~Some odds and ends said around our house lately~

Jonah, aged 6,  said to me the other day, “Mom were you alive when the dinosaurs were on earth?”  Uh, maybe we need to show that kid a timeline!

Then, last night, after watching TLC’s, “Jon and Kate + 8″ and “Kids by the Dozen”, while we were all cuddled up in our bed, Jonah asked me if I was pregnant and when I said, “I don’t think so.”, he added, “Well, can you be pregnant by the morning?”  He then went on to tell his brothers, that if everyone is well behaved God will give us another baby! I am not going to argue with his thinking, whatever motivates good behavior is alright by me!

Nicholas – about his best friend Dean (Constandinos) and let me just preface this with saying that our old parish was called, St. Constantine and Helen and that Dean goes to my hometown parish, “Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas”. The other night at dinner Nicholas said, “The only thing I miss about our old Church is that I went to St. “DEAN” church and Dean went to St. “ME” Church.”

The boys all have tooth tunes toothbrushes. One of them plays Queen, “We Will Rock You”.   Maria~Angelica now sings, “We will we Rock you”. Which is quite hilarious coming out of her little dainty two year old mouth, which also sings, “Baaa, Baaa Black Sheep.” It is very funny to hear her in her car seat singing, “We will Rock You!”

BTW because of tooth tunes Basil-age 10, and I, had a nice discussion about one of the world’s greatest rock bands, “Queen”, Freddie Mercury, homosexuality and AIDS. So you see you don’t have to have any “great big talks”, things just come up when they come up.   My greatest memory of Freddie Mercury was when I was 17 years old and at ”Live Aid”- Wembly Stadium, London. His  performance  was awesome!!!  Freddie Mercury was among one of the first people I remember dying of complications to AIDS. So sad…

And just this morning my 2 year old daughter told me, “Mom I want to go shopping!’ OYE VYE!! Is she starting young or what?!  Thankfully, she is happy going to the grocery store and the consignment shop, for now.

Life sure is interesting with a 10, 8, 6 and 2 year old. It is always fascinating to hear what is on their mind and how they think.

~Iconographer- Fr. Anthony Salzman~

Our friend, Fr. Anthony Salzman, whose parish is in  Athens, Georgia, was the guest speaker at our Church on Thursday night. Fr. Anthony gave a very informative, historic and theological explanation of Christian iconography with a presentation of his work and iconography from around the world and through the ages. Following his presentation Fr. demonstrated the art of “writing icons.” Fr. Anthony and Presvytera Christine have a wonderful website, Image and Likeness Iconography, where you can order beautiful Orthodox Christian greeting cards, photo cards, Christmas cards, Easter cards, note cards, nameday cards & triptychs. Fr. Anthony also offer icon workshops. He has one coming up for youth ages 13-19 at the Diakonia Center in Salem, SC.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with Orthodox iconography or would like a good article on just what it is  we Orthodox Christians do with our icons and why, here is a good article by Fr. Jack Sparks , No Graven Image.

~Our Family Pennant for the Medieval Feast~

(Say a prayer for us today that the feast, this evening, is a great success!)

The  flag is the double headed eagle of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. The double-headed eagle emblem is the symbol of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium-Byzantine Empire). The head on the left (West) symbolizes Rome, the head on the right (East) symbolizes Constantinople. The cross and orb in the claws symbolize, respectively, spiritual and secular authority. Above the eagle is our last name in Greek letters and below the eagle is the words of St. Constantine “”By this shalt thou conquer.”  And below the words a cross and Chi Rho. Chi Rho  are the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ in Greek, Χριστός and they were used on the Labarum of St. Constantine.  We used the flag of the Byzantine empire to represent our Greek Orthodox Christian Faith and Christian heritage. The cross represents, “our life in Christ” and the cross that St. Constantine, saw in the sky during battle when he proclaimed, “By this shalt thou conquer!”

 “…… while at the head of his troops, he saw in the sky after midday, beneath the sun, a radiant pillar in the form of a cross with the words: “By this shalt thou conquer”. The following night, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and declared to him the power of the Cross and its significance. When he arose in the morning, he immediately ordered that a labarum be made (which is a banner or standard of victory over the enemy) in the form of a cross, and he inscribed on it the Name of Jesus Christ. “

~Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Come one , Come All!~

You are invited to a Medieval Feast! This Friday evening at 6:00, hosted by Rivendell- A Christian Classical Study Center to be held in the Church Hall. A wonderful dinner will be served, fine entertainment enjoyed and a good time will be had by all! Please e-mail me for reservations or pick up your tickets tomorrow at Rivendell from 9-3 or in the Church office from Fran. Please make a reservation so we know how many people to prepare for. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door! Hope to see you there!

Below are photos of Rivendell students studying Latin, History, Literature, grammar and preparing for the Medieval Feast with artwork,plays, poetry, castles and crests. They are working hard to prepare a wonderful Medieval Feast!

~Birthday Pics~

We had a fun evening, with lots of birthday calls for the birthday girl! It was great to hear from everyone, we miss you!  We had a nice dinner and enjoyed watching Maria~Angelica  open her presents. She was quite funny with all her expressions of delight! The boys had fun celebrating  and after dinner they sat down and played a game together before bed. Thank you Thea Voula, Nouna Betsy and Nouna Sandra for all the great birthday presents! Thank you  Mom and Dad for coming up for the week and keeping me company while Fr. was away. It sure was nice having you two here to celebrate Maria~Angelica’s 2nd birthday!! Thank you, Thea Lena and Uncle Michael for the beautiful pink birthday pearls! They came in the mail yesterday and Maria~Angelica is really going to enjoy them; you know she is all girl and loves her accessories!

While I made dinner and chatted on the phone with Nouna Sandra, Maria~Angelica opened her a sweet little birthday purse from Nouna Sandra. That was just a little appetizer of presents to get her started! The little barret in her hair is a gift from Nouna Sandra and Nouno Gary too.

Praying!

YAY! I am TWO!!!

Opening a beautiful butterfly and an interactive Noah’s Ark book, from Nouna Betsy and Nouno Bill!  

With some help from Basil and Jonah , Maria~Angelica opens an adorable activity bear doll from Thea Voula.

And a lovely velvet dress from Thea Sandra. Maria~Angelica is going to wear her new dress at the Medieval Feast on Friday night.

Basil  reading Maria~Angelica her birthday cards, look how excited she was.

A GREAT BIG elephant pillow from Nouna Betsy and Nouno Bill. She LOVES her new elephant. She sleeps with it every night now.

Requesting to Baba’ that he put her new birthday slippers, a present from Yiayia and Papou, on her little feet.

Maria~Angelica and her new bike. A present from Yiayia and Papou.

Playing nicely at the end of the big day.

~Irony- Parenting 2 year olds and 10 year olds!~

Last night, I was peeling shrimp for my 2 year daughter’s birthday dinner, and looking out the front kitchen window as the little girls in the neighborhood flocked, with their eyes all a glow, to Basil, my 10 year old; he is quite a hit in the neighborhood.  At the same moment the phone rings and it is a girl aged 11, for the upteenth time that day, calling to speak to Basil my fourth grader! What’s up with that? Should girls be calling boys? Should they be allowed to play at one another’s house?  I have talked a little bit with Basil about this.

 My dh told me in the airport yesterday, on his way back home from a Church conference, he saw a book by an Orthodox Christian author Dr. John Chirban that he wished he had bought. Has anyone read his work? What are your thoughts and what have you said to your children?

 I DREAD having this talk but I think I will dole it out a little at a time, like I have been doing, all the way expressing to my boys the importance of treating  girls like they were the Mother of God herself! This kind of language and understanding of love, purity and virginity is so foreign to most people but I didn’t want it any other way for my life and I certainly don’t want it any other way for my children’s life. Girls can be quite forward and obsessive though and it just sets them up for a life time of trouble and boys need to know how to deal with this. It is up to parents of  boys to speak to their boys about how to treat a girl and how to live  a pure life. Just this week I heard about schools giving birth control to 11 year olds. These are children! Children that still need hugs and kisses from their parents. NOT from a boyfriend or girlfriend! 

 Please share your experiences  talking with your children. The other thing is, whatever I share with Basil aged 10 is bound to be shared with Nicholas 8 and then trickled down to  Jonah 6.  As I write  this all four of the children are playing  nicely on the family room floor with Legos and Mr. Potato head!

    ~Maria~Angelica is 2 Today!~

I thought I would share her birth story- taken from HERE, because it is just so amazing sometimes I have to read it myself to believe it! 

Maria~Angelica Zoe’ did indeed deliver HERSELF  at  3:05 a.m. Wednesday morning (her due date) October 19th 2005. That is a story I am not sure just how to put into words, but I will try. It  was really quite something! I just sat up and there she was! The room was dark, I was laying on my side with my eyes closed.  Fr. was asleep and I heard a coo. I asked Fr. if he had just made that sound. We heard a quiet  cry, Fr. jumped up and I reached for the controls to  lift the bed forward so I could see and there she was! A perfect little pink baby girl!  The best way to describe it is I felt a wave of a contraction  and she washed  ashore! The nurses and doctor (who was also sleeping) were AMAZED!! They came running down the hall. They knew from the heart monitor at the nurses’ station  that something had happened. They could hear her little cry as they came closer to  the room and they could not believe their eyes. All of the nurses  said nothing like that had ever happened in all their years of nursing. The funny thing is at 2:00 am the head nurse came in to check on me and I said I felt some good pressure. The nurse said to me “don’t worry babies just don’t pop out!” When she came in at 3:05 we had a good laugh about that one!

 I think I had a “silent birth” ! LOL!

I will never forget the mental picture I have of Maria~Angelica there on the bed so sweet and perfect. The nurse quickly grabbed a blanket and handed her to me. The baby was so warm her body just radiated heat and she smelled sooooooo good (she still smells good)! We were able to have skin to skin contact for about an hour before Fr.  cut the cord. Maria~Angelica sucked her 2 middle fingers just minutes after being born. She latched on right away too. Glory be to God she is nursing beautifully. I am so grateful for  everything about her. A year ago I was crying in the parking lot of the endocrinologist office because she had just bluntly told me I would never have anymore children.  I never went back to that doctor. She was just one of 3 to tell me the same thing. I have never been back to any of those doctors. I was very grateful to have the 3 children I did have. I just wanted to confirm that all was well with my health. Then the day I came home from baptizing and Chrismating Alana’s family I found out I was expecting! That was certainly NO coincidence! With God there are no coincidences! That was truly a miracle! For those of you that have been told the same thing I was, don’t ever give up hope.  Miracles DO happen! They have happened to me 4 times!   Just trust the will of God and be willing to accept the will of God.  Following my cancer treatment there was no guarantee I would have any children. They were  all the will of God and they all came in God’s perfect timing.

 Maria~Angelica’s  birth weight was  8lbs 9oz and  she is 20 inches long. she is now 8lbs 5 oz . 

Throughout the pregnancy the  boys would   wonder if their sister would have hazel eyes and brown hair like Basil or blue eyes and blonde hair  like Nicholas or brown  hair and brown eyes like Jonah. Her eyes look blue and  her hair is light like Nicholas.   

We have given Maria~Angelica her name in honor of  the Mother Of God and all the angels in heaven.  Maria~Angelica’s grandmothers have also been named in honor of the Mother of God and the Holy Angels.  Maria is the name of Fr. Christos’  mother and Angeliki is the name of my mother.  We will call her both names as her first name.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and concern.  We are all very excited and look forward to sharing more pictures in the days to come!

      ~Pictures From The Last Couple of Days~

Last night at our annual Church dinner dance, my parents enjoyed themselves and were happy to meet many of our parishioners.

Boys being boys; I tried to get a good picture but to no avail….

Basil and friends

Maria~Angelica enjoying the children’s table - she was NOT interested in sitting in a highchair at our table and Nicholas struggling with the ketchup. I guess maybe his mother should stop taking pictures and go help him.

 Jonah talking to the band and waiting his turn to play the drums

Maria~Angelica escorting Papou up the ramp and into Church. Currently, with Papou’s new knee, Maria~Angelica moves faster! She LOVES this coat so much that she would not take it off during Church. When I did try and take it off Maria~Angelica, VERY uncharacteristically, made such a fuss!

Basil- at Greek School dance practice, this past Saturday

Yiayia and Maria~Angelica look on

 Out to lunch with Yiayia and Papou at one of the 120 Greek Restaurants in this city.

Presents have started arriving for Maria~Angelica’s 2nd birthday, this Friday. We are happy that Yia yia and Papou are in town to help celebrate!

~Random Photos (for Maria~Angelica Godmother’s)~

Thank you everyone for the great response to my last post. I love this subject! If you would like to continue with more details here is a link to the thread on my message board. Please continue to share and post more on this topic! I have really appreciated what you have shared so far!

 I can see that my relatives are looking at my blog, daily, so I thought I would post some pictures for their benefit. Hi, Thea Voula, Sandra and Betsy! My parents arrived here safely and are enjoying all the kiddos.

Here is a photo of the parish house after a very, very, nice man from Church did the landscaping. It really cheered the house up!  He  even came back the next couple days to water and to plant those two very welcoming mums on the front porch. His gift to the house was just the icing on the cake and made us feel very good about moving in. Thank you Mr. E.!!!

Maria~Angelica enjoying being back in our big bed with our comfy new quilt. It is so great to have a big bed again and to pile all the kids in to talk, read and cuddle every night.

The boys in their beds on our first night in the house. The enjoyed setting up their rooms and Basil worked really hard to assemble the beds. I don’t have a picture but the first thing he organized was his icon corner.

Nicholas and Maria~Angelica playing.  Do you like the new kitchen floor I picked out?

Maria~Angelica and her bike. She wants to ride it all day, everyday!