Martinmas

Today is the feast day of St. Martin of Tours.  He was a roman soldier who famously cut his tunic in half to give to a poor, freezing beggar.  That evening he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the torn tunic.  He awoke, was baptized and became a monk and bishop.  It's perfect that today is also Veteran's Day because he a patron saint of soldiers. 

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They colored while I read stories about St. Martin from these books.    

And they were excited to make our St. Martin's cake- his torn tunic.  

This afternoon while I was cooking dinner I walked on the porch and saw this.   They said, "We made a spider web with tape!   We are spiders and are catching bugs with our tape web!"

 

Today one of the children was really upset at an assignment I gave to write a poem.  The child totally froze up and could not move forward.  We had to really take time to name the fears, address the fears and work through the stage fright.  When it was time to write I said, "how about I sit beside you and I will write a poem too?"  And that's what we did.  The child wrote a precious poem they won't let me share, but here's mine.

I have four children I adore.

They are my joy and I find I pour

My life out to them and yet someway

In pouring out I'm filled each day.  

Our Lord has said a seed must yield

It's life to grow a healthy field.

And my cross I carry confident

That life's riches are best when spent.

Dying is living; spending is earning

Our Lord's currency I'm still learning

Lord, teach me the mystery to which You call-

To climb Your mountain I first must fall.