Lent Is Here

Tonight is our Forgiveness Vespers Service and Lent begins. But, first some photos and thoughts about our new parish. 

We are settling in nicely. The boys were asked right away to serve on the altar. They are enjoying it and the priest told me that he is very impressed with them. That was nice to hear. 

The kids have made new friendships and look forward to seeing them on Sundays. 

Cam and I are meeting people and trying to remember names and learn about each family. We also have old friends in the parish and for that I'm grateful. 

I am missing many families and friends from our old parish. I miss the familiarity of the space too.

But, this has been a good move.

Lent begins for us Orthodox Christians tonight. We are repeating what we did with the kids last year. So, no screen time. Cam and I will check email but will stay off all social media. No TV. Maybe an occasional family movie night. And I will blog. 

Fasting in earnest begins too. We eat a vegan/vegetarian diet. I gave the kids my standard, "It's Lent and the food will not our favorite meals". Really they do well once we get started. And I have some new recipes to try out. But, it can get boring....that's the point. 

More worship time, more prayer, less focus on food, increased almsgiving. That's Lent. 

Here we go. 

How's It Goin'?

Lots of updates to tell you about. It's all about our jobs. Now, from these photos it looks like we don't do any work at all. But, we like to balance our work life with a little fun.

Cam's new job.

Well, it's not new any more. He's been doing this new gig for 8 mos. now. He works in the ICU still but is with surgical patients instead of medical. AND...the big change was his schedule. He works looooong shifts but has more time off. A typical week looks like:


Thurs. 6:30 AM-8:00 PM
Fri. 6:30 AM-8:00 PM
Sat. (short day as long as the census is good) 6:30 AM-2:00 PM
Sun. Off
Mon. (short day as long as the census is good) 2:00-8:00 PM
Tues. 6:30 AM-8:00 PM
Wed. 6:30 AM-8:00 PM

Then 7 days off. Yep off! 7 in a row!!

So, the good parts of the schedule.

1. He is home more than the previous job
2. He drives into the city less days per month.
3. He misses all the rush hour traffic coming home to late.
4. The surgical patients are not as critically ill therefore he sees less death.
5. He likes the position.
6. He is available weekdays on his days off to be involved at the kids' schools.
7. He always has Sun. off....unless it's crazy busy or someone needs him to fill in. But, in 8 mos. that has happened 3 times.

The bad parts.

1. Those are seriously long hours.
2. He misses some of the Sat. morning games the kids play in.

We both really like the new gig. When Cam is gone I know he won't be home until bedtime. I don't sweat it wondering if he will be home for dinner, or sporting practices. I can plan accordingly. On the days he is off we have been able to do lots of fun lunch dates (which don't require a sitter). It's nice to enjoy the quiet house together too.

Cam is a big help with chores now that he is home more. He is able to really help with cleaning and errand running on his days off. I'm loving that he willingly goes to Costco! Woot!

If I had anything negative to say it would be that by the end of the stretch he's working I start to feel a bit weary and then at the end of the stretch where he's home (i.e. we spend ALL day together) I'm a bit ready for him to go back to work. Ha! I'm sure he's ready to have some time away from me too.

My new job.

I began substitute teaching in Oct. after not working outside the home for 13 years. It's been REALLY fun!! I am only working one or occasionally two days a week and only work at my kids' schools.

The good parts.

1. I bring my kids with me in the morning and take them home at the end of the day.
2. I know most of the kids at the school...at least at the elementary level.
3. I know the teachers and staff.
4. I get to pick days to work based on Cam's days off.
5. It's fun.
6. The kids like me and it really feeds my ego to have a bunch of Kindergarten kids yell, "Mrs. Wright!!!!!!" as I go by in the hallway. They come hug me and wave at me like I'm a famous person. It's the best.
7. The paychecks help financially and it beefs up my Social Security.

The bad parts.

1. The pay isn't terrific.
2. I won't get to work over the summer.

Things are good! Really thankful for both of our jobs and our time at home together....and lunch dates!

Spring is Coming

Spring is in the air....it's here...well, it's coming. I'm in love with the color yellow right now. It's happy, and bright and SPRING!! 

This time of year I get itching to get outside! We are between sporting seasons so we have SO MUCH EXTRA time to play. We spent last weekend hanging out. It was the first weekend since early November that we didn't attend games. 

I have an extra 15+ hours a week right now with no practices and no games. I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'm cleaning, exercising more and I just finished the taxes! Yeah!!

Sis is so happy every day to come home from school and just play. Nicer weather has meant lots of outdoor time playing hide and seek, soccer, basketball or just running with the dog. 

George finished up his ball season. He really loved it. Whatever sport he is playing at the time becomes his favorite sport. He is starting back at TKD with Cam this week. George is eager to continue on to his black belt. He's got a wicked side kick!

I got to attend Mr. P's middle school honor roll breakfast. It was awesome! Each student got up and said either what they have learned this year or a goal they have for themselves. The answers were so varied but all inspiring! My boy said, "I have learned how to get along with people I don't know very well and people I don't like". Wow! I loved that. Sounds like he's ready for real life. Cam and I tell this same thing to our kids and it sounds like the lesson has made an impact. 

We just love hanging around reading books too. Moses is a nut! Tuba is making an odd face in the photo but he's having fun on his iPad drawing. 

Tuba has finished his job at the local pizza place and began working at the food bank. The have him sort the food. One day he had to bag dog food. He hated it and kept saying, "Ewwww!". I agree....dog food is stinky. He's pretty funny when he doesn't want to do a task he nicely says, "no thank you". 

And you know It's A Dog's Life...especially with Spring in the air. Rocket is being a very good boy. No more potty accidents. Not too much barking at the cat...still kind of bad. He loves to play and go for walks and let's Kali chase him.

Coming up....Lent!!! It's that time of year. And Flag Football for two of our kids. And Moses's birthday is coming AND St. Patrick's Day. And there are weeds to pull and grass to mow and things to get ready for SPRING. Woot!

Valentine's Day 2016

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday....always has been and always will be. 

One of the best things about Valentine's Day is the elementary class parties. Woot! So fun to party all day long with my kids. Oh the glitter and hearts and sugary sweets. 

In Sis's class this little boy handed me this Valentine. My heart just burst! How sweet of him to make me a card. 

The class parties were on Friday which was Feb. 12th. That meant two fun days of celebrating.

But, I was coming down with a bad cold and by Sunday I was feeling miserable. MISERABLE! I did not want to be sick on my favorite day! But, I was sick. Ugh!

I laid down most of the day and then pulled myself up to set the table and make dinner. Well, the table wasn't as festive as year's past but it would have to do. 

For dinner we had marinated flank steak, caesar salad and garlic toast. See's Candy for dessert. 

Dinner was good. Pj's were the attire for our special tradition....in red of course.

We usually get a family photo but I was just feeling so phooey. This is how I spent most of the weekend. 

Cam had the kids make me special Valentine cards. Very sweet!

I did line the kids up and get their photo. Not the best but it's what I could get. 

I love my little Valentines.

Moses Grade 4

I recently read THIS old post about Moses...back when I called him Busy Guy. He is still that inquisitive and helpful boy. 

I remember when he started Kindergarten and I was so surprised that he wasn't wiggly or noisy or silly at school. Instead he was the perfect student and actually got annoyed at the other kids when they disrupted his learning. 

I was subbing the other day at the kids' school. At lunch in the teacher's lounge the teacher that led Moses's Robotics said the nicest thing to me. He asked me something like (I can't remember the exact words) how I raised such a great kid....saying that Moses is kind and helpful and quick to jump in and problem solve. It was a humbling thing to hear and really I don't have an answer other than to agree. Moses is all of those things. He is such a great kid!

Speaking of Lego Robotics. The team did very well at competition! They went to semi finals at the state level. The were the top finisher out of all the teams in our school district. Moses is hoping to be a part of the team next year too.

Moses's report card is full of high marks in all areas...including compliments from his teacher on his attitude and character. That means a lot to Cam and I.

Moses is finishing up his indoor soccer season. This was his first time playing indoor and he loved it. He is thinking he will play Flag Football for spring.

I have such glee in my heart when I think of this boy's future. I know it's going to be bright.

Mr. P Tween

This might be the last blog post about Mr. P before he is taller than me. It's VERY close. He is growing so tall and looking so much like a young man. Oh my heart. 

He is loving middle school and doing very well....both socially and academically. Report cards are coming next week and it's looking like all A's. Very nice! 

He might like a girl. I wouldn't know because he has stopped telling me those sorts of things. It is killing me. Bah! But, I've been reassured by other moms of boys that he will once again share things with me. 

We are nearing the end of basketball season. Mr. P played in a select league this year and it's been SO MUCH FUN. We love watching the games. That's a good thing too since it's our entire social life. There are regularly 2-4 games every weekend. Mr. P has worked hard on his skills this season and it's paid off. He is playing really well. He can be fierce! His team is a fun group of guys, plus the parents are great too. 

There are changes in my little boy. He is doing lots of eye rolling and tells me "I know" to just about everything I say. That is annoying and hard and I deeply regret all the times I did that to my parents. Really. It pushes my buttons when he gets all teenagey and persnickety. I guess that's his job...and it's my job to be annoyed. 

But, I see other changes too. I see maturity. I see him making changes in negative behavior towards siblings. I see growth in his heart. I see an inkling of the teen and man he will become.

Change

Writing on my blog helps me get my feelings out. Get my thoughts in order. But, sometimes I'm not sure that all my thoughts should be out there for everyone to read.

I've wanted to write about something for a long time but I  refrained. My family and friends read my blog and I didn't want to say what I was feeling in case it was interpreted wrong. I didn't want to be misunderstood.

But, it's time. 

Cam and I have made the very difficult decision to leave our parish. 

Very difficult. 

We are not leaving our faith. We are still Orthodox Christians and we are going to attend a parish closer to our home.

For many reasons...personal and practical...we came to the conclusion that this is the best choice for our family.

Over the past couple of years I have begun to feel disconnected at our parish. My family grew and changed and also things at church grew and changed. I don't like change. Nope. Nevertheless things change. My heart has a hard time keeping up with those changes.

So I waited and stewed and waited and talked to Cam and waited and continued on. But, things have only gotten busier in our lives. And yes, things change. That's life.

As our kids have gotten older they have become more involved in activities and sports, they have more homework. It's a different kind of busy from when they were little babies and toddlers.

If you know me well you know that it's excruciatingly hard for me to make decisions. It has to be (feel like) the perfect decision to me. It makes me crazy and yes, Cam too.

Cam is a practical thinker and a Big Picture kind of person. He made the decision that we would switch parishes. Not that he was deciding for me but he had made the decision for himself. He knew...and I knew that it was the right decision.

But, my heart. I cried and cried and cried. Tears of grief. Cam and I were married at our beautiful parish, we were chrismated Orthodox there too. All of our babies were baptized in that building. I have worshiped there for 20 years. There are families in the parish that we deeply love and will miss seeing weekly. It has been hard. Very hard.

It's been almost a month now since we made our decision and my tears are dry (drier) now. I sent emails to a hand full of friends to let them know of our change. I received some beautiful messages in return. A few people did not reply at all. That does bother me but I am thankful for the kind messages I did receive.

We will visit our old parish too. I'm hoping it feels nice and not awkward when we do visit. I'm worried about that. But, we have friends that we love and lives that we want to stay in touch with. When I met with our priest to tell him about our change he was very kind but also sad. I was relieved that he was sad. It's nice to know we are loved and will be missed.

So, on to the new chapter. We are now driving 8 miles instead of 25 to church. That makes a HUGE difference. The parish is small....small building but has recently purchased a building and will be remodeling/building a larger church. It's exciting to be part of that.

We know most of the families at the new parish. There are some of our oldest friends and some families that we have known just a couple of years. And now we've met several new people too.

The kids are loving the change. They have met kids and are having fun together. They like the short drive too.

I want to become connected in our new parish life so am working on ways to accomplish that.

Change is hard and yes I'm still sad but I am reaping the benefits of this change already. It's going to be a good change...even if it takes some time to get used to.

Seriously, It's a Dog's Life.