Leoni Family: January 2008

Mother Teresa wrote on her 'business card'

The fruit of silence is prayer,

The fruit of prayer is faith,

The fruit of faith is love,

The fruit of love is service,

The fruit of service is peace.

As a parent, coupled with being a Stay-at-Home mom, there are truck loads of identity shifts that continually take place. I vacillate between feeling whole and completely happy in my role, to feeling a sense of longing and wonderment on other days what it would feel like to go to work and create something, anything - beyond a crayon scribbled drawing, mac n' cheese ala carte and wrestling fuzzy headed Ev's hair to lay flat for once.

Alas, I came across a profound thought from a book I'm reading called 'The Faith Club'....

"I long to follow Mother Teresa's example and perform some transcendent, life-changing act of service...real selfless service...But what action can I take now with a young child at home? I can't jet off to India to work with lepers or spend a month in an AIDS clinic in Africa.

At the moment my calling is motherhood, and motherhood is my prayer. It's difficult to think of it that way all the time, given the quotidian life of a mother - the carpools, the cooking, the laundry, the shopping...But I have to remind myself that all of those labors are service to others and therefore service to God. Meanwhile, it is the most rewarding job I can imagine. What better way to end the day than lying next to a three-year old saying bedtime prayers and hearing him say, 'Thank you, God, for my mommy.' "

Wouldn't it be great to live in that knowledge every day of every moment? To see the extraordinary in the everyday ordinary moments. As humans I don't believe we're wired to do so. Unless of course we go through a tragedy or we get a reminder as such that helps us to reclaim a deeper sense of purpose once again. So from this day forward I vow to stop sniffing and peering at other's grass to see if it's brighter, fancier, manicured and what not.....instead I look to my own yard to keep growing my own fruit with this beautiful life God has granted me. As Mother Teresa says....as the fruit matures it ends in sweet service to others around us, especially to our children who desperately need it the most.

I TRIBUTE THIS TO MY MOST FAVORITE FRUIT OF 'EM ALL!

This Christmas month was filled with one party after another!

Here is the McP/Leoni Clan off to see

The Jersey Boys musical after dinner at The ULC

Sweet Eve obviously would have rather been hung by her pinky toes than spend one more mili-second with Santa. Don't blame her, the dude was quite unapproachable as you can well see.

Christmas Eve-

The adults were yelping & jumping around like baboons trying to get the cousins to take a picture perfect moment. They were quite amused with us and highly confused, not to mention extremely uncooperative...as long as they humor us, that's all we ask for.