7QT- My couch retreat, a DIY backyard photo and Christmas Around the World

Thank you Jen, for hosting! :) 

1) Any other time I'd try to say this in a lame attempt at making a joke, I'd have no idea what I was talking about. But I can now say with confidence that "nothing clears your holiday to-do list like getting a stomach bug!"  Aside from the fact that I spent 2 days on the couch waiting to feel better in a blurry, feverish, stupor of sorts....it was relieving to know that my only job in the world was to lay on that couch, and do the best I could at that, while my children ran around me in circles. It was sad to miss out on gatherings this week, but on the bright side, I had my own mini prayer retreat, I finished my Christmas cards and even wrapped some presents while watching White Christmas for the first time. I am very thankful for feeling better so I can take care of everyone else who is sick now, it is always good to remember that health is a precious gift.

2) Speaking of being thankful for my life, there are others whose lives are in far greater peril this week in Central Africa.  Catholic Relief Services is responding to this humanitarian crisis on the ground, and here is a link if you are able to support them in their brave and selfless work. Let us remember the people of Central Africa in prayer and unite our small sufferings to theirs.

3) And a major accomplishment, our Christmas card taken in our backyard on my favorite "Van Gogh" chairs given to us when we were first married.  This is the winning shot where everyone's eyes were open! It was a strangely Siberian day in Texas, so our noses are all red.  I love these guys.

4) Right here, I was going to tell you about the kids piano recital, Bronius' Magnificat concert and about how much fun we had delivering gifts with Saint Vincent de Paul.  But then everyone got sick and we had to say no, maybe, and I don't know to those other things, and so now my number four is going to be about how PSYCHED (imagine jazz hands and confetti flying everywhere) I am to be seeing my family for Christmas in about 3 days!!!! 

                                                         The original 6

5) I love this style for so many reasons.  Comfortable, modest, warm and cool at the same time, and representative of my heritage. I would like to find some fair trade tunics and try to rock this style this winter. Maybe? 

6) The Living City Press sent our family this beautiful book as a sweet "thank you" to Bronius for working with them this year: Bringing Jesus Back into Christmas. It features photography of lovely creches from all over the world, with inspirational quotes from scripture, the saints and literary icons.  It has been a wonderful way to illustrate to our children the universality of God's love at Christmas.  

7) And on the topic of Christmas around the world, this was a theme this month at Austin Catholic New Media for writers. We were encouraged to share about special family traditions, so I wrote about my experience of marrying into a Lithuanian family, and the meaningful, spirit-filled traditions they carry out on Christmas Eve.  Here it is if you'd like to read it! :)

Wishing you good health, and true peace on your Advent journey. Thank you for visiting, and as always, I'd love to hear from you!

Five Faves: Gifts of this week and the good news which trumps them all :)

Thank you for hosting, Moxie Wife Hallie Lord!

~1~ 

Jesus is Alive by Josh Wilson. Every now and then I hear the story of the nativity in different words and it just inspires!!! The first time I heard it I was filling up the van with gas and I spontaneously burst into tears. Awkward! Anyways, tears are a gift from the Holy Spirit I am told, even when they embarrass us in public.  :)

~2~ 

Poor Dominic came home early from school today with fever and upset stomach.  Our spark plug is NEVER sitting still so you know when he's lying on the couch that it must be BAD news. Well, the upside was that we got to check out several of the Disney nature documentaries which we've been getting into lately on Netflix.  They are beautifully done, with excellent narratives, and they illustrate nature without showing some of the gory details you get in other documentaries.  Let's face it, who wants to watch a cheetah chowing down on a gazelle right before dinner gets put on the table, am I right? 

~3~ 

My sweet friend brought this tote bag to me - to keep! I love it! I've been using my grocery bags for library books and so this is a snazzy little upgrade! :)  Thank you, Leah!

~4~ 

I hosted a "very merry ornament exchange" for my bunco group this past week. Most of these ladies have been part of my life for nearly ten years now.  How blessed I feel to grow more comfortable in friendship each year with these incredible ladies!

 First annual Very Merry Ornament Exchange :)

~5~ 

And I had to save the best for last. Here is what my status update on facebook said today about Msgr. Mike Sis' appointment as Bishop Elect to the diocese of San Angelo. 

                                                         My favorite boss of all time

It was a beautiful day like today nearly 12 years ago that I drove up to College Station to visit my fiancee, Bronius Motekaitis. I stopped into St. Mary's as I often did, just to pray to know God's will for our future...I wanted us to travel the world to see and do "great things," and he wanted to stay here.  As I left I picked up a bulletin from Gordon See, and later I noticed an open position at St. Mary's as a director of social ministries and outreach. It stayed with me for days, and so I prayed some more, and applied. By the grace of God, and other miracles I am sure I will never understand, I got the job. I LITERALLY don't know where I'd be today (geographically) if Fr. Mike Sis had not been an agent of divine intervention in my life which brought me here to College Station where I learned all the greatest things in the world were already in my hands, waiting to be discovered. So thankful to be just one of thousands of people blessed by the amazing wisdom, leadership and deep spirituality of Msgr. Mike Sis. Congratulations Msgr. Mike on your appointment as the Bishop of San Angelo!!!!

Like so many many many others, countless no doubt, Fr. Mike made a big difference in my life, and cheers and shouts of joy are surely being heard around the world tonight! I'm not an Aggie but just this once, I'm totally going to WHOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonas!

He was a little startled when he first woke up to his birthday oatmeal...

But he warmed up a little later when he opened his gift from us :)

And when he saw his good buddy Finn later for lunch.

He was so excited about his cookie cake! Thank you to Cookie Cakes which Celebrate! :)

Our little reindeer gets ready to make his wish.

And a grand finish with his brothers and Senele for a special dinner that Daddy lovingly made!

Can't believe our baby is 3. But he will always be our baby. :)  God bless you sweet Jonas, you are such a gift of joy and sweetness in our lives, we love you!

Five Faves: Christmas treats, traditions, toys and tales

Thank you for hosting, Hallie! 

It's a frightfully cold evening, which makes it a delightfully wonderful night for blogging! :)  Here are a few favorites of mine this December. 

Oh happy day!

1) Treats: Horizon egg nog and fair trade chocolates. I wait all year for Horizon's egg nog. And a good friend gave me the tip on the Christmas-themed fair trade chocolates, which I've not seen before in our town! Then, there's this sweet little recipe for flourless chocolate peppermint blossoms I came across today. Don't mind if I do!

2) Traditions: I had a little fun with picmonkey photo editing tonight. It has been a loooooong time since I played with sites like that, what a lot of fun! I clearly didn't do much editing, but I would have been up all night if I had! :)

Our manger scene, advent wreath, advent calendar, the elf's abode, and our stockings and shoes out for St. Nicholas tonight!

3) Toys (for little boys):  Neat oh toy bins.  Aren't these the coolest? They have several different themes, but I got the dinosaur one for Jonas' birthday coming up this Monday. I am intrigued by some others I saw in the Fat Brain Toys catalog like this chalk trail, a robotic crab and remember these? This website has some great ideas for toys which encourage outdoor and collaborative play!

Borrowing a collage from pinterest

4) Tales: New treasures cued up at the library for us this week include Jan Brett books and some of these undiscovered-by-us Tomie de Paola stories for the three year old. For the five year old, The Donkey's Dream and The Tale of the Three Trees. For the eight year old, A Christmas carol and The Happy Prince. I love curling up with our boys to read, while they'll still let me do it! :) Best part of my day!

5) This glorious video by the piano guys. Have you seen it?  I showed it to the budding pianists in the house and while we encourage unfettered creativity with our children, I asked them kindly not to dissemble the piano to attempt such a musical feat.

Gifts which give twice

And I wrote a small piece about one of my favorite fair trade sales which happens annually in our town. For about ten years now, I've purchased items from SERRV international as Christmas gifts.  You can find beautiful soaps, nativity scenes, ornaments, rosaries scarves, chocolates, jewelry and other treasures to name only a few. The sale is happening this weekend, but you can go online to purchase at any time! :)

I'd love to hear about more favorite Christmas treats, traditions, toys and tales from you, dear visitor! A blessed and peaceful Advent season to you and yours.


Julia

Our Thanksgiving trip to Tennessee

We took a big road trip to stay in a beautiful cabin with Bronius' family in Tennessee this Thanksgiving.  We made wonderful memories together there! A great big thanks to our Senele for making this trip possible!

We stopped at Shelby Farms visitors center in Memphis on our way to Nashville.

Milo really liked the buffalo and asked for a picture with him!

Home sweet Home for a few lovely days

Jonas on a rocking horse at bedtime

A midnight snack in the kitchen as we waited for family to arrive from the four corners of the country. :) 

A visit to the Parthenon replica in Nashville. Dominic took a moment to read more about Greek mythology.

One of many relaxing evenings with a roaring fire and music.

We loved the nature trails behind the house. I hope I hiked off some of the pecan pie! :) 

What an incredible time to reconnect with family, our children, and nature. Thank you, Jesus!

Thanksgiving meal deliveries, World Fest, a Cowboy, Going Out of this World, Science playdate and a beautiful park day.

Our three guys helped us deliver Thanksgiving meals and then posed so nicely for a picture. I love when they get along. :) 

                                                               

Bronius and I enjoyed watching dances from across the world at World Fest.

A trip to Space Center Houston, you wonder? No, just our new dentist's office!

                                  She blinded me with science! An after school playdate with a sweet friend.                                                         

            

   A moment in my heart forever.

Celebrating Senele, and a friendship feast

                     We enjoyed celebrating Senele's birthday with her this year at Blue Baker :)  We love this lady.

    Milo's class had a friendship feast to commemorate the gathering
of the pilgrims and the indians. I came to help and enjoyed a fruit cornucopia and a movie about gratefulness with him. :) 

Five Faves: store-bought treasures, a book about miracles and what I wrote.

Well hello there, fancy meeting you here! I happened across a few treasures this week that put a smile on my face (and did not burn a hole in my pocket). What is putting a smile on your face these days, dear visitor?

~ 1 ~

How can something be light AND buttery at the same time? These are mysteries I will never understand.

~2~

Faux lanterns from Kohl's on sale, with pine cones and red burlap bows.  If I could attempt to claim a design style for our home, this rustic and elegant lantern would sum it up!

~3~

Who buys a sun hat in winter, you ask? Mama Jules does, and for $3 too! 

Siyanara, stubborn winter sun spots (one can hope!)

~4~

Found these little color by number activities at Michael's for $1 each. You have to be nimble to use the little pencils, but it would teach good coordination and patience if one could pull it off! I thought they'd make a great birthday party favor, too. Hoping to use these on our Tennessee road trip!

~5~

A favorite story of mine about a family coming together in hard times and believing in miracles. I discovered it in elementary school. I even remember picking it out in the Scholastic catalog, in the fourth grade. I am reading it aloud to the boys at bedtime, I think it will be a great read for Advent! 

image credit: little birdie blessings

And if you're still here :) this is what I wrote for Austin Catholic New Media this week, Giving Thanks in All Things. I am thankful for a certain so special friend who introduced me to the possibility of blogging with this great group of people last October, and for all the beauty and hope she brings to the world.  

Thank you kind visitor, for stopping by! A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and be sure to visit Hallie Lord's blog to see more faves!

7QT: A week of rain, cafeteria food, potty training, neighbor boys and one really good hair day

Thanks to Jen Fulweiler for hosting, and for always keepin' it real! :)

1) Cafeteria food.  I grew up in a culturally influenced home.  My father is East Indian and my Mom, a German-American girl from Wisconsin, taught herself how to prepare beautifully colorful, brilliantly flavorful, complicated dishes as a labor of love for my Dad, who felt rather homesick for Indian food once they married and began their home together. We grew up in a very diverse area in South Florida, and Mom later added dishes like Ratatouille and Paella to her repertoire. Hardly anything ever came from a can or a box in my childhood.  We would travel around the world without leaving our kitchen table, and while I didn't love the eggplant then, I can appreciate it now.

I strive to make us fresh, healthful, uncomplicated meals every night (except on weekends when we can be spotted at Chipotle or Dickey's pretty regularly). Historically, our children have not been picky eaters, and we have always been able to set down anything on the table and they will try anything once. But the eldest has suddenly become insanely picky (recently it was "I don't like cheese" all of a sudden, but it's fine on pizza!!!) So after the reminders of being grateful for the food we have, I basically made up my mind I'd try a week of making "cafeteria style" food. The idea was born of a snarky comment at the dinner table from (ahem) me about how the kids would probably eat what I made as long as it came on the signature blue tray from the school cafeteria. I made a chicken pot pie with bisquick mix which got mixed reviews, and a King Ranch Chicken which got the least complaints of all! Maybe my ancestors are rolling over in the graves, but at least my kids are eating!!! (and as an aside, I don't think there is anything wrong with this type of food...I just want my kiddos to be nourished!) :)

2) Potty training - littlest one has been sick this week, and it has been raining every single day, and so I thought this would be a good time for potty training. I've done this twice before and figured it would be cake by now, but it turns out I really don't remember how to potty train a toddler boy anymore.  So we keep watching the episode of Daniel Tiger's neighborhood when Prince Tuesday learns how to go potty.  I love how everything is a song in Daniel Tiger's world, we dig that over here!

3) Moisturizer- I have had some crazy skin splotchiness since my third pregnancy (three years ago!) and I didn't realize I was supposed to be vigilant about sunscreen and I made it worse by being out in the sun with no coverage. I had tried apple cider vinegar, exfoliators and vitamin C and some other natural remedies, but nothing seemed to help.....until this! :)  It's a sunscreen moisturizer with retinol-A and it's really showing improvement.  It was a little more than I like to spend on sunscreen but less than a co-pay or prescription from the dermatologist.


4) Lullaby prayer - I just love this piece Prayer, by Hayley Wesentra.  I am playing it as a lullaby for the children at night.



5) Simplicity parenting - You may remember that I mentioned this briefly few weeks back.  Even though the permission to simplify has always been there, this book honestly feels like a permission slip to escape a rat race that I don't even remember entering. It has been relieving to me that my instincts to keep things simple, the way my childhood was, has been a good one...for now at least. Surely a day will come when we need to encourage/empower the kids to do more, but that day is not today! :)

6) The Wii -  Last weekend, Bronius' laptop had a meltdown and he had to drive to Houston to have some parts replaced. While there, we found an older model of the Wii at a great price, and while both of us have been adamantly opposed to having one, we found ourselves suddenly in line purchasing it.   With all the rain this week, it turns out it was a great time to cave in and buy a Wii. Mario & Luigi have been playing together and having a lot of fun, and the time regulation hasn't been a problem at all. They come home from school, have a snack, knock out their homework and piano practice, and then I allow them one half hour before outside play time. The neighbor boys are usually ringing the doorbell at that point anyway!

                                                                     Sometimes, I don't mind my curly hair. 

7) My good hair day.  These are few and far between, so I try to take a picture of this strange phenomenon when it occurs naturally! I am a low maintenance gal with hair that can be high maintenance, expect for when I let it air dry and go curly like this. But the atmospheric pressure has to be JUST right, or else beware!

And an extra....Seeing the Face of Christ in the Poor. I had an opportunity to talk with one of the coordinators of our local Saint Vincent de Paul society, and even though I trained as a Vincentian myself ten years ago, I realized how much more there was to learn and how much SVdP does nationally and internationally. I did not realize they are almost always among the first responders in a disaster or crisis, right alongside the Red Cross!

Well that's it for me this week! Thanks for stopping by, kind reader, I would love to hear from you!  :)