It's Sunday and that means chores and organization

I have found myself working hard at organizing my life.  This does not come naturally for me, but does for several of my friends, it is wired within their D.N.A.  It is not wired in mine.  I do however, subscribe to "like things together" which is taught in kindergarten.  I continue to put all the same toys together in the same basket and encourge the kids to do so as well.  Working full time at a job outside of the house and often being a single parent on the weekends does not lend itself to quiet relaxation.  Sundays are the day to pull everything together.  Laundry needs to be done, meals need to be planned and shopping needs to be done.  Although I am working on a strategy that will aleviate some stress so that weekends can be more relaxing.  Implementation thereof would be Phase II. 

This time of year we are doing things like getting ready for holidays, celebrating Advent in anticipation of Christmas.  We are also getting ready for Hanukkah which starts on December 11th.  M's school will be talking about it this week and as far as I know she is the only Jewish child in the class.  Being she is from an interfaith family and that she is only 6 she doesn't have a full grasp of the true meaning of any holiday.  When asked if she knows about Hanukkah she said, "Yes!"  But when probed further she couldn't say. 

Raising and guiding an interfaith family is not an easy task.  It takes committment and faith.  J prefers the heritage of Judiaism to the religion.  I have always been more observant in my Christianity.  We had the children baptized, on the same day, three years ago today.  It was on the heals of my father's diagnosis of cancer.  The fellowship of that weekend still warms my heart.  We stayed with that church for sometime, but then it just didn't feel right, so we moved on.  We tried another church and that lasted only a little while.  I often feel guilty that we don't go to church every Sunday as it is just too much for me to pull it all together and get out the door.  It was recently suggested to me that I can have Sunday School here at home. "Not a bad suggestion," I thought.  After all we are doing Advent at home.

So today I remember that special day three years ago:

And will continue to parent, guide and love these children.  On Friday we will celebrate Hanukkah as we have since we have been a family: