Marriage: Small Steps, Big Rewards

I recently read the book Marriage: Small Steps, Big Rewards by Dr. Ray Guarendi.  If you are already a fan of Dr. Guarendi (which we absolutely are around here, check out his website if you have never visited it before), you know that most of his books take an easy conversational tone. This book is no different.  The simple, direct and friendly approach means that this is a book that can be read in small snatches here and there when life calls you to take care of other projects.

This book focuses on ten small steps you can take to improve the communication and relationship inside your marriage.  Each step is covered in a manner which points out things you can do to change your reactions without feeling as if you are loosing or giving up on something.  Subtle reminders are planted throughout the book that the simplest changes can have the biggest impact. 

While I do not feel that this book would be a fix-it manual for the most troubled marriage, I do feel it is an excellent book for those who are looking for ways to improve their current workable relationship.  Share it with your spouse today.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Marriage - Small Steps, Big Rewards. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

Happy Birthday Bryan

Bryan turned 14 today. It's frankly amazing to me that he has survived his parents some days.  Those first born kids tend to be a bit resilient it seems.  We are incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming and glad that he still loves to be involved with the younger kids.  It is very obvious that Robert and Gabe look up to Bryan and think of him as a best buddy.  And I have to say he got lots of looks and smiles while carrying Ellie around the store today.

We celebrated tonight with homemade pizza and a chocolate ice cream cake.  All chocolate.  Super yummy.

Hope you had a wonderful day.  Love you Bryan.

Happy Birthday Sean

Sean is another year older and another year wiser.  Or should I say another year of developing that incredibly amazing, slightly sarcastic wit of his?  Yes, his birthday was yesterday but most of the family spent Saturday at a wonderful wedding so we celebrated today. Sean now has the very important job of reminding Lee to never, ever forget his wedding anniversary.

A child after my own heart, he picked a chocolate peanut butter bundt cake this year.  The recipe just might need a little tweaking since the cake fell shortly after removing it from the pan but it was still super yummy.

Since Sean is making his confirmation in another week, we will do his birthday shopping when we pick out his suit (yes, it's Sean this year, not Bryan).  I've heard talk of Nerf guns and LEGO kits.  And the big boys will be heading to the movies with friends in a week or so.  Here's hoping you had a great day.  Love you, Sean.

First Communion

Katie and Liam received the Eucharist for the first time today.  We had a wonderful day and were blessed to share it with a house full of friends. The weather did not cooperate so we had 20 kids in the house all afternoon. 

Katie and Liam seemed rather grown up today.  It's been amazing to watch their relationship with each other.  They are absolute best buddies.  I pray that as they get older, they will stay just as close as they are now.  Congrats guys. We love you both.

Signs of Spring

May I say that our yard starts to look rather pretty in the spring.  Not a lot of flowers which is a good thing because we would likely just kill them but lots of beautiful trees.

 The birds have moved back into the weeping cherry tree outside our dining room window.

Our chickens are getting big.  We really need to get the barn critter proofed since a raccoon moved in and killed off all of our grown birds.  Must finish that project (or find and kill the darn pest) before moving the younger birds outside.

And, of course, the kids are getting big too.

Kids Workshop

I took Liam, Katie and Kieran to Home Depot this morning for their free monthly Kids Workshop.  We love this program.  Did I mention that it is free?  The first Saturday of the month, Home Depot hosts a workshop for kids to come in and build a project all on their own.  A few other stores run similar programs but we have found this one to have the highest quality projects, ample spare parts available if your child should bend a nail or splinter a board, super helpful staff who are willing to hold a nail and risk getting hit with a hammer, and they welcome walk-ins which is great when you aren't quite sure what your weekend schedule will look like.

Today the gang made planters.  Since I was also juggling a slightly crabby Ellie, I was not able to get any in progress pictures but we came home and planted flowers in the planters.  Abby also got out the sunflower planter she got for her birthday so she could plant something with us.

We also dropped by Wegmans today so the kids could decorate a cake for Mother's Day.  They did a great job and actually showed a bit of restraint in the amount of sprinkles used. I was rather surprised.  They even accepted only doing 2 cakes instead of 3 because I just could not justify paying that much for a project I know I could recreate at home for mere pennies.    Now everyone is busy trying to clean up the yard a tad from the winter.  This is a rather large project when your yard is as big as ours.

Art Expo

This semester the kids have been taking art classes at one of our local colleges.  This program provides an opportunity for art majors to get valuable classroom teaching time while allowing the students to get hands-on experience with more advanced art projects and materials than most families can pull off at home on a limited budget.  Using college students for the teachers keeps the program costs very low which makes this program easily affordable for families with more than one child, something that is often hard to find in extra curricular activities in our area I've found. 

Today was the final day of class when all of the projects are displayed to show off.  The kids were all very proud of their work.  I have to say everyone did a great job.

Little Flowers

Today the girls had their last Little Flowers meeting of the school year.  We met to say the rosary and then had a tea party complete with dress up clothes and real tea.  The girls really look forward to this time every month when they get a small break from all of the boys in the house.  Hopefully later this summer we will be able to have everyone over for a camp fire.  Katie and Abby would really like a camp out but since 3 of the Mom's are currently pregnant and due in the next 2 months, I kind of think this is not the summer for a camp out.

Bowling

The kids have been participating in a homeschool bowling league the past few months.  The folks at Bowl-a-Roll host groups of kids every single year for non-competitive leagues.  Their program is very cost effective, includes a free bowling coach and an end of session party complete with pizza and trophies.  I've seen a major improvement in the kids' bowling skills over the past few years.

Cobblestone School Museum

 We finally seem to be getting back into the groove of things since the baby was born and are finally going on field trips again on a regular basis.  Field trips are one of the positive aspects of homeschooling and I hate to see them not happen because we are too busy with book work to step away from it every so often.  Sometimes this means I am chasing a toddler who does not want to sit down or maybe one of the kids finds the trip boring but I think it is important to remember that school means more than books and a true education simply must include things outside our front door.

Today we visited the Cobblestone School Museum.  The one-room school house was built in 1848 and used as a school until 1952.  It is called the Cobblestone School because of the cobblestones used to build the school itself. 

I have to admit walking into the school, I was hit with thinking that I would really love to have that much space myself to work with for a school room.  Perhaps in our next house. 

The school was filled with lots of items that the students used while the school was in use.  We saw their lunch boxes, the water bucket, slates, ink wells, old maps, globes, flashcards, pictures and more.

The kids seem to have enjoyed themselves and hopefully learned a few things.