Daybook: October 7, 2011

Outside my window ... The sun is shinning. After having some chilly weather, it is suppose to warm up this weekend. (Sorry Mat. Anna, I enjoy the sunshine and am enjoying this break from the gloomy weather. :) )

I am thinking ... That there is much work to do. Not only obvious work such as house work and homeschooling but the internal work we must do as an Orthodox Christian. As we are making this transition into seminary life, I am constantly reminded on how much work we need to do for our own salvation as well as those around us.

I am thankful for ... an understanding husband. As we are quickly approaching our anniversary, I am reminded of how much he means to me. I may not always agree with him at the time but he always knows what is needed.


From the learning room ... we started taking Pic Pic to a homeschool co-op at the seminary. She is enjoying her time there. It is a nice way to incorporate the "school" element she has been asking for. We have been working on her lessons at home but I have fallen a bit out of sync with the addition of co-op and play dates. We will continue working on finding a balance and incorporating some activities for Dan Dan to participate in as she is asking for school work.

From the kitchen ... I have started to bake again. I think baking is going to be a much needed thing this winter. I also want to start meal planning to make it a little easier during our busy days.

I am creating .. I am by no means a creative person. I think that may be why I enjoy math so much and baking. I can follow well laid out plains and not have to think out side the box. However, this is an area I would like to work on. With that being said, I have decided to attempt to taking up quilting. I think it is a good combination of analytical skills and creativity. I have started a basic baby quilt for Ice Man. I haven't gotten much done since I am sewing by hand and have only been able to work on it when the kids are sleeping.

I am going ... we don't have any plans for today other than house work and catching up on some homeschool.

I am reading ... How to live a Holy Life.

I am hoping and praying for ... our family in this journey.


I am hearing ... children happily playing and singing Happy Birthday.

Around the house ... chaos. I am still trying to adjust to the new house and establishing routines. Laundry seems to be perpetually behind. And there seems to be a never ending mess to clean up. Today and the rest of the weekend will defiantly be housework as a priority.

A few plans for the rest of the week (and next week)... housework, enjoying the outdoors with the nice weather and of course church services. Next week we have a check up for Pic Pic, homeschool co-op, book club, play date, and The Protection of the Theotokos old calendar.

Picture thoughts to share ... from the Holy Cross Hermitage Pilgrimage hubby was able to attend this past weekend.

Busy

We have been pretty busy the last month here in NEPA. I thought I would share a quick summary of what's been going on. Hubby started his courses and has been kept quite busy. We are all adjusting to his schedule and trying to find a rhythm to our days.

The Kids: We officially started homeschooling Pic Pic and kindergarten. All in all it has been going well. We also are including some PreK activities for Dan Dan since she is so eager to do "schoolwork". Ice Man is walking around everywhere now. He still hasn't figured out how to stand up from a sitting position. He finds the closest furniture to use to stand up. He is starting to formulate more words now and is so cute when we figure out what he is trying to communicate.We also are watching another seminarian's daughter so we have quite a houseful and are kept very busy.

Our home: Everything is unpacked and put away. I would still like to do some organizing to make things a little more efficient. I also want to try and meal plan. In the past, I would have an idea of what dinner I would be cooking. But more times than not I would have to run up to the store to get last minute items a couple times a week. My goal is to start with just planning out meals for what we currently have.

Educating me: I ran across this blog post and thought that this was a great idea. I am looking forward to jotting down some things I would like to learn.

Update

We are finally getting settled in our new home. I have the girls room left to unpack and then we should be set. Now that its all coming together it feels like home. We have also been getting to know everyone which has been nice. Things are starting to settle now so we will be working on getting back into our daily routines, especially since hubby official starts on Sunday.

One of the adjustments we have had to make is switching from Old Calendar to New Calendar. After much thought and prayers hubby and I made the switch on the feast of the Dormition. We will still try and attend feast day services on the Old Calendar at the Parish's here but we will observe the new calendar.

We plan to start homeschooling slowly next week. We signed up for our library card, what a difference there was. We were fortunate to live within a few miles of our previous library which was very large and had a large selection of books. The new library is small but so charming and seems to have a good children's selection. I have the base of our curriculum set. Next I am going to work on adding in some fun activities.

Yesterday we experienced winter for us. The low was in the 40s and the high in the 70s. That's winter for us Arizona folk. We are hoping the weather changes gradually to help us ease into it. There was also an earthquake, one of the last things we thought we would experience here. We did not actually feel it though, or we may have and just thought it was our kids jumping up in down. ;)

I have been reading Keeper of the Light by Bev Cooke. I read the following excerpt last night:

"I know it's hard. But that is a Christian's job, my son. To love God and to trust Him, no matter how bad things are. ... Trust Him to love us infinitely. ... Trust that His justice is the best for us no matter what. Trust enough to love Him when things are even this bad. Trust that we will be enfolded in His grace and mercy."

It was such a blessing to read this. With so much uncertainty right now for us it was a nice reminder to place all our trust in God and that we are very fortunate to be where we are. I struggle with the unknown, I have been one who likes plans and wants to be organized for those plans. I need to embrace this time in our life  to become a more pious Orthodox Christian. We may not have a plan but if we place our trust in Him he will provide and will not give us more than we can handle. Lord have mercy, on me a sinner.

Our First Week

It has been an adventure thus far in our new life. Once we reached home it took a couple days for our stuff to arrive. During those days the family was sick with a stomach bug. It was a little lonely sitting in an empty house while the hubby and kids were sick but it made me realize how attached one can be to material things and how I should be grateful that we are all together.

We went to our first Liturgy at St. Tikhons and at first it seemed a little foreign to me. We are use to a different translation but the church was absolutely beautiful. Breathing the incense was like a breath of fresh air. As service progressed I couldn't help asking myself if we made the right decision. As soon as Liturgy was completed we were flooded by people recognizing us as a new seminarian family. Everyone was so kind and offered so many words of comfort and encouragement.

Our stuff arrived on Monday but due to the size of the truck they were unable to drive onto our road. Hubby and I began frantically looking for an alternative. We rented a truck from a Uhall that we passed by. Thanks to Rebekah's help enlisting her husband and another seminarian we were able to unload the whole truck on Monday night. We are still working on unpacking and getting the whole house together but in due time it will happen.

We are fortunate to live near another semaniaran family who has been over to introduce themselves and bring us goodies. They have been so nice to offer words of encouragement to us and help us with any questions we have about the area.

Last night we attended Vigil where we were able to experience our first services including a Bishop, and not only one Bishop but two. The Kursk Root Icon was also visiting. Hubby posted some pictures on his blog. I spent most of the time outside with the little ones but was kept company by other seminarians wives and little ones.

So far the adjustment is going well. Everyone is so friendly and it seems as though life long friendships will be made here. I still have moments of fear and doubt but are often dissipated by the sense of community here.

Culture Shock

We arrived at our new home yesterday. I am experiencing a bit of culture shock. Everything is so different than what I am accustomed to. It's completely opposite than what we came from. I am praying that once we go to church I will feel a piece of home.

When I start to feel overwhelmed I can't help but think that Christ asked to leave everything behind and follow him.

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Quick Update

We have made it to Cleveland, OH. We anticipate being home tommorrow. We still don't know when our furniture will be arriving. We have gone through nine states had two sick kids and been pulled over once. Needless to say it will be a trip we will always remember.

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Day Two: Albuquerque, NM to Loveland, CO

It's morning here in New Mexico and quite in our hotel room. Hubby and I are the only ones awake. Our plans today are to make it to Loveland, CO where I have family. We plan on spending a few days there visting with everyone.

Yesterday the kids and the dogs did fairly well. One of our dogs, Dusty a toy poodle, does not travel well. He is easily agitated when out of the comforts of his own home. It is so interesting to see the personality changes in the dogs. Typically, Daisy our min pin, is the crazy one but when we travel she has a sense of calmness within her.

The kids all did well yesterday, especially considering it was a long day for them. Ice Man was a little fussy towards the end but other than that it was pretty smooth.

I will need to reorganize everything once we reach Colorado. I thought I had done a good job but apparently it was not as efficient as I would like it to be. I am learning as we go. This is our first big trip as a family and of course I packed more than we needed.