New Year's wishes

We were surprised by an impromptu invitation by our friends to a New Year's party down the street tonight, where the women delighted themselves with decadent hors de ovres, where husbands snuggled their infants and talked around a bonfire outside and lots and lots of happy children ran amuck. We regrettably had to come home early since Dominic was flipping out with a sugar rush, but Kurt saved New Year's for us by handing us a handful of sparklers on the way out to enjoy at home. Here is what appears to be a small forest fire in our backyard but is actually just a row of sparkling sparklers. Dominic said "whoa" like Keanu Reeves at LEAST 10 times at the sight of them. Thanks Guldes for a GREAT time!!!!! :)



















Off to enjoy the Joshua Bell New Year's concert on PBS with Bronius as we make hot fudge sundaes. Gotta live up the last night of the year, afterall!!!!! Wishes of good health and prosperity to you all in the New Year :)

And a bonus picture of Dominic enjoying the chalkboard which Daddy created for him this morning:

Feast of the Holy Family

http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm

Our entire church worldwide celebrates today the Feast of the Holy Family, which reminds us to set aside time to reflect upon the model of love for families which God gave us in the precious family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Among many others, my prayer for our family in the new year is not that we strive for an appearance of perfection, but that we focus our efforts in genuine faithfulness and goodness, which would bear fruit in our lives as we seek to help others. And for parents all across the world, that they will be strengthened this week in their vocation of raising children.

Since our family promised to take time out to especially pray for vocations to the religious life on the Feast of the Holy Family, I would like to share this prayer tonight. As most priests tease, priests, brothers and sisters do not grow on trees, but they come from families just like yours and mine - and we are in desperate need of more people to serve, lead and pray for God's people in the world.

Vocations prayer

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to youth that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God. Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will. Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labor in God's holy service.
Amen.

Christmas 2007

We enjoyed Christmas at my parents home this year as always, with my younger brother and sister, Grandma and my older sister and her family, who are special guests visiting from Florida. In addition to Jesus' birthday, we celebrated Josh's birthday, and Dad's birthday over the break (so there was NO shortage of organic birthday cakes floating around!), played games, took the kids out to try out their new tennis rackets, made it out to the Children's Museum and Space Center, visited Grandma and her friends at the nursing home twice, enjoyed Indian food in Rice Village, had plenty of park time, did a Christmas light tour, celebrated Christmas Day Mass and dinner - and lots of goodness in between. Dominic was showered with gifts, despite my begging that he wouldn't be! Our favorite gifts for him of all though are books...my hopes of creating our children's library is underway!

The neatest part of our trip was going to Space Center and actually getting to sit through an hour long IMAX about the International Space Center, which Dominic slept through!!! I haven't seen an IMAX in ages!!! And seeing Dan Rather there was a definite highlight, as he is a distinguished alumnus from SHSU where Bronius and I both attended. Now that we're home we're trying to get ourselves ready for new year's resolutions, a new semester of school, and making room for baby. God has blessed us ever so richly in this past year, and we ask for His divine graces to bless us, and all of you, as we begin the new year! (editorial note - there is SO much more I want to write, but with a random flare up of painful carpal tunnel, this brace is really hindering my typing...I hope to be back to my overly-verbose self soon!)






Christmas Day family picture









Blowing out Jesus' "birthday candles" on the Advent wreath















Uncle Steve shows Dominic some moves

















Aunt Julia helps Mary with her stroke





















We met Dan Rather at the Space Center!!!!!!!!
















Off to see cool stuff on the tram at Space Center
















Family pose in front of a lunar module maybe?
















Mission control!













Mary, Owen and Dominic indulge us for a picture

Toddler-friendly ornaments

I set out to make handmade ornaments this year, but this is as far as I got, with the help of Oriental Trading company! :) I am accumulating lots of good ideas for next Christmas, and being out of school for a year will (hopefully) allow for more crafts next year, I woefully missed getting into craftiness this semester!

I was really pleased with the "ornament kit" collections on orientaltrading.com. There were fun ones, like snowflakes, candy canes and gingerbread men, but also many religious themed sets. Dominic really enjoyed helping me glue these together (although the mere squeezing of the glue held the most allure for him :)). The best part of all was the price - since they come in bulk quantities, I have 23 other kits to share with Dominic's cousins so we can make these for other family members for their trees, and still have leftovers to hand out at my Grandmother's nursing home. OTC gets two thumbs up from me! :)

What is in a name?

Well, as much meaning as possible, in our family! :)














We've set out to find names which reflect the mosaic of our multi-heritage family, which is a pretty involved task. Most importantly, we wish to have a saint's name or a biblical name, combined with a family name - that would ideally be Indian, German or Lithuanian. There actually aren't many people on my Dad's side of the family with traditional "Indian" names since they are all Catholic, they bear saint's names or "Christian" names as they are called in that part of the world. It is similar on my Mom's side of the family, the names are German in origin but they are still English names. So we wish to find a way to bridge the eastern European names from my German ancestors and his Lithuanian ancestors with a traditional "Christian" name or an Indian name from my Father's side of the family.

This is actually possible! One of the neatest discoveries that Bronius and I made in our dating years was that the Lithuanian language originates in the Sanskrit language, which is the primary source of all Indo-European languages and all Indian dialects (basically, it's like the Latin/Greek of the East). Through my very cursory studies of ancient languages, I've marveled at the fact that every language spoken in the world can be traced to a small handful of mother languages, which just shows how inter-connected the world really is. We all have so much more in common than we think!

After watching "The Namesake" upon my father's recommendation, something really resonated with me about the importance of preserving the roots and ancestry of our families. I was always a traditionalist when it came to names, but I've only become more committed to that purpose of giving our children a really rich sense of their ancestry. How can we know where we are going if we do not know where we have been?

Toby's treat

Away in a Manger

Of course he asked me to upload this ASAP and while we watched it, he sang the lyrics! :) The camera always gets in the way of natural talent! ;)

Running in circles

Why I love Tina Fey

Egg nog - everything

I don't really like to drink egg nog per se, but I love the taste of it, so I have been taking the liberty of pouring it into whatever I am baking, and it gives baked goods such a creaminess and a rich flavor! I made egg nog banana bread the other day, egg nog muffins (to which one could add dried cranberries or something of the like) and this morning I made egg nog pancakes. I use Horizon's organic variety, nothing else compares! :) Just wanted to share this fun holiday baking tip! :)

Elmendorf originals!!!!!!!!!

Today after delivering Christmas gifts for Saint Vincent de Paul we headed downtown because our favorite local artist, Sharon Elmendorf, (who may even be my favorite artist of the 21st century) was hosting a watercolor workshop for the community. Sharon has a really wonderful story behind how her style was born as an artist (http://www.jerichoart.com/gap.html) but the jist of it is that she sees characters, objects and stories in every day shapes. She works in a variety of media, but watercolors are probably her most popular. We had the honor today of painting our own water colors and she sketched her own characters and stories into our pictures. I adore this lady's mind!!!!!!! We are now proud owners of Elmendorf originals, that we actually painted ourselves!






My watercolor











Dominic's watercolor










Bronius' watercolor

Kodak moments with our tree

We found a few photo ops with our tree this week, and I wanted to share......






Honorary role of the youngest in the house putting the star on top of the tree :)










Bronius and brother Liudas humoring me with a brotherly pose in front of the tree






Senele took a picture of us looking festive last night before heading off to Bronius' office holiday party (why do I look cross eyed!)

Toddler play for a sick day

Dominic and I seem to have a stomach bug! I started yesterday morning, and then he seemed to have tummy woes in the early afternoon. At any rate, after a day of eating only applesauce and watching "The Fox and the Hound," I'm ready for something else today, that doesn't require leaving the house or much energy on our parts, but is still fun for us both! :)

My sister gave me this GREAT book called Toddler Play by Gymboree, and I'd got some good ideas cued up like making our own pretend fish aquarium (with things we find in the backyard), starting a vet clinic, going on a treasure hunt for certain items with a flashlight, and so on. I just can't sit on the couch two days in a row, no matter how bad I feel! :)

Update....we made our aquarium, it was awesome! But then I realized how little energy I really had, plus constant queasiness and occasional tummy cramps. So after a 20 minute video break, I invented a new game called "things Mommy can do from the couch." I am amazed by the things I can do from the couch! :) We've made shapes with playdoh, played with our Fisher Price nativity set, built towers with D's wooden blocks, raced cars to knock over the said block towers, read story books...and of course, blog. Now Bronius is coming home to help with lunch and hopefully after a nap, we'll think of some more things to do.

Oh BOY!

Dominic is going to have a little brother!!!!!!! :) While I would have been happy with either gender, my first reaction was relief when we made this discovery during the ultrasound - afterall, I know how to do all things boy already! :) And Dominic is going to have an around-the-clock playmate. And I'm going to be one very busy Mama with two guys on the go! ;) Thank you Lord for the blessing of another healthy baby boy!!!

"It is good to give and have only God know it." - St. Nicholas

Today is St. Nicholas' feast day! Bronius was sick in bed, Dominic was sleeping in, and I was scrambling to get ready for my early morning OB appointment, but sure enough, when I checked our shoes, St. Nicholas had left us gifts to remind us of the importance of generosity. ;) We had beautiful little oranges and candy canes in Mommy's, Daddy's and Dominic's shoes outside our bedroom doors. This tradition is celebrated in Europe, and my husband grew up doing this tradition and so we have continued it in our own family. After my OB appointment, we popped over to see our friends Melissa and Ellie who had prepared awesome coloring pages to teach about St. Nick. Since our morning was so rushed, I'll wind down the evening by reading Dominic a story about him. There's an incredible institute devoted purely to educating the world about who St. Nicholas really was. I have got totally lost in this site - so many great resources!

If you'd like to visit, here it is: http://www.saintnicholascenter.org

I want to close with a cute little poem about Santa and St. Nick taken from the website:

Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts—warm happy aspects of the Christmas season. How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas differ?

Santa Claus belongs to childhood;
St. Nicholas models for all of life.

Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;
St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.

Santa Claus encourages consumption;
St. Nicholas encourages compassion.

Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;
St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.

Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.

Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.

Santa Claus isn't bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.


—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers

Boy or Girl?

Well, tomorrow we find out if we'll be adding a boy or a girl to our brood ;) I am jazzed at the idea of either...my prayer is simply that this child will be healthy! And we'll take care of the rest. ;)

If you'd like to guess by voting, I set up a little poll here...I'd love to hear what you guys think!

I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me

(Below follows my comment after reading a beautifully written article on catholicexchange.com about the gift of stay-at-home motherhood. After spending much time in prayer and discernment on this topic, it looks like I had more of an essay to share than a comment! ;)

Article: http://www.catholicexchange.com/en/node/67867#comment-24740

Thank you so much for your article, this was a very affirming message and I agree so much with your feelings of frustration when people assume that stay at home Moms are not already doing exactly what they want to do.


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Phillipians 4:13



I found out what this passage meant to me in my first year of motherhood when I took my child to work with me part-time. And now, as a pregnant part-time graduate student chasing a delightful toddler around, I understand it on a new level. I imagine through out the course of my life as I experience more and more challenges, I will understand this passage much more deeply.



As I mentioned, I worked part-time for a parish for the first year of my child's life and brought him to work with me, and then decided to stay at home with him for the year following (this past year). Since then, I have begun graduate coursework online and continue to stay home full-time with my child, and we have another baby on the way which we are of course delighted about! I have every intention of staying at home with my children, but I also plan to work one day when the time is right for my family, probably part-time again, because I feel I have gifts that can be shared to benefit my both family and the world beyond. I think women who have deeper desires to celebrate their many God-given gifts should not wrestle with guilt about "doing what they want to do," as the woman said in this article. There are so many family friendly careers with super flexible schedules out there that are so enriching for women, if they desire to work. I'm generally of the opinion that "when Mama's happy, everyone is happy!" (as long as it doesn't come at harmful price of the children and husband, of course).

I compare my first year of motherhood when I was working in a parish vs. when I solely stayed home in my second year of motherhood, and I was joyfully fulfilled in different ways...the first year I found myself to be a more energetic, upbeat, refreshed and more stimulated mother and wife, and in the second year, I found myself with more enjoyable and contemplative lax time to bake cupcakes from scratch and leisurely fold laundry at night. In both years I was able to spend all day with my child at the park and drop anything I was doing if he had a fever. I just think the situation isn't black and white, and we should be supportive of all mothers, evangelizing in the quiet ways in which we devote ourselves to our families in whatever capacity possible. I benefited from the gift of a stay at home mother of four children who returned to part time work when we were in high school, and I seek to give fully of myself just as my Mother did. But if this precious child within me is a girl, I will encourage her to seek God's will for her life earnestly as I believe I have, but I would also hope that she will believe that she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her.

Walk through Bethlehem

We took Dominic today to the Living Nativity village that was happening this weekend in town, and it was AMAZING! It took every last bit of energy we had after church and a full lunch to get back out to go, but I'm so glad we did. It exceeded everything I could have imagined, everything was as authentic as it could be! We were instantly transported back in time as soon as we saw the tallest camel we had ever seen, and villagers decked out in the period garb. I don't want to go into too much detail so as to not spoil this for others who may still go, but PLEASE GO if you have not!!! This was perfect hands-on experience for children and Bronius and I even learned a thing or two about life 2000 years ago! I loved pointing out the bible characters to Dominic and seeing him recognize them by certain characteristics (John the Baptist was barefoot with rod, and a giant fur coat, and a bird's nest of hair. He was shouting things like "your faith is as shallow as an empty well!" Look for him in the pictures, he's there! Amongst other noteworthy New Testament figures ;)




Watching this breadmaker crush seeds into flour, she gave Dominic a sample of her bread.






Dominic gingerly sharing an olive with this "leper."









Visiting a wedding banquet feast and sampling some of the treats.












Checking on the chickens, we even saw one lay an egg!













Crushing salt at the salt shop.














Learning to read and write scrolls at the synagogue, as all young boys did at the time. :)













Sampling bread and honey with apricots and almonds.














Rolling out the beginnings of a clay plate which we will bake in our oven at home!














Observing the yarn spinning process.











Patting a sheep!












The Evangelist with a heart on fire for God!











Helping the water boys fill jugs of water. Senele, you would have been so proud of the careful pouring! So much of this reminded us of Montessori!













The three wise men, with the camel smiling behind us too!













We see the Holy Family and precious baby Jesus at last! Dominic patted his head so sweetly and said "Happy Birthday!"

First week of Advent

The season of Advent in the Catholic church is a time of spiritual preparation for the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. Today marks the first Sunday of four as we wait to celebrate the birth of our Lord. There are many special traditions that accompany the holy season of Advent, and the first one we begin today is the lighting of our Advent wreath. After singing the first verse of O Come Emmanuel, here is the prayer that we will use this evening at dinner as we light the first candle of four on our wreath. (If you're interested to learn more about the Advent season and its beautiful traditions, visit: http://www.ewtn.org/devotionals/Advent/index.htm)

Week 1: First Sunday of Advent

Prayer for the Advent Wreath

Lord, our God, we praise You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, for He is Emmanuel, the Hope of all people.
He is the Wisdom that teaches and guides us.
He is the Savior of us all.
O Lord,
let your blessing come upon us as we light the first (purple) candle of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise of salvation.
May He come quickly and not delay.
We ask this in His holy name. Amen.



Waiting

We light a candle today, a small dim light against a world that often seems forbidding and dark. But we light it because we are a people of hope, a people whose faith is marked by an expectation that we should always be ready for the coming of the Master. The joy and anticipation of this season is captured beautifully in the antiphons of hope from the monastic liturgies:

See! The ruler of the earth shall come, the Lord who will take from us the heavy burden of our exile
The Lord will come soon, will not delay.
The Lord will make the darkest places bright.
We must capture that urgency today in the small flame of our candle. We light the candle because we know that the coming of Christ is tied to our building of the kingdom. Lighting the flame, feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, reconciling the divided, praying for the repentant, greeting the lonely and forgotten – doing all these works hastens His coming.

Swept away!

Happy Birthday, Senele! Valio!








Me and Jamie with blurry babies









Playing barber shop with Papa












Helping Grandma put together Aunt Les' Christmas tree












Daddy's super cheesy pro-foosball stance













One round of foosball with Aunt Les and Daddy in the youth hall











Decorating his goodie bag











Enjoying the marshmellow snowman Dominic created at Winter Wonderland.










He loves snowpeople!!!











Our little "slugger!"




















We have been on the go this week!!! Thursday night we went to "Christmas in the Park" in town with all sorts of great games and activities for kids to enjoy. Friday night we celebrated Bronius' Mom's birthday with friends at a tasty steak and seafood restaurant. Today we spent in downtown Houston at a "Winter Wonderland" children's celebration at my sister Lesley's parish where she is a youth minister, had lunch with my parents, and then I visited my best friend Jamie and her son Maclaren before we headed home. Tonight, I may pull out and sort Christmas decorations while Bronius does some work with clients. Tomorrow after Mass we're going to visit "A Walk Through Bethlehem" which is a living nativity experience, and then we'll stop at the parish where I used to work to check out the Work of Human Hands Sale (www.agreatergift.org) After that, I hope the whole house naps, because both Bronius and I have work to do in the evening (which THANK YOU Lawrence for the laptop - now we can work side by side!!!!!). I'm looking forward to posting pictures from tomorrow if I can get around to it! I feel like we're getting totally swept away by holiday activities and it is only Dec. 1! As much fun as this all is, it will prove to be a challenge this year to "just say no" to the multitude of activities so that we can spend more quiet time as a family to joyfully and reverently prepare our hearts for the Advent season as we anticipate the birth of our Lord and Savior.