Saint Innocent of Alaska...

 

O Holy Father Innocent
In obedience to the will of God
You accepted dangers and tribulations
Bringing many peoples to the knowledge of truth.
You showed us the way,
Now by your prayers help lead us into the Kingdom of Heaven.

:::::

Happy Namesday Father John!!

Living and Learning: This Week...

Church in the Home
October 6th is the feast of Saint Innocent and it is is Father John's namesday!  The children and I are very excited to give their Papa a wonderful day.  I'm not quite sure yet what we'll do, but there will be several services to attend and we can't wait to show him his present (a lovely Saint Innocent figure painted by Sue Dow)

Reading
“I never wanted to move, because I love the neighborhood and I’d never leave my church..." 
I spotted a brief story about this sweet little old lady who lives in the same 5 story apartment house she was born in.  The article is great and there is even a little video included: 

On My Needles

I finally re-cast onto the black sweater that I frogged a few weeks ago (when I finished the body, I realized that there was something not quite right with the sleeves and neckline).  I am determined to get it done, but I am not terribly excited by it.  That being said, I am going to try to finish it this month.  We have a lot of driving to do this month and so I am hopeful that I'll be able to do a lot of car knitting.

Listening

We like to listen to chapter books when we are in the car.  Our most recent choice is Anne of Green Gables read by Barbara Caruso.  Caruso's voice is amazing and we all look forward to long rides so that we can hear more of the story.

Out and About

As I mentioned, we came up to attend the 100th anniversary of my father-in-law's parish this past weekend.  We will be here for a few more days enjoying our family and friends and favorite places while Father John works in the area a bit.  It is nice to see the beginnings of cooler weather and lovely tinge of foliage.  Autumn is my favorite season and I strive to savor it every year.

100 Years...

 

 

 

 

 

  Today was the huge celebration of my father-in-law's parish's 100th anniversary!  Archbishop Michael of New York and New Jersey presided for Vigil and Divine Liturgy and our son was able to serve with a hierarch for the first time.  It was a wonderful  weekend!  The services were beautiful, the weather was fantastic, the fellowship was so uplifting, and the food was amazing!  The parish really outdid themselves and we were all so happy to be part of this historic weekend. 

Dining Room Icon Corner...

  This icon corner is in my mother and father's dining room.  They have a glorious bunch of pussy willows from Palm Sunday behind the center icon and my mother likes to keep flowers in the little green glass vase.  I love that this is right at eye level so that one's attention is drawn right to the icons.

Pumpkins and Mums...

I spent a little time sprucing up our porch this last week.  It had become a jumble of shoes and boots, outside toys, and a plethora of dust and grime from a busy summer.  After a little tidy and a thorough sweeping, we added a mum and a few pumpkins.  I'm following the nursery's instructions from last year to keep our mum in the shade and am hoping for the good results that I had last year.  These little autumn touches make me feel so happy!

Daffodil Bulbs...

As I mentioned in one of my Living and Learning posts a few weeks ago, we have been slowly collecting daffodil bulbs for autumn planting.   We have nearly sixty bulbs to plant in November (double mix, replete, trumpet mix, and paperwhites), which should keep us busy.  I tried to choose a variety of early bloom, mid-spring bloom, and late bloom bulbs to ensure that we will have glorious, glorious daffodils for weeks.

October Sponsor News...

 

Welcome back to Liturgical Time! 

Liturgical Time provides handmade infinity veils, chapel veils, mantillas, and Christian headcoverings for their patrons to wear in church, at prayer, or in everyday life. They are the creators of the Eternity Veil - the original infinity scarf style head covering. They are able to take special orders, and to provide some customization, so don't hesitate to make special requests. Their veils are made with prayer and packaged with care. Please stop by their shop to buy a beautiful headcovering!

 

Remember:  Ten percent of gross sales from Chapel Veils at Liturgical Time Veil Shop is always donated to charity. At the present time, this money is being used to provide emergency assistance to the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal.

Reading...

Autumn...  the year's last, loveliest smile."

William Cullen Bryant

The Things We Do: September...

Homeschooling is not just about our schoolbooks!  We also have an abundance of other activities that we take part in.  This school year, I plan to list all of the things that we participate in during the month that exceeds our book work.  

Faith

Akathist for the Church New Year

Nativity of the Mother of God

Elevation of the Cross 

Sang in the Choir and Served in the Altar

Attended Church School Classes

Party to Celebrate Ordination Anniversaries for Fathers Daniel and Steven

Creativity

Letter Writing 

Postcard Writing

Leaf Rubbings

Violin Lessons and Practice

Art Classes

Made Bracelets with Name and Phone Number

Knit a Blanket (Sugar Plum)

Created with a Spirograph

Practiced New Hairstyles (Sugar Plum)

Haircuts by Papa (Boys)

Read The Doll's House by Rumer Godden

Painted Wooden Toys 

Viewed Reproductions of Andy Warhol's Art at Local Gallery

Out and About

Visited Several Seaside Towns

Spent Time at the Boardwalk

Overnight Visit to See Grandfather, Grandpapa, Grandmama, Aunties, and Cousins

Farmers' Markets

Trip to IKEA

Trip to the Mall

Attended an Outdoor Performance of The Taming of the Shrew 

Made Friends with Neighborhood Girl

Speech Therapy (Little Man)

Speech Therapy Evaluation (Button)

Chose a Mum for the Porch at the Nursery

Trip to National Park (using 4th Grade Park Pass Voucher)

Several Ice Cream Dates with Friends

Local Jazz Festival

Dinner Party with Father Daniel and Matushka Dunia

Enjoyed Weekend Guests

Sneaker Shopping

Apple Picking

Autumn Festival

Entertainment and Technology

Video Chat with Best Friend (Sugar Plum) 

Watched Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella

Listened to Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Listened to The Story of Swan Lake

Listened to Shakespeare for Children

Sports and Games

Basketball (with Papa and church friends)

Swimming in Pool

Swimming in the Ocean

Used Hose to Wash Car

Played Soccer (with Church Friends)

Played Multiple Games of Chess

Played Manhunt 

Multiple Trips to the Playground 

Gym Class at the Local University 

Learned How to Throw and Catch a Football 

Nature 

Climbed Trees

Observed Stars

Examined Toads, Bats, Crickets, a Praying Mantis, and Frogs

Created Habitat for Frogs and Toads

Inspected Caterpillar

Listened to Weekly Nature Show on NPR 

Played in the Pouring Rain

Observed Wild Horses

Viewws Supermoon Eclipse

Note:  To compile this month's list, I simply jotting down the activities we did as a family and the things that the children wanted to do each day. Nothing was planned in advance and it really encouraged me to see all that we accomplished. October is right around the corner... why don't you try creating a Things We Do list for your family?

Living and Learning: The Week Ahead...

Church in the Home
This Thursday is the Feast of Protection of the Mother of God.  There will be services to attend and we'll all try to wear blue for the feast.  We'll also read one of our favorite books, The Story of Mary, the Mother of God.  

Watching
I happened to stumble upon a Bill Moyer episode profiling Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon.  I've been enjoying Jane Kenyon's poetry of late and it was nice to see what she looks like and hear her voice.

On My Needles
I've been in a bit of a knitting rut of late.  Something made me need to get out the needles and yarn this past Friday night, and so I cast onto a picot-edge washcloth.  It was a satisfying knit and the children have already enjoyed their first bath with it.

Kitchen, Pantry, Table
Brin Wisdom's Fall Apple Cake showed up in my feed just as I had to make a decision about what dessert to make for a dinner party that we were attending that night.  This cake is made from simple ingredients and takes very little time to assemble.  It was a big hit at the party (lots of requests for the recipe!) and was very delicious the next day with a mug of tea.  

Listening
One of our parishioners has a daughter-in-law who tells the sweetest (free!) stories for little people.  Have a look at her website and see what I mean!

Overheard...

Little Man: Button, when you ask me where your helmet is and I say, "that's not my concern," what does that mean?

Button (without missing a beat): Sin.

Little Chanter...

Our daughter chanted the verses for O Lord I Call and the Stichera for the Apostica for the first time tonight! 

Apple Picking...

 

 

 

 

Stayman and Fuji apples were in season at our orchard today and we picked a peck.  Some will be enjoyed by us and some will go to our mission's founding priest and matushka. 

Fall Festival Fun...

 

 

 

 

Thursday...

 

 

We began our new school year in August so that we could play hooky during the glorious month of October.  It is hard to believe that we only have a week and a half until our break begins!

In the meantime, we are enjoying the wonderful autumnal weather we've been having here.  I broke out my trusty corduroy skirt and brogues for the first time today.  Autumn dressing is, by far, my favorite season for clothing.  It is nice to already have everything I need to swing right into cooler weather.  Of course, the same cannot be said for the little weeds that we call children.  It's just about time to go up into the attic to see what we have and figure out what we'll need for the colder months.

The children and I are excitedly looking forward to a trip to the apple orchard on Saturday.  One of our favorite ways to mark change of seasons is to venture to different farms and orchards to pick fruits.  Though our favorite apple orchard is quite is a hike, we always have a lovely time and are so glad that we went.        

     

Late September Beach...

 

We went to the beach with our dinner and wood for a bonfire, but it was so windy that it was hard to breathe, so we scurried back to the car and quickly hurried home with three very disappointed children.  We'll try again another day! 

Living and Learning: The Week Ahead...

Reading
Jane Kenyon's poetry was recommended to me this weekend and I was able to read a little of her work in Otherwise, a collection of her poems that were published posthumously.  Often, her poems are about domestic life and nature and I look forward to enjoying more of her work.

In the Garden
For the next few weeks, the children and I are planning to choose different daffodil bulbs on our weekly shopping trip for planting in November.  We have two or three varieties that we planted last autumn and are hoping to add a few more.  Spring will be glorious at the rectory.  We chose a package of 20 bulbs of Daffodil Replete for this week's selection.

Watching
I very much enjoyed watching Arthur and George on Masterpiece these past three weeks.  It was a bit suspenseful, but very enjoyable.  Though the first season is already complete, the three episodes can be viewed on the Masterpiece website for the time being.




Kitchen, Pantry, Table
Last week, Ina Garten posted her favorite recipes for bar cookies on her Facebook page last week.  I made blondies last Tuesday and plan to try her brownie recipe this week.  You can never go wrong with Ina!

In Season
It's almost apple time in our neck of the woods.  We take a trip to an orchard not far from our home for u-pick apples, the most delicious apple cider doughnuts, and a fun autumn festival with children's activities.  We look forward to going every year!    

Sweet, Sweet Boy...

I found a video of our middle son (just a few weeks before he became a big brother!) trying to say his big sister's name...  My heart!

Living in the Body...

Going to church for worship is one element in living life as a Christian.  Being church means making an active contribution to the Church's life, being a vital organ in a living body.  

The first step in being church is being connected to others in our parish by:

• Cultivating Community in "the fellowship of the Holy spirit."  Get to know one another in a more than casual way.
• Treating others as brothers and sisters in the family of God in Christ.  Give others the time and attention we would give to our blood relatives.
• "Above all, clothing yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:14).

We nurture the relationships in the parish when we:   

• Share Our Lives - Authentic fellowship calls for more than coffee-hour courtesies.  Grow to the stage when you can share your troubles as well.  
• Learn Together - Take part in adult formation, retreats, or workshops to encourage others as well as to improve our own spiritual life.
• Work Together - Join in parish projects or committees to support the work of others as well as to make our own contribution.  "So then, whenever  we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith" (Galatians 6:10).  
• Encourage Each Other - By supporting their efforts, praying for their concerns, and building them up in the eyes of others.  "Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor" (Romans 12:10).
• Bear One Another's Burdens - Be accepting of the weaker community members.  There is no "perfect" church:  every parish is made up of "saints" who are sinners, each with their own weaknesses and infirmities.  "Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
• Admonish One Another - Do not shrink from confronting "family members" who are hurting others by  promoting conflicts, pettiness, and legalism.  "My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit, should restore such a one in spirit of gentleness.  Take care that you yourself are not tempted" (Galatians 6:1).
• Protect the Unity of the Church - by avoiding gossip or cliques, and speaking ill of others.
• Restore Broken Relationships - when they occur by admitting our faults.  No project or program is worth harming the family's inner life.  "If anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Colossians 3:13).

From Father John's Bulletin

Reading...

Lou Maytree's height and stillness made her look like a statue.  Her fair hair and her white skin's purity contrasted with the red she wore year-round to cheer the scene."

 The Maytrees

Annie Dillard