Memory Eternal!

Remember, O Lord, the soul of thy departed servant, Vladyka Job, that has fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection and life eternal, and grant him eternal memory!

You get what you get,

and you don't throw a fit.  Especially if you've waited until the 11th hour to take Nativity pictures of your children.  

Can someone tell me why I can take hundreds of pictures of my children that are so great, except when I really need a picture to send out with Christmas cards that are already really late?  

I tried to take some photos of the girls outside the other day and Zoe, being a true Texan, could only take a few minutes of posing in the free-sing (her word-not mine) 60 degree weather.  (There are a couple of drawbacks to being a Texan, not many, but a few.)

We had another photo shoot today, this time indoors.  I think I got a few good ones-thankfully.  

Hope your having a lovely week in preparation for the feast.  Mine just got lovelier!  :)

Slowing down

It's time for us to wind down with homeschooling and start to focus on what lies ahead in the next few weeks.  The girls are antsy and know that a break from school is close at hand.  The feast of St. Nicholas always seems to give them the heads up that we'll be slowing down until after the first of the year.  

Katherine has finished up a math workbook, so we'll not start a new one until after the first of the year.   From now until after our break we will focus on reading and spirituality.  These two areas we try to never lay aside.  

We will decide on crafts to make for our loved ones and start working on those this week.  We'll try to focus more intently on the Lord over the next few weeks-and what His birth means for us.  We'll meditate on our blessings, those blessings we love and those that have challenged us, and we'll give thanks for them all.  We'll try to be quiet and not get caught up in the insanity of the world at this time.  

A blessed preparation for the coming of our Lord to you all!  

A time to pray

Last Monday morning we got up early and headed down to Holy Archangels Monastery in Kendalia.  It is an Athonite Greek Monastery hidden in the Texas Hill Country.  As I've mentioned many times before, I love monasteries and wish that everyone could have the opportunity to cultivate and be a part of a monastery on a regular basis.  I am  blessed time and time again by the quiet, the conversations, the wisdom of the elders and the opportunity to pray unceasingly.  

The brothers at Holy Archangels are so precious.  They have truly committed themselves to the monastic life and in going there one cannot help but feel the Holy Spirit.  The fruit of the labor of the brothers is clear.  

We try not to bother the brothers in any way, but they always have something new to show us and spend time talking with us and making sure we feel cared for.  

One of the brothers took us up to the bell tower and gave us a course on the different kinds of bells and the purpose of each one.  He even let Katherine ring the bells.  

Thea became very preoccupied with the graves this visit.  She wanted to take several walks with Papa to the cemetery to visit the graves.  She took countless pictures and talked and talked about those people who have fallen asleep in the Lord.  Fr. Justin was happy to oblige her and talk about prayers for the departed.  My girls have been to many funerals and so it was good to spend time at the cemetery and talk about the need to continue to pray for those who have fallen asleep.  Thea took the picture of the cross on the grave in this post.

The services at the monstery are beautiful.  I remember the first time we went as a family, I was worried that I would be distracted with the services in greek since I don't speak the language.  I also thought the girls would be bored since they couldn't understand the services.  But the services are so beautiful and holy that no one ever even mentions that we don't understand what is being said.  In fact, I never feel like I don't understand what is being said.  I always feel completely part of the service.  We all just listen and pray silently. 

Here are a few pics of our stay.  May the Lord grant us a visit again soon!

I am so thankful

for this man.

Blanco State Park

As promised, here are some pics of our time down in the Hill Country last week.  Blanco is about ten miles from the monastery and is a lovely little spot to camp.  They also have covered shelters which are screened in.  

The Blanco River runs through the park and it also has a couple of great playground areas.  There are several great climbing trees and a hiking trail.  

Our first night in the park we went to sleep with lovely 60 degree weather, but were awakened at about 4:00a.m. by a cold front which brought the temp down to about the mid 40's.  The following night we slept in 30 degree weather.  Hey, we're Texans, we're tough right?  

Well,  I'll just say that if you had told me that the weather was going to drop to 30 at night, I'm not sure I would have been up for the trip.  However, it wasn't bad at all.  Once we all got in our bags and cozied up we were snug as bugs in a rug-and warm too!  

We probably won't make another camping trip until the spring, but I am excited about our new little spot.  Well, I should say early spring-before the rattle snakes wake up.  One of the brothers showed us a rattle snake head and the rattler preserved in a jar.  It was quite large.  I really didn't want to ask if there were lots of snakes in the area, but I couldn't help it.  His answer, "Oh yeah, they're all over the place."  

Did I say I was a tough Texan?  I take it back.  

We were all very motivated to get up at 5:00a.m. the next morning and get to the 6:00a.m. liturgy, where it was nice and warm.  

It's been a little too long!

It's been a little too long since I've been able to write here.  My computer has proven to have a fickle personality.  Some friends stopped by for a surprise visit today and Fr. Basil just so happens to have the magic touch.  He got my computer running again.  Let's hope it lasts.

So much has been going on down here in the south.  Most recently we celebrated Thanksgiving, took a glorious trip to Holy Archangels Monastery, and took part in the blessing of our new women's monastery, The Nativity of our Lord, in Kemp, TX.  

We started out on Monday morning by driving down to Kendalia to Holy Archangels Men's Monastery.  I love this monastery.  The brother's there are absolutely wonderful.  They are so gracious and loving.  Every time we go none of us ever want to leave.  It was truly a time of spiritual refreshment for us all. 

We camped out at Blanco State Park (women are not allowed to spend the night on the monastery grounds).  The park is about 10 minutes from the monastery and is really nice and very kid friendly.  The park ranger told me that this is the most beautiful time of the year to be there.  He was right.  The trees were bright orange and yellow and the brown and gold of the grass was so lovely.  We spent most of our time at the monastery, but during the "quite times" of the monastery we went to our camp and fished and played.  

Thanksgiving was spent at my brother and his wife's house with all the immediate family in attendance.  I have a sweet family and resolved to make more of an effort to spend more time with them. 

Saturday morning we drove out to the women's monastery, The Nativity of our Lord.  Metropolitan Jonah came out to bless the property and gave a wonderful sermon on monasticism.  Among other things, he talked about the necessity of monasteries and what a blessing they are.  I agree.  I wish all Orthodox christians had monasteries close to them so that they could be blessed by the love, grace, hospitality and words of wisdom the monastics share.  They are excellent examples for those of us living in the world-especially our children.  

My girls never want to leave monasteries when we visit them.  They always love the monastics and they seem to somehow comprehend the beauty and holiness of that calling.  I feel the same way.  

Well, there's much more to share, but no time now.  A blessed week to you all!

I'll post pictures as the week progresses, but I'll leave you with a pic of this tree that overshadowed our camp.