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A Day in Our Life #4

4/28/2015

I tried. I really did. Tried to limit the T.V. watching for my daughter. But that went out the window while I was nauseous for about 9 months with the latest little one. I simply couldn't mother like I wanted to. Enter 9 months of Frozen (no scary villians to speak of). I decided to let her watch some cute Catholic programming for kids. Gotta love Brother Francis.

So I basically left all faith formation to Brother Francis for the last little while. He does a pretty good job. But she is addicted now to this basketball playing, surfing, extreme sport lovin' monk. I let her watch a little while I got ready today. When I tried to pull her away, just short of it being over, I got told...
"Go back to Xavier. Go back to cook".
It's a police state around here I tell ya.

If you are wondering whether all this Jesus stuff can be good for my kid read this Maclean's article. Apparently "God is the answer" for kids. But Brother Francis could have told you that. For those who are not Christian, Maclean's suggests other forms of meditation also are good practices for your children. Here is hoping that the sheer volume of the Frozen movie watched by children worldwide serves as some kind of meditation practice ( the songs are practically mantra now, no?).

I have tried to introduce at least one decade of the rosary with Ysabeau everyday. This little Sacred Art flipbook allows her to at least contemplate in her own way, the mysteries of that marian prayer.

Ysabeau has been starting to try and play with her brother a little more. Here she is kind enough to offer him tea. I think Xavier likes his "Early Grey. Hot".

We've been getting out a bit more in the balmy spring weather (5 degrees) and Ysa is enjoying running about. She cracks me up with her "elbows up" style of running - a future football player. You only have to watch her dad run to see where she gets it.

But there has been no running today. She is a sickie - of course, when dad is away for 2 days. I have been trying to put into practice Auntie Leila's secrets to taking common-sense care of your sick child. But its's hard to apply to Ysa; she is full steam (running nose and hacking cough and all) until she passes out in front of the fire while I sing Fairest Lord Jesus to her.

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A Day in Our Life #3

4/22/2015

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It might just be pretend but she thinks I have friends in high places that I can hook her up with.
Ysa: "Mommy, get Jesus on the phone".
Me: "Baby, I would if I could."
Ysa: "Okay, sure".

She cracks me up. Her poppa cracks her up. On skype today he was making her laugh.
Ysa: "You're killin' me, poppa" (I kid you not).

My kid is obsessed with my iphone. I guess that gives away how much I use it. I'm not that bad....really. She just likes to have prolonged conversations with her friends.
She explains - "It's just pretend mom".

Dancing fools (Emma and Ysa)

As you can see my kid is really into her "pitar" (Guitar) which is actually a Ukelele. In the spirit of learning a new instrument I picked up the one I gave my husband for Christmas and thought to learn You Are My Sunshine. Turns out its harder than I thought. Stumming and singing at once - turns out I am not the multi-tasker I thought I was.

I said I would never have a trashy front yard, but yes, that is a used cardboard box, trash cans, and old tires right out front (see below).

Learning to play Uke is the only productive thing I can do for myself while still appearing to the neighbours that I am watching my kids outside. Also attracts other mommas in the neighbourhood. A plus.

And from the "Cute, but I don't do much but smile and poop" Davis contingent.....I bring you little Xavier. Truly though, a smile from him makes me feel like Life was never so good.

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My Catholic Story

4/20/2015

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My Catholic Story is a winding road, like it is for so many. It takes course over decades not years. My conversion is truly a vintage experience soaked in alternating years of searching, indifference, almost 3 baptisms, rejection and re-conversion. I believe I am finally deepening in my faith, thanks to my family and an incredible parish community.

I come from a blended family with genuinely spiritual parents and stepparents on both sides. I attended a United Church with my father and stepmother in elementary and at 10 years of age I asked them if I could be baptized (I was not baptized as a baby). This was a beautiful experience for me and it was the baptism recognized by the Catholic Church when I entered almost 15 years later. Whatever might be said of the United Church and its orthodoxy in Canada today, it certainly provided me a meaningful start in my Christian faith.

Then I went to live with my mother and stepfather. They attended a Mennonite Brethren church. This truly was saving grace in my adolescence, providing me with sound biblical teaching and tight youth group who I spent my highschool years with. In the Anabaptist tradition, I was encouraged to choose baptism for myself and I was delighted do so. While I appreciate now that we should only have one baptism, at the time, this act encouraged me in my faith and helped to strengthen my relationship with God. I even chose to go to a Bible College and spent two years there learning the Scriptures (which I have now all but forgotten - for shame).

Enter the Catholic nun. I transferred from Bible College to the University of Waterloo. I had to take a second language and since I was studying Medieval and Ancient History, I, of course, chose Latin. Sister Elizabeth, avec habit, sat beside me. I thought that this was my chance to share with her the love of Christ and how he can free us from the 'chains' of religion. Oh the irony. We got to know eachother well. (After loosing touch with her, I was able to track her down 6 years later - literally just as she was getting in her van to move across the country to her new convent back in the East of Canada - and was able to tell her I was entering the Church!)

During my studies I went on exchange to Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley was alive and well, and the troubles had only just subsided. I went to a protestant youth rally with friends (which felt a little too c. 1540), with a fire-breathing preacher who had come over from the dark Catholic side and warned about the papal anti-Christ. To say the least, I let my Catholic sympathies take a back seat.

Once graduated I applied to do my MA in Medieval History (with a focus on Latin Literature of the Late Antique period in Gaul). Before starting, I did an internship with the C.S. Lewis Foundation, an inter-denominational organization encouraging Christian faith growth and discussion in academia. I met many fine Catholic speakers and writers during this short time - Peter Kreeft and Joseph Pearce among them. The talks given by the latter were instrumental in making me re-consider the Catholic faith after a long lapse in interest. His book Literary Converts is still my favorite book by a modern Catholic author. More than this inspiration by Catholic intellectuals, my faith was burgeoned by regular work-a-say Catholics who lived the faith as a real part of their lives, not as a showy add-on, but as graceful layer infusing all their actions. From there it was simple step to enter into the RCIA program at University while completing my Masters.

I haven't always lived my faith with grace (but certainly with Grace). I am a child of my culture and much of what the Catholic Church teaches didn't sit well with me. But I finally realized that the Church doesn't demand that I sign up to it. I don't have to renew my subscription. But if I do, I better know what I am getting into.

Thankfully I had children. They are my salvation, effective through the grace offered by Christ. They ask so much more of me - to sort out what I think and believe and tell them straight. Thank God. Nevertheless, life is messy and each day for me with children (I can't believe I am a mother) forces me to grapple with what is truly important and what kind of person I truly want to be. I look forward with great hope that "all will shall be well and all shall be well; and all manner of things shall be well".

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Easter in America

4/19/2015

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We didn't have to go too far to go to the U.S. The balmy shores of Skagway offer a great get-away. I was scared of the 2 hour drive with 2 children but I was encouraged by our friends who invited us and have 5 children. So our convoy of Sienna Vans headed down the highway.

Easter morning started off with our own Easter Egg hunt at home. The great thing about hiding eggs for a toddler is that they certainly don't find them all, and by the next day have forgotten about all the eggs they found (and didn't find) and that means mommy has a nice stash of chocolate to munch on.

So Skagway offers a giant egghunt in a ball park which basically seems to be a great day-out for most of Whitehorse. We ran into my niece and other friends from town. They section off parts of the park for the older kids. We almost made Ysabeau participate in the chaos that was the 3-5 year old section but frankly I worried for their safety. She was pretty keen on those eggs. In the end, the under 3 section was a giant flat field where the kids literally stumbled across eggs at leisure.

She was a little unsure about this Easter bunny - I have to admit she was a little intimidating.

Thankfully we have managed to drive home the resurrection part of the Easter story. For a while she has been fixated on "Christ's owie on the cross" (to put it lightly). She would mumble about how the "disciples were sad and worried". Buy now she confidently adds the tagline "But they found Him, and he's alive! And now the disciples are happy". Phew.

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A Day in Our Life #2

4/13/2015

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I took Ysabeau to the indoor playpark at our rec centre. Like many new parents my little heart cringes if/when I see her rejected by a potential playmate on the floor. She never seems to bothered. Usually it is a 7 year old boy who frankly doesn't see much Power Ranger potential in her (little do they know). But then my heart leaps that later in the afternoon her 8 year old cousin Emma will come to play with her after school and all will be well. Despite fights and fall-outs and a significant age different, they are family and that matters the most! In one of my favorite parenting books Hold on To Your Kids (Neufeld and Mate), the authors explain that cousins are more like siblings, than simply friends, and this distinction makes all the difference.

She is going to Emma's birthday next week.
Ysa: "NO. it's MY birthday.
Me: No, it's Emma's
Ysa: No, it's Jesus' birthday.
Me: No, it's Emma's and we will bring a present for her.
Ysa: Ok. But don't forget a present for Jesus.

Speaking of family, Ysabeau delights in feeding the ones she loves. Here again, she is showing how faith and everyday life have not yet been separated (nor should they necessarily) in her brain. She offers my agnostic sister (who has incredible good humour for the spiritual comments of her little niece) a sandwich from her kitchen - "Would you like the Bread of Life?".

Lest I forget about little Xavier. He continues to gain weight and smile. He does those things really well.

Yes- that is her name written on her pacifier. It makes her feel better knowing that Xavier won't confuse it for his.

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A Day in Our Life #4

A Day in Our Life #3

My Catholic Story

Easter in America

A Day in Our Life #2

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