Susan, Susan...my how your children grow....

Kelsey Anna on the last day of monastery camp, she is 13 1/2! She LOVES this camp and this was her 6th year I believe and her last. They announced that they would no longer be holding camp here at St. John the Forerunner monastery in Goldendale. There were lots of tears! She has a love and appreciation for the monastic life that is beautiful and her years at camp have grown her love of Orthodoxy deeply. She loves her faith and above all God! In fact her email address starts out with "iloveorthodoxy....."
She picked up her first book at 9 months old and hasn't put it down. Constantly reading she is growing faster than I care to admit. She recently devoured a series we found recommended in "Well-Trained Mind" which covered every old fashioned fairy tale imaginable, "Andrew Lang's Fairy Books". Well, now that I looked on wiki I don't think she's read them all. But close. As I walked out the door this morning I saw her with a stack of National Geographic.

Charissa just turned 11! wow! Vibrant and full of energy and I am desperately trying to learn and seek God's guidance on how to channel it in the right direction. You know the saying about red heads? It's true! Lord have mercy on me as I learn to guide this bundle of determination. She loves, loves, loves God's creation and loves to create just about anything herself. I need to stop being so selfish and find things for her to create!

Nicholas is 9 1/2 and within 5 months will be a double digit!
He is such a cuddly, handsome little man who desperately wants to be a man. He is growing so fast and I am trying to teach him the gentlemanly way of doing things.
Nicholas loves to cook! He will make breakfast of eggs and toast for everyone and his favorite lunch to make is fried tortillas with cheese. And boy are they good!

Last but not least in any way, shape or form, we have Joseph. My baby!
He will be 8 tomorrow and is so excited about his birthday!!! But at the same time he's discovered he's not so sure he wants to grow up and has crawled up into my lap with tears in his eyes to tell me he just wants to stay little. He was a gift from God in every way, if you know his story you know this to be true. I cannot wait to see what wonderful thing God has in mind for this very sensitive and loving little guy. He loves to love people and makes quick friends with everyone he meets!



Thank you, Lord, for these little angels you have given me. You have entrusted me with them. To teach and mold them in the way they should go. I pray for a renewed vigor to nurture and love them so that they may see You in me. Guide me and give me wisdom in all my interactions with them. Give sweetness to my words, pushing any harshness away so that their ears will only hear the love of You through me. Protect them as they grow independent and seek to be on their own more and more each growing year. Protect them and guide them where I cannot be or where I fail to be. Thank you for each of them and now be with me for even though You've given them to me, I cannot do a single thing without You.
Amen

Prayer Requests

1. My mom isn't well. She's had a deep cough for about a month now and nothing seems to be helping it. They did a CT Scan last week and she found out yesterday that it is clear, Glory to God. But she is still hacking and is frustrated not knowing what is going on. She does have asthma and so it could be that the allergies are really bad and effecting her a great deal. She's never had testing done. Please pray for healing and answers.

2. James is looking for a new job. His current job, which he has had for 15 years and he really likes, isn't willing to work with him on some issues and so he is having to take an 8% cut in pay and we just cannot afford this. I'm picking up odd jobs here and there to help out (which is stressful as well) and hopefully these will carry us through until he finds something new. He's put out his resume to several different places and I pray something will come up soon. God is Good and He has undoubtedly taken care of us over the years and I trust He will continue.

3. That God will make it clear to me how to fit everything into my day. I struggle so much with making a schedule work, sticking to a plan and it really is frustrating to me. It is so apparent that it is needed for me and my kids. But I don't know why I can't stick with a plan. I have all these ideas about how I'd love my day to go but it never goes that way, mostly due to me not sticking with the plan.

Thank you so much for prayers and for your faithfulness in reading this little itty bitty glimpse of my world.

The Best Mother's Day Ever

I want to thank my family for the best Mother's Day ever! We started the day with our dear parish family celebrating how we celebrate each and every Sunday. After an hour or two of fellowship we headed home with a sun-filled afternoon and evening ahead of us.

After changing into my “play” clothes the kids and James presented me with a beautiful lilac to plant out front. I love lilac! It is my favorite scent and from childhood. At each of our homes we've had (this is our third) I've planted a lilac but I haven't planted one here yet and we've been here for 3 years now.

So now I have a lilac. I was also given the gift, from James, that he will be starting a batch of strawberry wine for me. We'd like to start making our own and he thought this was the perfect opportunity to do that. So it is now fermenting.

After that I spent the whole afternoon doing what I love to do, tend the garden. I weeded and planted and weeded some more. There is something about weeding that is very calming for me, very therapeutic. If I could weed a little everyday I'd probably be a saner a person. :) And now that I'm not attached to the "time leech" as often I have far more time for this therapeutic activity.

Before the end of the day I figured out where I want to put my new lilac. I want to be able to see it from the house, and smell it as well. So I decided to rip up all the snowberry bush from the front bed near the driveway and put it there. This is an incredible job because it turns out snowberry bushes ( which have no real usefulness since their berries are poisonous and they don't even have a show of flowers-why would you plant this on purpose?) are extremely invasive with their roots. When we moved in 3 years ago there was one little bush and it has grown into 3 separate bushes via root sprawl. Plus there are tiny little shoots all over the place. So I spent the evening slowly digging up this bush. I got the main bush out and another side bush before going in for the evening and watching a movie with my family while enjoying a cold, crisp glass of Silverlake Reisling.

It was a fabulous day. Thank you my beautiful children and husband for a wonderful day. Thank you God for blessing me so richly and for the added blessing of sunshine!

Here is a series of pictures I took Sunday morning of the kids. I wanted just one of the 4 of them, but they got really silly. Some of the silly shots are awesome.

From left to right: Charissa ( 11 in July), Nicholas (9 1/2), Joseph (8 in July) and Kelsey Anna (13).

Nicholas is definitely the clown of the family. He'd definitely have the title of class clown if he were in public school.

Here they are again being funny.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!! These are the two middle ones and they are only 17 months apart. These are the two that, most of time, would rather the other didn't exist. I saw this picture and was in awe at how much they look EXACTLY alike!! Wow! And look they are smiling and have their arms around each other.

This picture wasn't taken on Mother's Day, but last night. Last night Joseph lost his top front tooth...FINALLY!!! The other one fell out nearly a year ago and the adult tooth is well in place already. We thought the dentist was going to need to pull it. But it just wasn't ready. The orthodontist said, "Wait, it's not ready, it'll come out when it's ready." Yes, Joseph sees the orthodontist already because he has had teeth fall out and has no room for the new ones to come in such as that big one on top on the right...it is filling the spot of 2 teeth. But we soon found out that Joseph has 4 adult teeth that are missing from the x-ray and don't seem to be anywhere in sight. I think it is God's way of making room in his mouth the natural way. :)

Sunday of the Paralytic

Yesterday was when we remember the Gospel story about the paralytic that Jesus heals.
The Kontakian (hymn) that we sang left a pretty good impression on me.
I just love the words.

By Your divine intercession, O Lord,
as You raised up the Paralytic of old,
so raise me up my soul, paralyzed by sins and thoughtless acts;
so that being saved I may sing to You:
Glory to Your power, O compassionate Christ!

Sung in Tone 3

Happy Anniversary!

16 years ago today, I married my sweetheart! I love you, James!

Leaving on a jet plane...

...returning in 12 days!
The girls, my 2 beautiful daughters and I head out today for an adventure. We head to LA area to visit wonderful friends and see family I haven't seen in 20 years.
Then we head to St. Paisius Monastery in Safford, Az for a week long pilgrimage.

I'll take lots of pics and post about it when I return.

Quote from Abbot Tryphon

The Kingdom of Heaven, is within! With all the noise of constant radio and TV, to say nothing of the internet, most people today give no thought, whatsoever, to the inner life. Without silence, God is not heard, and the heart grows cold.

Abbot Tryphon

Forgiveness Sunday and the start of Great Lent

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever. Amen.

The season of the virtues now has come, and the Judge is at the door. Let us not hold back with darkened face, but let us keep the fast, offering tears, repentance, and almsgiving; and let us cry: our sins are more in number than the sands of the sea; Deliverer of all, forgive each one of us, that we may receive an incorruptible crown.

—from the Vespers of Forgiveness Sunday

Please forgive me brothers and sisters.

May Great Lent be a blessed time for all of you.

Meatfare Sunday

Woe, to you, O my darkened soul!
Your life is stained by depravity and laziness;
your folly makes you shun all thought of death.
How complacent you remain!
How can you flee the awesome thought of Judgment Day?
When will you change your way of life?
On that day your sins will rise against you.
What will your answer be then?
Your acts will condemn you; your deeds will expose you.
The time is at hand, O my soul.
Turn to the good and loving Savior!
Beg Him to forgive your malice and weakness, as you cry in faith:
“I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned against You,
but I know Your love for all mankind.//
O good Shepherd, call me to enjoy Your lasting presence on Your right hand!”

-Aposticha from Vespers for Sunday of Meatfare/Sunday of the Last Judgment

Reading and Blogging

As I mentioned in my last post, my New Years Resolution is "to run!" In doing this, working towards this mentality (which is really a difficult thing for me), I am trying to read some books that I hope will inspire me. I cannot lose sight of this goal, I do not want to lose sight of this goal. Since I haven't been posting much as of late I thought that I would "try" to just post quotes now and again from the books that I am reading. Putting them here will help remind me of these little bits of inspiration and just maybe someone else might find them inspiring as well.

I am reading a few different books at different speeds (some take longer to digest then others). One of them is called "Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and 'Women's Work'." I am actually re-reading it, the first time being about 7 years ago. I used to own the book but have no idea where it went to. I must have loaned it out or something. This copy is from the library.
Quotidian means : occurring everyday; belonging to everyday; commonplace, ordinary.

She starts out talking about how we always have the "daily" with us; dishes, laundry, diapering, etc. But we've stigmatized it. All too often, however, we stigmatize such work as "menial," considering domestic or janitorial work to be suitable only for those who are too limited mentally to find employment elsewhere. Cleaning up after others, or even ourselves, is not what we educate our children to do; it's for someone else's children, the less intelligent, less educated and less well-off.

A few paragraphs later....

The fact that none of us can rise so far in status as to remove ourselves from the daily, bodily nature of life on this earth is not usually considered a cause for celebration, but rather the opposite. The daily routines that provide a modicum of discipline in our lives are perceived as a drag, a monotony that can occasion listlessness, apathy and despair. The word acedia is not much in use these days- The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as "spiritual torpor or apathy; ennui"-but I wonder if much of the frantic boredom and enervating depression that constitute an epidemic in modern life are not merely the ancient demon of acedia in contemporary dress. Although acedia was long thought to be the province of monastics alone, plagueing them because of lack of distraction in their daily lives, I believe that the description of acedia given by the fourth-century monk Evagrius is as relevant to us in twentieth-century America as when it was written. He states that the bad thought, or demon of acedia "makes it seem that the sun hardly moves, if at all, and that the day is fifty hours long. Then [it] constrains the monk to look constantly out the windows, to walk outside the cell, to gaze carefully at the sun to determine how far it stands from the ninth hour" [i.e., lunchtime].
Once the monk has given in to these outward distractions, the thought of acedia moves inward, and Evagrius writes that it "instills in the heart of the monk a hatred for the place, a hatred for his very life itself." He begins to think less of the other monks- we might translate this as our family , coworkers or neighbors--brooding on the ways they have angered, offended or merely failed to encourage him. "This demon, " Evagrius reports, then drives the monk "to desire other sites where he can more easily find work and make a real success of himself." Having rejected the present and present company, the monk begins to dwell in self-pitying "[memories] of his dear ones and his former way of life." Acedia then moves in for the kill, "[depicting] life stretching out for a long period of time, and brings before the mind's eye the toil of the ascetic struggle and, as the saying has it, leaves no leaf unturned to induce the monk to forsake his cell and drop out of the fight."

I can see how this can totally happen in the life of a stay at home mom.

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Happy New Year from the Ferrenbergs

I never did get my Christmas Letter written this year, or cards sent out. I started, but still haven't finished and feel that it isn't worth it now being that it is January 15th.
I just really do not know where the time goes! It is absolutely crazy!
I've not given much time over to blogging these days and as I've said on FB, "Facebook will be the death of the blogging world." Because of FB I really feel that I don't "need" to blog. I also don't feel like I need to blog because I've decided I don't really have much of anything to say. But I'll still post from time to time things that I feel that have really been encouraging or eye opening, etc. Sometimes I read something and I really believe it has helped me and maybe it could help someone else.
I've seen other people talk about their New Years Resolutions and so I've been giving it some thought. This year instead of having a long list of resolutions I've decided to concentrate on just one! Because this ONE if concentrated on would really help just about anything else I would want to resolve to do. I was talking with friend yesterday about passions/sins and he read in "Unseen Warfare" ( I THINK that was the book) that in all of us we have a chief sin. If we were to concentrate on just that one sin, putting ALL effort into that one sin, we would be far better off. If we look at all our sins that we want to conquer we tend to get overwhelmed and feel like we can't possibly tend to everything so we don't do anything. But if we just look at that one and we put all our energy into that chief sin it actually will give us power to conquer others without even knowing it. I forget exactly how he said it. Sins gain strength from each other and work like a net so if we begin to conquer just one the others lose their strength as well.

So my resolution is to conquer sloth! Everyday, I want to run!

I'm reading Wounded By Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios. I read this and it has inspired me to put all my energy and concentration into fighting this one sin.
Elder Porphyrios says that he "ran, I didn't walk" whenever he did things.
There was no question of laziness. I liked to pray even when I was tired. When I was exhausted I sought God even more. You must believe this and realize that it's truly possible. It's a matter of love. It's not simply that you work quickly. You do one job, then you begin another, you come back and do yet another, and you make sure that you finish them all: you water, you hoe, you bring earth and branches, you go up the mountain, you fetch wood for your woodcarving. With love you are in perpetual motion. You should see then where sins go. They all fall into a deep sleep. Do you hear? This is truly a life lost from the world, a blessed and holy life, a life in Paradise.

I want to run!

Blessings to you all during 2010!!

Fat Head: the movie

Fathead...
A must see movie!!!!
Here is the blog post written by creator of the movie.
Here is a review.
And my own husband has started writing a review. This one is of the first half of the movie. We watched the second half last night and I hope he reviews that as well. The 2nd half is by far the best, I think.

Watch it....it is worth it!

benches

Thank you, James, for these incredible new benches you made for us! I love them! You did an incredibly beautiful job!
Next, a table?

A Teenager?!

Kelsey Anna Sierra came into this world 13 years ago today! I am completely and utterly flabbergasted as to how quickly the last 13 years have flown past. She has grown into a young lady! She wears my shoes, my skirts, my shirts and my socks (give them back!). She reads more books than I could ever keep track or count. She writes pages and pages of stories every day! She cooks and cleans ( I just wish she would do it cheerfully), and last night she baked a banana cream pie almost by herself for her birthday "cake". It was SO delicious! She is sweet and loving, when she wants to be, because yes, she is very much a teenager! Today, she can truly say it in number.
I love you my Kelsey Belle!!! May God grant you many years!!!

Our Church Fundraiser

The women in our Women's Fellowship group have been working for months to get ready for our 2nd annual Christmas Boutique. Last year we crafted on what each of us specialized in, donated our goods and set up a table where we sold our crafts during coffee hour for 5 or 6 Sundays leading up to Nativity. This year we decided to see how it would be if we had a Saturday Holiday Boutique open to the public. So we worked even harder! Being that it was our first year, we are a very small mission fairly unknown in town, and there were 4 other Christmas type bazaars in town on the same day I think we do alright. We'll be running our table during the next 6 coffee hours to sell what's left (lots).
I decided to take a bunch of pictures of the goods we've created. We've got some pretty talented ladies in the Church. Here I am to show you some wonderful Christmas gift Ideas. If you would like to do some Christmas shopping for Quality Handmade Gifts AND support our small missions land/building fund(we are currently leasing in a business park) you've come to the right spot. ALL proceeds go the land/building fund. I would gladly ship anywhere in the USA for just a small fee (flat rate $1.99). If you would like to see closer pictures I can email them to you. Each picture below has descriptions and prices. Click the images to enlarge and see the items closer for details. Please feel free to contact me with any questions! susansophia.f[at]gmail[dot]com

First up, Resuable Gift Wrap and Bags. These are fabric gift wraps and gift bags with ribbon to tie them. Reusable year after year. There are several different patterns to choose from. Each set typically has 1-3 wraps, 1-2 bags and ribbon for each. Each is a packet of several. Some are a set of 2 (wrap or bag or both) for $5. Set of 3 (wraps and bags) for $8, and set of 4 (wraps and bags) for $10.

The earrings below are made with sterling silver hoops and beautiful colorful beads. Click to enlarge photo for better view. Handmade! $20 each.

These are some of the best dishcloths I've ever owned! I got a bunch for Christmas last year from my kids who shopped the sale. I LOVE THEM. They are small, tight crochet and they last forever. So soft but not flimsy. I hope I get many more this year. There are tons of colors available and you can even order certain colors to be made if you don't see what you want.
$3 or 2 for $5

These scrubbies have a crocheted circular dishcloth sewed on the one side. So your scrubbie has a soft side and scrub side. $3

There are several things here to point out (click the picture to enlarge).
First, in the background you'll see 4 framed Quillings: salmon($25), flowers($15), farm($25), flower basket($15). Next right under the salmon quilling you have Reusable Produce Bags. You can use these when buying your produce instead of those plastic bags that just fill the landfill. $2 each. Next to that you have a stack of Shoe Bags. These are so cute, they look like a little pair of pants, but they hold your shoes when you need to pack them up in a suitcase. Many colors to choose from. $4 each. Next to that you some Jean Bibs that my 12 year old daughter made. $4 each.

Lavender Bath Salts & Foot Soak. Click on image to enlarge and read the description.
$8

Gifts in a Jar! These are meant for the Slow Cooker but could be adapted for oven or stove top. They are $10 each. These are the meals that are available: Black Bean Chili, Ham Hock Stew, Rice Pudding, Old-Fashioned Brown Bread, and Red Beans and Rice.

These are an artisan type of box hat. They are cleverly made reversible and are absolutely beautiful! $25

Lavender Sache $3

Crocheted Water Bottle Holder, water bottle included. If you have certain color schemes you are looking for we can see about making them. For example school colors, or sports team colors. $12 each

Crocheted and Wool Felt Handbag. Fairly small these are currently holding perfectly, a notebook/journal. $20

This is our pet section. In the basket are handmade catnip toys. The catnip is home grown. $3 each. Then we have a quilted dog blanket/bed and quilted cat blanket/bed. $20.

Here we have Beaded Bookmarks. This first picture isn't very good but it gives you the length and look of these beautiful bookmarks. The next picture is a bit closer to see more detail. $8 each.

That's it folks. Thanks for browsing and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Tips for fighting colds!

These are my tips and I am not a doctor, but these are things that have definitely worked in our home time and again!!! I really swear by them. These tips are mainly to fight colds: sore throat, coughs, etc.
The earlier you start these when symptoms appear the better.

1. Squeeze half a lemon, add enough honey and water to make it palatable. Drink several times a day. The sooner you do this after the first hint of sore throat or scratchy throat the better. A hot cup of water, with a whole squeezed lemon with honey is nice alternative, hot lemon tea. It's good.
2. Start taking echinacea with the first symptoms of cold or flu. This is an immune booster. It is known to shorten the length of illness. Studies at the UofW, have shown this. (Wish I had a link to the study, James, can you find one?) Take no more than 2 weeks.
3. Garlic is a well known anti-viral, anti-bacterial. Take as raw as you can. I make garlic oil and sneak into the shot glass of echinacea juice for my kids. Yes, the older ones notice the floating but it's medicine...put a little honey in it and they won't complain too much. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

Some other tips I've found to work:
If you child complains of ear pain, make or get some garlic oil and put a few drops in the complaining ear. In no time at all the pain is gone.

My friend Carrie has posted on Immune Boosters to fight the flu! Check it out!
The healthier you are inside the easier it is to fight any bugs trying to make their way in.

Again, I'm not a doctor, these are tips I've found after researching on my own. You can do some research as well: Herbal Remedies for colds. Yes, it is not "orthodox medicine" but after trying, I've changed my mind.

Fathers (and mothers)

>For Father's Day this year Kelsey Anna spent a great deal of time creating a music CD to give to James. She spent her money at iTunes and searched through our CD's picking songs that seemed to fit a father/daughter theme. She did an incredible job. I just recently really started listening to this CD and I've got to say it really makes me think. Mostly about how fast my kids are growing up, how much time I waste during these years that I have with them. In no time flat they will be grown and on their own. There is one song in particular that has me in tears nearly every time because it is actually written from a daughter to her mother. It's a Taylor Swift song but it isn't one that has ever been released like on the radio. It's called The Best Day. What gets me about this song is the relationship between mother and daughter. I want desperately to have my daughters look back when they are older and say just this! Will they? I'm really not sure. I think I really need to sit back and relax! Relax about all the tiny details that I fuss about all the time. Relish in this VERY SHORT time I will have with them to build a loving relationship. Stop worrying about every little detail and when I do....give it to God and know that He is all merciful, all gracious and in control of everything. By His grace it will all be okay.


Smile and laugh with them. Have fun learning with them, instead of looking at it as a chore. All too soon, this time will be over, but being their mother will never end. I want them to always know they are loved. And I only have one chance.

I just really love watching this.

Quote

"Know, beloved, that the valleys shall abound with wheat and spiritual fruit. This valley is a soul low and humble among the mountains, that is, it is filled with labours and virtues, and always remains unhaughty and steadfast."
St. John Climacus

"The Ladder of Divine Ascent" (Step 25)

Grammar

Grammar lessons are my biggest hurdle as far as required subjects is concerned. I just want to know what everyone else uses for grammar. I have 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th graders. They've had very little formal grammar instruction although my 7th grader is an incredible reader and writer. She wants to be an author when she grows up. We've done a tiny bit with Easy Grammar and are currently working on Writing Strands 2 and 3.
I'm just curious what everyone uses and why.

I've had recommendations for the Building Christian Writing from Rod & Staff but am not sure how I would choose where to start.

Thanks for your input.