i was ineterviewed on a podcast

This will be short and sweet.

I was interviewed on a friends podcast. It is ready to download on your mp3 player or can be listened to online at www.theeverydaycatholic.com

in it we discuss home schooling and a visit I had from someone during my coma.

God Bless all of you,

Steve

back to school

Yesterday was our first day back to school for 2009. I did not have my lesson plans ready to go. So the morning was spent doing lesson plans while the kids awaited their new assignments. I got Emma and Elanis done and they got to work on them. It was promising and I started to feel really good about the new year. Then the afternoon came and we had to run an errand or two. That totally fouled up our school day. after leaving the house for about an hour and a half we got back home and you would have though the dismissal bell had rung. To be fair, Emma did do some more of her schoolwork last night, like it was homework, which we have not had since the public school days last year.

Today, the older girls have a 4H meeting, which usually means that I get very little production from the for school work. This will give me an opportunity to focus on Elani's schooling as she is not yet old enoug to officially be involed in 4H. She is making her first Reconciliation this Saturday. I am so proud that she is taking this sacrament so seriously. I am going to work with her today with the nuts andbolts of going to confession. We will discuss and do an examination of conscience and an act of contrition.

why do i do what I do?

I want to blog about a few things, but it is almost midnight and I am exhausted. So, I will spare you all.

So far the New Years has been going OK, but we start back to school and routines tomorrow. I pray that it goes as smoothly and efficiently as the girls need it to go in order for this home schooling experience to be all it can be for them. I don't school them for my benefit. I truly think that this is more detremental to my personal psyche than working a full time job outside of the home. But I believe that this is a chance for the girls to learn values and life skills in a way they probably never could in a school with teachers who also have to interact with 100-200 other kids a day. I am in no way saying that teachers in school systems are harmful to kids. I wish these people could be some of the highest paid individuals in the world, they do the most important job in the world. They educate the vast majority of kids. So, if you are a teacher please know that you are appreciated.

with that being said. I wish i was a better home school teacher for the girls...

Happy New Month??

It is New Years day 2009! The first day of a new year is always so optimistic. I have a whole year to do... something. Maybe we should celebrate every new month in the same way. I know that I would be much more productive with only 30 or 31 days to accomplish something, but February would be a tough cookie(28 days). Take your standard new years resolution. Lets say, hypothetically, that I wanted to lose 50 pounds this year... wait, this doesn't sound do hypothetical!! If I break that resolution into months of which there are 12, I would only resolve to lose 4.16 pounds a month, starting with month 1. If I didn't achieve the needed 4.16 pounds then the next month I could adjust my resolution or goal. Or if I overachieved and managed to lose say, about 8 pounds in the 1st month I would then only need to lose something like 2.5 pounds per month over the next 11 months.

Anyway, I don't wanna run on about this. Tomorrow we are going hiking as a family in Tunica Hills. As I recall the last time I did that my words as we reached our vehicle in the parking lot was something like " I will never do this again". well, never say never! I will stay positive about this. The last time I went it was in June and was 93 degrees and humid. Tomorrow should be 72 and not humid. It should be a pleasant time and good exercise. And it will be great to trudge around in Gods creation with the family.

In the home stretch. Emmanuel is going to be here soon!

Don't lose focus! Christmas is only 4 days away! Advent is almost over. ALMOST! We still have time to prepare for His arrival. We must, as Christians, stay the course. These may be the toughest 4 days to stay focused on Jesus coming to be with us, but we must. The next 4 days will be full of last minute Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, cleaning houses for family visits, grocery shopping, etc. I mean you name it, and it has to be done before the 25th. Well, during all of this earthly stuff that we need to take care of it will be very difficult to stay focused on the arrival of our salvation. It is in the spiritual realm that we really must prepare for Jesus' coming. 1 way to do this is through song. For my family, we went to a worship concert last night in Slidell, LA. it was the Adore 2097 (paragraph 2097 n the Catechism of the Catholic Church)concert series. More information on this ministry can be found at www.adoreworship.com it is a ministry based out of Houma LA and the concert was headlined by Matt Maher along with Kelly Pease and Josh Blakesley. Their version of O come O come Emmanuel at the beginning of the show was terrific. It really set the tone for the rest of the show, which included not only praise and worship, it also included Adoration. It was something that I wish we could have done as a family at the beginning of Advent, not the end. However, the timing for us was that we were able to go see it towards the end of Advent, and it was well worth it.

Home School is on an official Break for about 2 weeks. when we get back to school on January 5, 2009 my plan is for us to hit the ground running.
But more on that later...

God be with us during this advent. We look forward to the arrival of Jesus. His example of love, peace and justice are examples we strive to achieve in our daily lives, help us to keep reaching for them and to one day achieve them in this world according to your will

Amen.

O' Christmas tree!

12/15/08 is the latest date that we have ever put up our Christmas tree(although, by waitng the tree only cost 19 dollars compared to the 60 or 70 that we usually spend). Usually as I've said in a previous post we have it up a day or two after advent starts we have the tree up. Well this year has been a different story. The "busy-ness" of our lives and actvities has had the month of December flying by with no tree in the house. Yesterday, me and the girls, as part of our homeschoolng, decorated the house and put up the tree. We wanted to Surprise Mary and we did. You can read about her surprise in her blog at www.aliveandcatholic.blogspot.com
Now, the house and hopefully our hearts are open and welcome to the comng of the Messiah, Jesus.

This video is of Elani singing while playing her new baritone ukelele. She has been practing everyday this week, so this is after only 3 days of practice.