rickashay fredrick

rickashay fredrick passed away.

he used to be named rickashay when he was caden's gerbil.

(pronounced ricochet)

i wrote more about him here.

anyways, caden gave him to connor who changed his named to fredrick.

the only picture i have of the gerbils.

fredrick only had 1 front tooth and a severe crick in his neck.

his black fur had turned gray.

he couldn't climb like he used to.  i think arthritis must have set in.
he was about 4 years old.

i wonder how old he was in gerbil years.

hopefully he's running the tunnels in heaven with ralph.

13 more weeks

just 13 more weeks until we are finished with school.

that is how i think of my life these days.

it will take us much longer than that though.

spring is coming and we will need to enjoy that!

a salt column.

this makes it sound like i don't enjoy schoolin' my boys.

the opposite is true.

and i am proud of the fact that i have aced pre-algebra!

working on his states.

things that i've enjoyed learning with each boy:

connor:  he's read the chapter books that i enjoy.

he's going to read little house on the prairie soon.  i can't wait!

bronson:  watching his spelling and writing improve has been awesome.

he's so creative with his writing too.  makes it fun to read.

caden:  this boy just continues to baffle me.

the way he processes math is way over my head.

bauer:  he's the one i get to do pre-algebra with.

i've also enjoyed reading through the book of acts with bauer and caden.

and doing grammar with those two...my brain is about to explode (in the best sort of way) every time we finish.  do they not teach grammar in schools anymore?  they can now pick out nouns, pronouns, adjectives and we are working on verbs.

only 13 more weeks left!

our week in pictures

monday:
God smiled at us on monday.
husband had the day off and it was a warm sunny 60'.
we spent the afternoon at the park.

tuesday:

time to clean the trash compactor.

using a dust pan to fill a bucket with hot water.

wednesday:

balancing school books.

thursday:

the art museum.

friday:

 finishing up our school week with brownies and milk.
(not a paleo-ish snack.)

lunch today with a confession and a recipe (sort of)

   lunch today was good.

the confession part:

i throw away so much produce.

today was a red pepper and a whole cucumber.

i live with people who would have eaten that if i would have washed and served it.

another confession:

i have food to cook and sometimes i don't.

like this past wednesday night i served cheese dip with chips and apples.

i could have given my boys something much more nutritious.

the worst confession of all:

this past sunday i made homemade soup for after mass.

it was on the stove in a pot.  all i had to do is heat it up and serve it.

we went out to eat after mass and ate food that cost way too much and wasn't nearly as healthy.

i have lots of excuses.

one of my excuses is called the two year old.

this one to be exact:

just washing his hands while i make lunch...
we all know that a 2 year old doesn't just wash his hands.

the real excuse is that i am lazy.

i have boys (and a husband) that will eat whatever i serve them.

he eats raw broccoli and has learned how to cheese real good!

so, as part of my resolution that we are going to eat more paleo-ish,

i will be back to report on myself.

my lunch today:

notice that my helper is in every picture...

it has a very fancy name:

the poppy seed dressing salad!

throw some lettuce in a bowl.

add some chicken - whatever is leftover in your fridge.

you will need some nuts - i like pecans, sliced almonds or walnuts.

feta cheese (a must!)

and some fruit - craisins, canned mandarin oranges, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries or maybe some apples

and then top with the dressing - Brianna's Home Style Poppy Seed

don't you just hate to pick out dressings?

you can relax because this one is courtney approved!

today i had pecans that my nanny shelled, feta cheese and craisins with apples on the side.

no chicken today because it is friday.  it is way better with chicken.

i never know if we catholics are supposed to eat meat on fridays or not, so i try to avoid it.

i'll be back to report on myself.

forgiveness

my head is bursting right now!
in the best way possible.

we've been going to a 'mission' at church.

Father Paul Nicholson has been speaking.

 

wow!

 

my notes from last night...

there is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.
God calls us to forgive.
you can forgive without reconciling with the person.
whew.

but, we all know forgiveness is much more than just uttering sorry.
how to really forgive.
how to really see Jesus in that other person.
how to love your enemies.
that is all hard stuff.

when Jesus was on the cross He said,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
Luke 23:34

Jesus outsourced the forgiveness to God.
we can do the same thing.

when we are having trouble forgiving someone,
we can outsource the forgiveness to God.
oh, wow.
every single time we think of being wronged all we have to say is:
Father, forgive (insert their name) for he/she doesn't know what they are doing.

God will soften our hearts and the forgiveness will come.
the outsourcing, that was the missing link for me.

a rare moment that needed to be captured.  no need for forgiveness here.