pinterest and knew I had to make it for Spring. So I invited some neighbors to a picnic at the park on Monday and it was special.

The cake didn't turn out like I had dreamed. I have a serious case of perfectionism I guess. The grocery store I online shop at didn't have blueberries, cherries or mint leaves which I think would've looked really nice. But it was still ok. And the inside was delicious. Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake, of course. Next year I will get those blueberries and mint leaves. ;)

Time management

Springtime is really in the air if my orchids are blooming. They usually bloom twice a year but they skipped their last bloom. I thought they were going to die because they were all shrivelled up and yellow. I forgot to water them after Davy was born. Just kept on forgetting. Luckily, they have a few lives like cats and they've come back to grace us with their blooms.

My life got exponentially harder after Davy's birth. Exponentially better too. But harder. I've really like listening to some of January Donovan's videos about motherhood training. A friend from the States goes to her parish. (wow.). I have been feeling totally out of control with time management and really overwhelmed. With the videos I watched, I felt comforted that I'm doing some things right like writing everything down in my planner, caring for myself and having priorities. But I can do a lot of things better. Like say no more (boundaries). Not do things that aren't written down on my planner. For exemple, today I have to mop. I was just about to organize my closet when I stopped myself and realized I hadn't planned to do that. I like how January says you don't have a lack of time but a lack of time management skills.

Good resource. And good to get help in this challenging but incredibly rewarding adventure of motherhood.

Springtime is in the air

Happy Lent / almost spring! Did you know that the word Lent means spring?

I can never decide whether I like winter or spring better. I guess I love all seasons and especially changing from one to another. By the time winter rolls around, I can't wait to be cozy, for candles, for Christmas. But sometime after the New Year, I am tired of Christmas decorations, want the house to be bare and clean and start looking forward to warmer weather. Each year I appreciate Lent/Easter more and more.

This year I was super organized and had my Stations of the Cross, grapevine wreath and purple candles ready to go. I actually almost forgot about them. I need to spring clean and use what I have. One of my favorite pieces of advice from Auntie Leila's Blog of Wisdom is if you are unhappy with the way your house looks or feel like buying stuff, just clean what you have and you'll like it more. That's what I like about Marie Kondo's book and the idea of minimalism, too. I have so many things I buy and never use or use very little. If I spent more time actually cleaning and finding what I have, I'm sure I'd have less of an urge to buy things. There has been a lot of impulse buying on amazon lately (gulp).

Anyway, it's a plan. Let's see if it materializes.

Btw, I've subscribed to Bishop Barron's Lent Reflections. I'm also completely obssessed with his podcast. I listen on my headphones when I get a chance.

Happy Lent!

Did you know the word Lent means springtime?
I am excited to start Lent simply and without big expectations or projects (except the million I try to keep finishing... photo albums stop stressing me out!).
Yesterday we made a Lenten prayer box with our homeschooling friends, with forty intentions composed by us. We take out one a day and all four families are praying for the same things.  

"Lent should be a time of beneficial “pruning away” of falsehood, worldliness, indifference: in order not to think that everything is ok as long as I’m ok; to understand that what counts is not the approval of others, or search for success or consensus, but cleanness in one’s heart and in one’s life; in order to rediscover the Christian identity – that is, the love that serves, not the selfishness that is served. Let us set out on this journey together, as the Church, receiving the Ashes and keeping our gaze fixed on the Crucified One. Loving us, He invites us to be reconciled with God and to return to Him, in order to rediscover ourselves." - Pope Francis's Ash Wednesday homily

Christmas decorations

We have been enjoying our Christmas decorations this Advent. Last year I didn't put up a tree or listen to any Christmas music... I was that overwhelmed with baby/work/trying to do everything. (because I loove Christmas)

This year we got our act together and put up our tree on the first Sunday of Advent. We've been really enjoying having dinner with just Christmas tree lights and candles lit. And my husband doesn't mind listening to Christmas music non-stop since November and the the Nutcracker CD playing a million times. I got myself a winner. ;)

So this is Christmas

 

Christmas is my favorite season. It is so magical. We have been busy, but I'm hoping we will calm down a little now. We had our last party in a string of parties we've had recently. It was na Usborne book party and I really liked hosting it. I made Pioneer Woman's Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes, pictured above, and they were divine. I have never been so happy with cupcakes I've made. Instead of using peppermints.. which apparently are extinct in Portugal.. I used a yummy candycane I got from Starbucks. Thankfully we have Starbucks here in Portugal.

Addie participated in her very first Christmas play... or any play for that matter. She is also pictured as an angel above. She deeeefinitely doesn't have stage fright... at least not yet. She ran on the stage a few times when it wasn't her part. And she was the "liveliest" angel singing "angels we have heard on high". Lively, as in jumping up and down. I don't know if it's just because I'm her mother, but she gets more adorable each day.

This Christmas play came about through our homeschooling group, which has proved to be one of the best things going for us in our life right now. We are not only finding a social aspect for Addie here (I am planning on writing an article soon called "Why our Government-Run Play Group Doesn't Work... anyway), but we are finding friendship, like-mindedness and community as a family. It's the entire family bonding with other entire families. It's great. Also find our homeschooling group crafting session photo above.

I hope your Advent is off to a peaceful and hopeful start.

Leaves and pumpkins

Happy fall! I know it's a little late but only now did I frame my pressed leaves and put them up with blu-tack.