Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Rachel May
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 1:28pm | IP Logged Quote Rachel May
How do you balance your inner Franciscan with the need to respect your kids' needs for toys, clothes, etc?

How do you decide how much is enough? How often do you go through things and get rid of the extra? Do you have a way of getting rid of excess that respects the attachments they have to things? I'm not thinking a bad attachment but a natural attachment to things they own.

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Paula in MN
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 2:17pm | IP Logged Quote Paula in MN
I go through the *extra* several times a year - especially after birthdays and Christmas. No matter how many times I tell relatives that the kids don't need any more toys, they keep getting them!    

The rule in our house is for everything that is brought in, something needs to leave. This keeps them involved in the *purging*, and allows them to decide when they are no longer *attached* to something.

We donate all the good, usable items to local charities. It helps my children to see where their old toys are going, not just to a nameless, faceless someone.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 4:37pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn
bit more complicated here because we have so little space. I tend to have some items put up and then get them out periodically.. or switch out what's in the house with something put away. Anyway, that helps keep less out "in the way" and yet we keep more than just that.

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1floridamom
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 6:44pm | IP Logged Quote 1floridamom
PaulaL wrote:
The rule in our house is for everything that is brought in, something needs to leave. This keeps them involved in the *purging*, and allows them to decide when they are no longer *attached* to something.

We donate all the good, usable items to local charities. It helps my children to see where their old toys are going, not just to a nameless, faceless someone.


This is exactly what we do, too. I try to get them to plan ahead by having these clean-ups before Christmas and birthdays, but we are generally forced to do it again after.

It seems that every time I do laundry I have to go through the clothes to give away, too. Speaking of which...

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amyable
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 6:47pm | IP Logged Quote amyable
JodieLyn wrote:
bit more complicated here because we have so little space. I tend to have some items put up and then get them out periodically.. or switch out what's in the house with something put away. Anyway, that helps keep less out "in the way" and yet we keep more than just that.


This is what we are about to try - packing up all but necessities and switching out occasionally.

But honestly, I really just want to throw everything away and say "enough already!!"

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 15 2007 at 7:22pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn
oh but just wait until it's in action.. and the kids are driving you nuts and you get down something like puppets or licoln logs that have been put away for months.. happy kids, playing together, and relatively quietly

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