zoo day

Of all the times I've been to the zoo, this was the first time Mr. Peacock decided to show us his feathers!

pretty zoo flowers

Checkin' out the chickens (which we hope to have one day)

Hello Jaguar

Big kitty!

One of the biggest perks of being a stay at home parent is the freedom it gives you to plan your own days. This morning, I decided that the zoo sounded nice. So the girls and I packed up and headed on over. (Not that it's always that simple, but at least I get to have the option) It was a perfect day for the zoo. The weather was damp (though it didn't actually rain) and it being a Tuesday morning made us some of the few visitors there. I really like our zoo. I feel like it's a well planned area, the animals are varied and often in sight, and you can find free street parking if you're willing to look. We had a good time. The only sacrifice I made was that Louisa fell asleep in the car on the way home so once we got home she wasn't willing to go back down. So I didn't get a rest in. Oh well, that's okay. I will try for an early bedtime.

Bumbo

Hey! I spot a Bumbo Baby!!!!!

Le petit painter

painting....

 ....painting what, you want to know? I'll show you later. For now, you just get to see the shots of Lou getting creative and having fun.

(Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake and forgot to double check that the paints were washable. They were so not washable. grrrrrrrr.)

You guessed it, Friday's Quick Takes!

Happy Friday, and Happy Feast Day! Pray for us, oh Holy Mother of God!

My absolute favorite depiction of the Annunciation. Fra Angelico 15th Century. Almost got to see it when I was in Florence but alas, San Marco's was closed that day!

1. Today is the Feast of the Annunciation. It is the day we celebrate the event in the Virgin Mary's life when the Angel Gabriel comes to her and announces that she has been chosen by God to bring forth Christ in her womb. She need only answer "yes." She did, of course, and thanks to her willingness to "let it be done unto me according to thy word" the whole of human history was changed. Adam and Eve, in the Garden, said "no" to God, but Mary said "yes!" That meant that God's plan of salvation through Christ could be carried out. Sometimes Catholics get criticized for focusing too much on Mary. I guess you could argue that God could have chosen just any young woman to do this, but it seems to me that God doesn't operate like that. He saw the whole of history laid out in front of Him, and so He had chosen her from the very beginning. She is very special. Among other reasons, I feel like today's celebration underlines why her role should not be overlooked and she deserves veneration. Among other reasons, she was truly Christ's first disciple, the very first Christian!  We shouldn't only think of her during Christmas. Think of how she must have felt when Gabriel came to her and told her she was going to bear a son....she was a young virgin! And just any son, but the son of God! 9 months later, at Christmas is when we celebrate His birth. But today; today we celebrate Mary's YES to God and God's goodness at giving human kind a second chance.

Eastern and Orthodox Christians call Mary the Blessed Theotokos. It means, 'God Bearer"

2. Since it is a big Feast Day, there is no fasting today. Besides today's little 'break' Lent is going exceptionally well for me. I have found one of the hardest things to give up is actually juice. Strange I know, but I never realized how many other beverages I drink besides water and coffee. This is a good habit I'd like to continue. Water, coffee, and an occasional special beverage (like wine) should be sufficient. Lent is something I don't want to talk about too much - especially the small sacrifices I'm making. Scripture says that one who is fasting should not go around flaunting this fact, but rather should hide it by putting on a cheerful face. God sees what we do when others don't, and that is the important thing.

3. Sunny Day. Chasing the Clouds away. On our way to where the air is clear....*sung with the Seasame Street tune*
That's all. I've just been wanting to singing sunny songs the last two days (smile)

4. What is with kids and Ketchup?? Seriously wondering about this phenomenon. It seems like a lot of kids believe ketchup is it's own food group. I don't get it. I may be a freak of nature but I've never liked ketchup. Me and my brother were the only people we knew growing up who didn't like it. Louisa has not followed in my footsteps and has taken to it. She calls it "chep-up" which cracks Mike and I up. Soon she will start calling it by its real name (she has already a few times) Gosh it's so sad when kids stop saying their cute versions of words, but it's inevitable...but yes, Lou has been asking for chep-up alot lately. I think she would just eat it as a snack all its own if we let her!

5. Remember that list I posted a little bit ago showing all the areas that I wanted to clean and organize? Well I've only got already got 4 items checked off! I'm really itching to get the van cleaned out. I spend alot of time in that thing and I hate it when it gets full of junk and needs to be vaccumed out. I keep waiting for a good opportunity to steal an hour to go down and get it taken care of. How often do you guys get around to cleaning out your vehicles? I used to do it like once every two weeks, when I was a single gal, but now I just have to live with it until I can't stand it anymore!

6. I'm so proud of my husband. He won't be too happy about me posting this but all I wanted to say is he is a good provider and works hard everyday for his girls. He deserves a little recognition. What would we do without him? Not sure but I don't like to think about it.

7. I'll leave you with this photo - which was taken by my friend Mandy at the Kuboto Gardens. See little miss Josie-pie poking her head out there? I really like her expression. She is such a sweet little bean. But she is certainly getting heavy and slightly harder on the ole' back. I'm going to be one hunched over lady one day, I'm convinced. But it is all worth it I know ;)

Kuboto

What a treat! It was a sunny spring day yesterday and so me and my friend, Mandy, headed out to see the Kuboto Japanese Gardens. I never knew it but this place is suprisingly close to both of us. How did I never go here growing up? Or maybe I did but don't remember. Seriously though, what a beautiful little sanctuary amidst the busy city world! I would recommend this place to anyone who lives near by. We could feel the zen. Or at least we tried to. Truth be told we were more focused on wrangling the little ones, as they were feeling quite free to run all over, especially by the water features which made us both nervous. We did have it in us to look up and snap a few pictures, at least. I just kept imagining how some of my more gifted photographer friends would be able to capture some super lovely shots! I tried my best, but I was just so happy to enjoy some beautiful flora on a sunny day. It actually gave me the urge to write some Haiku. Um no I will not be sharing, but I hope you enjoy some of the photos ;)

Do you feel peaceful now?


(and there are actually some more photos that I put on my Picasa web album, you just click on one of the photos under my profile and you'll get there.)

happy list vs annoyed list

Some things that are making me happy today:

 -trader Joe's version of the 'cuties' mandarin oranges. Love the font of their logo, and the name too, for obvious reasons ;)

-there is still hope for the house we keep dreaming of living in, we still don't know for sure but we are saying our prayers.

-glad to see that some Catholic cultural things have prevailed in our secularized society! I know it's not much, but it's something! 

-recent memories of sweet baby sleeping

-Spring is on it's way! (not that today's weather really indicates that....)

-A warm home, food in the fridge, growing babies, husbands, family, (which are the rather obvious things that make me happy - but I should include them anyway, it's good to count one's blessings, right?) 

Some things that are not making me so happy today

- So this morning while me and Lou were in the shower, I heard a loud sound. It kind of freaked me out cause I thought, uhhh is someone in our apartment!? Scary! After I got out I looked around and didn't see anything that made that sound. We got ready and left for story time. It was only when I came back did I see what had happened. The shelf that holds our laundry detergent is above where we have the Recycling bin. The big Coscto sized detergent had somehow fallen in, and leaked about two inches of laundry soap. Oy! Two good things about this: one; our apartment smells like laundry soap which isn't a bad smell and two; I had the bin lined so it is easy to clean up this mess. But still, super annoying, right?

-News from a friend wasn't what we were hoping it would be today. Arg. Why can't good things happen to good people all the time? :(

-Lou has come down with a runny nose again and cough. I thought we had taken care of the main culprit with a round of antibiotics a few weeks ago but she started to have symptoms again Friday-ish. The doc said sometimes the bacteria is hard to get rid of so he gave us a refill order if we wanted to use it but I'm not sure if it is the sinus infection still or if it's just a separate cold. I called and the nurse said it could be either so it's a hard call. I really don't want to take her in again because that's another expense, but obviously I don't want her to have unnecessary antibiotics. Not sure what to do here! I just hate to see her coughing so much and dealing with a runny nose is one of the more irritating tasks in my job description.

-Just feeling very tired today. I stayed up pretty late last night doing chores, and it probably wasn't the best idea. I just didn't want to have as much to do today....but now I just want to sleep. 

7 Quick Takes Friday

Hey there, Hi there, How do you do? I hope everyone's week went well and your weekend looks bright! Here goes today's Quick Takes...enjoy!

1. Keep Praying....for an end to abortion! Women and babies (and men)...just everyone needs our prayers. 40 Days for Life website is here...if you can go pray or just pray at home, you can make a difference.

2. Speaking of babies...There are few things in this world more satisfying than taking a nap with a snuggly baby. They just keep you so warm, inside and out. (smile) I just woke up from one and I feel exceedingly happy and contented.

3. Louisa is learning about time outs. And so is mama and daddy for that matter. We started implementing them recently. I consulted a few friends with children about this because we were sensing that Lou was approaching the age where she could understand the concept. So far, she is responding well to them. If she is doing something she knows is not appropriate, she gets asked not to do it. That serves as the warning. If it is something serious (something that can hurt her, someone else, or damage stuff) she is told she will receive a time-out. Then, our tactic is to swiftly put her in her crib for long enough to calm down (if she starts to cry) and apologize. She does this one thing where she will say "sorry daddy" (to me) or "sorry mommy (to Mike) and we can't tell if it's her little way of being defiant or not. She is sensitive to being reprimanded but not ultra-sensitive where she breaks down or anything. Our philosophy for now is that a small time out will be a good way to guide her behavior. I like that time-outs are all about action, and not just words. I don't want to be a parent who talks too much because I feel like children respond better to actions than incessant verbal warnings and reprimands. We definitely don't want to over-use time outs, but we do want her to learn that she has to obey her parents (obviously!) I've heard, discipline enough early on and you won't have to do as much later...(I'm sure this topic will be coming up more frequently on here as we have a full fledged two year old now!)

4. Story time. Have I mentioned anything about story time at the local library yet? I've been taking the girls one day a week to the 2-4 age group story time and Lou loves it. It's very well done, I have to give the library props. The librarian who does it has just the right mix of reading time, hand songs, and moving around so that the little one's attention is kept the whole time. There is a craft at the end that has to do with the theme of the books we heard. It's super cute and a great morning activity for us. It makes me think of my friend, Jessie, who has always wanted to be a librarian. Jess - I can totally picture you conducting these story times for the children!

5. Watch out for mama bear...! Ha; if looks could kill, eh? Though I'm not sure why I was making this face exactly, I think it's pretty hilarious. I look terribly mean don't I? (I'm not though, honest!)

6. My Lenten reads are coming along nicely. I am still very much enthralled in Schmeman's book, Great Lent, and I also started reading Damian the Leper. There is a movie they made about Father Damien who was a Belgium priest who went to the Leper colony, Molokai, in Hawaii where he tended to the lepers' physical and spiritual needs. So far I am just to the point in the book where it is talking about these poor people who were banished from civil life after they got the leprosy diagnosis (more like death sentence) and it is absolutely heartbreaking. The Egyptians used to call leprosy "dead before death." Fr. Damien went there knowing he would never be permitted to leave (The Hawaiian Government was trying to contain the disease which was a real issue at that time) So far an amazing story. A fellow blogger named her son after him...and the more I read about him the more I can understand why they chose such an inspiring saint!

7. Jigsaw puzzles are fun. They really are. Lately Mike and I have worked on two. It will be nice when we have more room so we can work on them somewhere where Lou can't get to them. Nice way to relax in the evening....of course it is hard when you are already so tired that you can't stay awake (which has been me lately) but I foresee lots of jigsaw puzzles in our future!

Hey!

So these pictures obviously have nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day. 'Cept for the fact that I edited them to look slightly greenish. But I thought they'd give you a laugh. I especially love the first one. No she wasn't having gas here, I swear. Just bein' a silly Josie pie.

I guess I'll add an Irish "prayer" for you. I swiped it from my bro-in-law though. I'm sure he won't mind...I'm not so sure he even reads this. 


But yeah - have a great day, all you Irish posers ;)


***
May those who love us love us
And those who don't love us
May God turn their hearts,
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.

**
*

Pray for us, Saint Patrick!

aRound here

Well...I can dream.

I love to write lists. I wrote this one yesterday in the bathroom while Louisa was in the bath. She noticed me with the pen and wanted it so she could draw too. I said she couldn't have it because she was in the bath and she got pretty upset with me. I was like, hey, sorry babe but no one gets to use a sharpie in the tub, as fun as it sounds.

I'll tell you a secret. Normally, I dislike socks. They make me feel hot. In the winter, I must wear them to go out, but I still only wear them when absolutely necessary. Footie socks like this are good because not only are they super cute, they don't make me feel claustrophobic. Yes, you read that right, socks make me feel claustrophobic. And wearing socks to bed?...shudder....

Budding trees....Spring, are you on your way???

Big girl Louisa wearing a knitted headband/hat thing that my mom got for her a while ago. I noticed these are popping up. I've seen a few girls wear them (like teenagers) I think they are sweet and wouldn't mind if they became a new trend at all.

Splish Splashing in a big rain puddle outside our building yesterday. Louisa has some great rain boots, doesn't she?

Well that's about it for today. My girls are awake but I am being a silly mommy and not paying them much attention. I guess I should go....hope you have a great Wednesday!

Play time

My sweet girlies. 

Yesterday they were having a grand time as Lou was playing with the trains while Josie looked on. Then of course I go to take some pictures of Josephine and Lou has to get right over to be part of the action. Josephine is getting too big for her 3 month onsies...I really need a few hours to myself so I can sort through all her clothes. Actually I need to do that with Louisa's clothes too. Also, if you notice Josie is laying on a pillow...that is all Lou. She has this obsession with pillows and whenever I lay Josie out on the blanket she insists that she gets a 'piwow' as well. But anyway, so when the girls are laying like that on their backs I like to play a little game where I say....'One girlie, two girlies' (and point to each one) then I'll say, 'One cute button nose, two cute button noses.' And on and on. Louisa loves it. She will sometimes start doing it herself if she lays next to Josie. Ah, I really enjoy having two babes. Sometimes it's rough (like today Josie didn't sleep well and is already up and I know Louisa will be up soon, despite daylight savings because the street noise is so loud here....yep and now I hear the garbage truck, the first of many throughout the morning since we live by some businesses...) I just felt like blogging because I was getting the sense in the last hour or so that I was going to be grumpy this morning so I needed something to distract me. But, back to tend to miss Josephine. Maybe if I'm luck she'll let herself be nursed back to sleep and by some miracle Louisa will sleep 'till 8.

A post on Icons

“We decree with full precision and care that, like the figure of the honored and life-giving cross, the revered and holy images, whether painted or made of mosaic or of other suitable material, are to be exposed in the holy churches of God, on sacred instruments and vestments, on walls and panels, in houses and by public ways; these are the images of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and of Our Lady without blemish, the holy God-bearer, and of the revered angels, and of any of the saintly holy men.” 

— Second Council of Nicaea (Seventh Ecumenical Council) - 787 A.D

Icon of Christ and Our Lady written by my mother in law, Kathy

If you were to walk into any Byzantine Catholic's home, you might see that they have icons. If you have not encountered them before, they might seem a little foreign, exotic, or even strange to you. Icons don't look like any other kind of art. They look one dimensional and flat.  That's because they are so ancient, they actually precede the discovery of the concept of Perspective in art. The faces on icons might seem intense, almost piercing, and I know for a fact that they even make some people uncomfortable. I remember in college going to Europe and visiting the famous museums. In the early Christian period sections, I encountered Byzantine art for the first time and found myself completely drawn to it. Not only did I think it was beautiful, I found that I was engaged with the images in a way I couldn't explain. Through viewing the faces of Christ & the Blessed Mother, the angels and Saints, and  depictions of biblical stories; I sensed something not of this world. I thought "wow, I think these are incredible!" even though I coudn't exactly explain what was so remarkable about them. So I would say that that was my first emotional experience with iconography before I began actually going to a Byzantine church. Later, I would be able to do some research and discover why icons are so important in the Eastern theology, despite there being a major controversy about them back in the early church - the first century in fact. 


As far as using icons in practicing my faith, I'll start with the idea of praying with icons. As a baby Christian, I began to realize quickly that prayer (for me) was a little tricky. I was...well, in a word: distracted. I would sit down to pray, and despite by best efforts, less than one minute into it, I found that my mind would wander. What to do? I could not just will myself to not think about stuff. Two things helped me in this - one, I was given a Byzantine prayer book by my now brother-in-law, and two, I was given my first icon. Both helped focus my mind on what I was doing, which was lifting my thoughts to God. I strongly believe (as does the church) that both written prayers and impromptu prayers are important to God. Let's say you only said pre-scripted prayers. You could end up sounding insincere, and it also doesn't leave room for speaking to God throughout the day, while you are going about your business. Now, if you only said spontaneous prayers, you would be missing out on two thousand years of history in which Saints, theologians, and regular lay people have pondered and written down beautiful prayers for us to use and benefit from. Also - this second type of prayer is actually prescribed to us by Jesus himself! In the bible, the Apostles asked him, 'how should we pray?' And what did He tell them? He recited the Our Father for them. Interesting huh? So, once I had that first prayer book, (and more would come into my possession along the way) I was much more prepared and focused. As for the icon part, I realized that having an imagine in front of me gave me something to ponder while I prayed. Even if I wasn't praying about the subject of that particular icon, having a religious image there was like having a picture of someone I loved in front of me. Actually, if you think about it - having images of Christ in your home is not strange at all. You have photos of family members (both alive and dead) right? So why not have images of Christ as well? So, icons gave me a renewed sense of prayer early on in my Christian life.

Icon of Our Lady of Tenderness

Now I will address some concerns that have come up not only with me talking to my non-Catholic friends, but concerns that have arisen throughout history. You may be thinking to yourself, doesn't it say somewhere in the Old Testament to not worship graven images? Also, aren't we supposed to be wary of any kind of veneration of anything except for God? In the 700's and again in the 800's a huge debate about icons ensued. It was called the Iconoclastic period, and it literally meant, the breaking of icons. During that period, some clerics and laypeople thought that it was against God's commandments to venerate icons that at that point had become quite popular, and that they should be abolished and destroyed once and for all. The debate went on for some time, until the Church leaders got together at the Second Council of Nicaea and declared that:

"As the sacred and life-giving cross is everywhere set up as a symbol, so also should the images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the holy angels, as well as those of the saints and other pious and holy men be embodied in the manufacture of sacred vessels, tapestries, vestments, etc., and exhibited on the walls of churches, in the homes, and in all conspicuous places, by the roadside and everywhere, to be revered by all who might see them. For the more they are contemplated, the more they move to fervent memory of their prototypes."

Furthermore they pointed out that :

"it is proper to accord to them a fervent and reverent adoration, not, however, the veritable worship which, according to our faith, belongs to the Divine Being alone — for the honor accorded to the image passes over to its prototype, and whoever adores the image adores in it the reality of what is there represented"

In other words, they declared that despite people's fears about offending God by making images of Christ and the saints, it is actually a worthy endeavor. As long as people understand fully that it is NOT the matter that they are venerating, but the "prototype" or real-life person being depicted that they are to focus on! This makes absolute sense. We allow crosses to represent our faith, and have them in our homes or wear them around our necks. John of Damascus, who was an important defender of icons of the time, said that he did not venerate matter, "but rather the creator of matter." If you think about it, as humans, we are naturally inclined to be visually-oriented. We are more open to the things we can see with our eyes. It is not the Christian tradition (like it is in Islam) to completely ban the images of Christ - and it shouldn't be. Jesus became incarnate. He came to earth as a man, (though of course he was both fully man and fully divine) but as a man that real people could see, touch, and feel. In the Old Testament, God had not yet become Incarnate, so it was important that they stay clear of worshiping any form of a god that they had created themselves.  To them, God was still completely invisible. But in the New Testament, obviously that was no longer the case! Also, with images of the Blessed Mother, angels, and saints, we are able to visualize who it is we are praying with to God in heaven. All of this is so key, so vital - especially to Eastern rite Catholics. You might see a few icons in a Roman Catholic church, but it is not a big part of their tradition. The Byzantine Church was all about iconography - and you can find abundant amounts of icons in every single place of worship as well as in the home. To me, it is not only breathtaking sight (in a church), but it is a window into heaven. It is a sensory experience not like anything else in life. A person who loves nature might tell you that they feel elated when they see a gorgeous mountain, or sunset, or rambling river. A person who loves Christ would tell you that, though icons could never come close to capturing the majesty of the One who created the universe and all beauty, they are there to assist one in contemplating that splendor and truth. 

icon of Christ, written by Kathy, my mother in law

Finally, let me just point out that to those who write icons (we don't say "paint them"), it is a total prayerful experience. One doesn't simply sit down and start painting. There is much prayer and careful contemplation before, during, and after an icon is written. I have not delved into this art...yet. But I will one day. I am lucky to have a mother-in-law who writes them and is willing (I think) to show me when I am ready. She does beautiful work, as you can see by the icons of Christ and Mary that Mike and I received as wedding gifts. 

Obviously, there is much more to icons than what I have talked about briefly here. If I could go back, I wish I would have gotten my Masters degree in History and then done my dissertation on Iconography. It would have been such a neat topic to study. Maybe one day I can still do this. I did write a whole lesson plan for my final paper in a history class on the Byzantine Empire and I throughly enjoyed doing that. I studied the Iconoclast and the Council of Nicaea. 


Well, I hope this was helpful to some who are not familiar with the topic and might have wondered what's up with all the golden icons around in my home, on my facebook, and in my heart :)

(A program on the radio called Light of the East explores the Eastern traditions of the Catholic church. It is a great program, check it out sometime. (On this link you can listen to any of the programs! I recommend the one on Iconography and the Feast of the Presentation)