Blair's Blessings

Fun Friday!

2012-02-10T21:46:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Birthday Blessings

2012-02-07T23:14:00.000-06:00

So, Saturday was my birthday. 34. It was kind of hard being away from "home" on my day. But we made the most of it and had some fun times!

On my birthday eve, we had a nearly-empty fridge and so I loaded the kids up to start driving to meet Steven. Where? I didn't know. I just knew we needed food and couldn't wait any longer. He had a lot of busy days at work with day trips out of town and around town last week, so he worked late most evenings. Finally we were able to talk on the phone, but we could not decide on a dinner location. I'm so indecisive! And he tries so hard to make me happy. He finally gave up brainstorming and told me to call back when I had found a place. So I pulled over and pulled up Urban Spoon on my iPhone, finding a lovely little burger joint we'd just driven past. They had fresh pizzas and burgers, chicken fingers, and chicken caesar salad (my fav). We enjoyed our fun dinner, but I can't help but remember the older couple next to us. The wife was on her iPad and husband on his smartphone the entire meal. A very good reminder of where we don't want to be in 30 years. Our meals are loud and silly, with funny stories and good "questions of the day," and I hope that when the kids are gone, we will still enjoy each other's company and not need electronics to entertain us. But speaking of electronics, we went to Best Buy after dinner to look at cameras! More on that later...

So, then came my birthday morning. I got biscuits and bacon in bed, and spent the morning being lazy. Steven then took all four kids to the grocery store while I went to a Zumba class. It was actually a big promotional day to start their weight loss challenge, and I decided that with all the discounts, I'd use some of my birthday money to sign up for the challenge and six weeks of classes. Now I'll be accountable to really work on my health these next few months! I'm already feeling tremendously better mentally since starting to exercise again and eating a little better.

I came home for lunch and the adorable pink cupcakes they'd bought (with purses, lips, and high heels), and then I spent awhile by myself browsing through the antique mall down the street. What a fun place to be! So many little (and big) treasures. Lots of beautiful things and inspiration. I didn't buy anything but very much enjoyed this time alone. I've been wanting to visit those stores, and aside from a quick visit to buy the girls teacups for their girls' club before we even moved here, I hadn't had a chance to look around there. It's definitely not a kid-friendly place. But it is a fun little spot to visit, and I hope to take my girlfriends and family members there when they visit (hint hint, we need some visitors)!

We had been planning to visit a nearby Mexican restaurant for my birthday dinner. It's the favorite of a few of my friends here, and we thought we'd head over early to beat the dinner rush. It was a good meal, but the service was quite interesting! I am still laughing when I think about the waitress who brought us an extra plate of beans, but came back a few minutes later and grabbed them saying they were for another table. Then she gave them to the table across from us! At least we hadn't touched them. She was very joyful and sweet, but handed dishes for me to pass out, the sizzling hot platter to Steven to place on the table and paper towels for us to help her clean up my spilled water. Just a different kind of service than we'd normally get back home. Kind of makes you feel like you're at a friend's house! I actually prefer restaurants where you order at the front aren't waited on, it's just an extra thing to worry about and more of an expense. But I think my current obsession with the show Downton Abbey has left me with an awe at the beautiful way that the servants do their jobs with love and respect. It's teaching me a lot about manners, poise, and beauty that has really been lost in today's society. I just finished watching Season 1 (I got Steven to watch 4 episodes with me over the weekend before he bailed on the show), and I can't wait to start watching the new season next!

After dinner, we went back to Best Buy and purchased the camera I thought would work best for my current needs. Small to fit in a pocket, good Amazon reviews, on the lower end of prices, on sale, and with the ability to take multiple photos without much delay. I still need to learn how to use more of the features, but so far, I'm just really glad to be able to take pictures with something other than an iPhone! Thanks to my sweet family for this much-desired gift.

But the greatest gift of all are each of my lovely family members. They each mean so much to me and I was truly filled with Birthday Blessings this past weekend, as I am every day. I'm trying to focus on finding joy in these little moments with my family. I tend to be critical and always comparing, especially comparing our new town. But I have been given so much to be thankful for. Although my 34th year was one of many struggles and changes, it has also been one of immense blessings and opportunity to trust in God's providence.

I didn't really take any photos, but hopefully these words will help me remember the weekend. The only photo I took on my birthday was on my iPhone, this striking image of the Blessed Mother and Child Jesus at one of the antique stores. These are the people I have to thank for getting me through this past year...for my healthy boy with his healthy heart, my sweet growing baby, my hardworking schoolgirls, my husband and this great job opportunity, for our new home and our new adventure here. I thank them for giving me hope and a vision, and the friends and family who inspire and pray for me on the journey. May Jesus and His Holy Mother be my guide and inspiration during my 35th year!

Thanks to all of my friends and family who sent birthday wishes. Blair is truly blessed.

Pinning it Down Tuesday

2012-02-06T21:47:00.002-06:00

Pinning it Down Tuesdays at Amongst Lovely Things!

A few weeks ago, I posted this Christmas wreath I had pinned on my Pinterest boards. I've kept it up on the door and was trying to think of a way to make it more Valentine-y. Mary Clare actually colored a heart with an arrow through and taped it to the wreath, which was cute.

But this weekend I remembered this plaque that my mom bought me many years ago, and I figured out how to hang it on top of the wreath. Then I realized that I could bend the wreath into a heart shape, since it's just made of a wire coat hanger! I think it's pretty cute, don't you?

Monday Motivation

2012-02-06T15:15:00.001-06:00

(with photos from my new CAMERA! YAY!!!)

Monday Motivation Review

10 Goals for January 30-Feb 5

Prayer and Community

~~1. Read the daily Mass readings 3x this week.~~

~~2. Pray a decade of the Rosary with the children.~~ Did and we were able to pray for all the intentions of the B family, since we have a monthly family rosary intentions with Steven's dad's extended family.

~~3. Set up our house blessing with Fr. Bill~~ and invite a few families. Set this up for next Saturday! Invited one family who can't come, so we need to ask some others!

Health

~~4. Do 2 exercise videos on Netflix.~~ Actually did one video and then one Zumba class on Saturday.

5. Take a nature walk with the children.

~~6. Plan weekly meals~~

Mon-Creamy pasta with leftover grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes/salad, Tue-Spaghetti/salad bake bread, Wed-Enchiladas (chicken in crockpot), Thur-Pasta bake (w/ leftover meat sauce from Mon), Fri-pizza, Sat-My Birthday-OUT!, Sun-grill?

Home Management and Homeschool

~~7. Sort SJ's clothes~~ and donate/resale all the clothes we don't use.

~~8. Finish hanging artwork on walls.~~ Did a lot of this yesterday, still working on a few frames and such, but hung some shelves and making the living room look much more homey!

Here's a shelf I put up in the schoolroom to keep all the supplies out of the reach of a certain toddler!

And we put up the black shelf for a few of our instruments and such in the front piano room.

~~9. Get in 4 mornings of homeschool and Classical Conversations.~~ Also went on a field trip to the museum, it was a full week!

10. Make new files for bills. Definitely need to work on this ASAP!

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Monday Motivation

10 Goals for Feb 6-12

Prayer and Community

1. Read the daily Mass readings 3x this week.

2. Pray a decade of the Rosary with the children.

3. Prepare for our house blessing this Saturday! Make a menu, invite some fellow parishioners, and clean the house!!!

Health

4. Attend 2 Zumba classes. I joined a weight-loss challenge that last 6 weeks and includes 12 classes. So this should help me stick with my exercise and eating goals!

5. Take a nature walk with the children.

6. Plan weekly meals

Mon-Grilled steak, baked potatoes and green beans. Tues-Creamy pasta with leftover grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes, broccoli, salad, Tue-Quesadillas with grilled chicken/steak or grilled chicken salad, Wed-Pizza, Thur-baked chicken, Fri-breakfast for dinner, Sat-house blessing-plan menu!, Sun-grill?

Home Management and Homeschool

7. Sort and prepare clothes for donate/resale (have these in 2 large baskets but need to iron and find out resale store's policies)

All the clothes we don't need, feels so good to purge!

8. Finish hanging artwork on walls and start at least one sewing project on my list (bunting-see here for example, camera case, stockings, bedskirt, pillowcases, girl skirts)

Here's the living room progress. Still planning to hang several pictures and a clock on the star wall, and figure out a very inexpensive rug option!

9. Get in 4 mornings of homeschool, Classical Conversations, and Valentine-Making (buy supplies) at homeschool Friday play day.

Kids "supposed" to be doing schoolwork, they're actually coloring. But I should be working with them, and instead I'm blogging while baby sleeps. Oops!

10. Make new files for bills.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Favorite Kid Things!

2012-02-03T01:07:00.000-06:00

I've been taking a few photos of some of our favorite "toys" and other things the kids enjoy on a daily basis. I know I enjoy reading others' blogs about things like this, so I thought I'd write one too!

--- 1 ---

I'll start with the musical instruments! I ended up writing up an Amazon Wish List (I think it's actually a Shopping List) after a friend asked for some gift ideas for the kids. I'd been wanting to purchase handbells the past few Christmases, but never did. The kids received these from their godmother and enjoy them every day! They came with some little music sheets, and they also use them as bells during their play. I thought it might get annoying but the sound isn't that bad, especially when they're playing real songs!

--- 2 ---

Last Christmas the kids got a small guitar. It's the one instrument I can actually play a little bit, so I'm hoping to be able to teach the kids at some point. I actually found it on our local classified website and it turned out that a sweet family we know was selling it. So I think of Hans and remember to pray for him when the kids get it out. I've yet to be able to teach any of them a real chord, but they do enjoy strumming it, and even pretending it's a violin!

---3---

Well, the piano isn't exactly a toy, and is a bigger investment, but I'm so glad we were able to score this other great Craigslist deal a few years back. The kids have yet to have formal lessons, but still play around and teach themselves little songs each day. Thomas is one of the biggest fans of the piano. He can't climb up himself yet, but asks to be put on the bench and really enjoys hitting the keys. Last night he was sliding from one side of the bench to the other and listening to the sounds. Definitely a blessing to have music in the home, even if we don't really know how to play these instruments yet!

--- 4 ---

I cannot believe how much my girls love their inline skates. They are constantly taking them on and off all day long. I've been having to get onto them about wearing them in the house because it's starting to get frustrating to walk down a hall and have a child rolling down straight at you!

SJ is also really taking onto his "running bike" which he got for his 3rd birthday but has just started riding. He's doing really well and we're hoping to get him on a real bike with pedals soon. I think he'll be our earliest biker; both girls learned around age 4 1/2.

We're glad to have a fun long driveway to play on, tonight we brought chairs and sat outside for dinner during the last few minutes of daylight.

--- 5 ---

The kids have also spent a lot of time playing with their Playmobil sets the past few months. Mary Clare received a school and small house, and Steven Joseph has the pirates and knights. They make for lots of fun imaginative play, but we've had to find some special places to keep them so that Thomas doesn't find the little pieces!

--- 6 ---

These are two more of our favorite toys that are used almost daily. Again, they were found used, so I can't really give links, but I know the kitchen is from Lakeshore Learning. I like that the kitchen is sturdy and neutral-colored, and I like that the dollhouse can be used more imaginatively with peg people and wooden blocks to create rooms and scenes.

--- 7 ---

My last items to share are two of our favorite books. These were also gifts from their godmother since our old copies were literally falling apart! They are rhyming books that tell about the different animals. The illustrations are cute and the kids have all loved them. There's also a Barnyard Hullaballoo book in the series.

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To see more Quick Takes, visit Hallie at Betty Beguiles who's hosting this week!

{pretty, funny, happy, real}

2012-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}
Padre Island National Seashore

{funny}

There haven't been many photos of me on the blog in awhile!

Here's how I braved the cold at the seashore! Funny!

{happy}

It doesn't take much to give the kids a fun time! They each enjoyed a dolly ride last weekend (except Thomas, who at least laughed with them)!

{real}

Thomas tends to have these really fun meltdowns when I need to be cooking dinner and cleaning up after dinner. So they moved the couch to keep him out of the kitchen while I was cleaning up that night!

Yes, Auntie Leila...I know these children should be helping me clean up after dinner. I read a couple of your chore posts today. Working on that. At least the eldest is usually willing to help with the baby, even if she's not helping me clean!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Pinning it Down Tuesday

2012-01-30T23:19:00.001-06:00

I tried two recipes off Pinterest this week. They aren't the healthiest, but they are crowd pleasers!

The first was Crispy Cheddar Chicken. It was one of those baked "fried" chicken recipes where you dip the chicken in milk and cracker crumbs. But the difference here was that you dipped them in shredded cheddar before the cracker crumbs. Made for a very tasty and moist crust! My hard-core chicken finger lovers turned their noses up a bit, but I think it might grow on them! (As usual, excuse the horrible phone photos! I'm hoping to find a new little camera very soon, like on my birthday this weekend!)

The next dish...I just wasted a half hour of my life trying to find it again! It was based on this recipe which I had pinned. But somehow I did some searches and came up with this recipe, which is what I used, but can't be pinned since there's no photo! I halved it since I wasn't sure how well everyone would like it.

As you can see below, it was very well received and I shouldn't have halved it! The sauce was great and reminded me of the alfredo dish at the Cheesecake Factory. I liked that it uses chicken broth and regular milk, since many of these creamy pasta dishes use heavy cream. It also uses mozzarella, which I usually have on-hand. I'll post the recipe below with some adjustments so I can have it for safe-keeping, because my family will want it again! I'll write it for a full recipe in a rectangular baking dish, not the square one like pictured here. We ate it with salad, but I think it would be great with broccoli in the dish, or on the side, too!

Creamy Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
based on this recipe on food.com

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 t minced garlic (I used 2 cloves for our half recipe)
20oz chicken broth (I used about 1/3 of a garlic-flavored box, for our half recipe)
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 T basil
1c shredded mozzarella cheese
2 grilled chicken breasts, cubed
1 c sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
1 box/bag penne pasta

Directions:
1. Set oven to 375 and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Melt butter, then stir in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic.
3. Stir in chicken broth, milk and basil.
4. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute.
5. Stir in mozzarella until melted. Add sun-dried tomatoes.
6. Place cooked and drained pasta at the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish.
7. Top with chicken, then pour cream sauce over chicken.
8. Add a bit more shredded mozzarella if you like, and bake until bubbly (about 25 mins).

Monday Motivation

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

I'm going to try to post completed and new goals each Monday. So let's see how I did!

Monday Motivation

10 Goals for January 23-29

Prayer and Community

~~1. Pray the Divine Office at least 3 mornings.~~

Did this 4 nights, but I think that counts! I'd like to have morning prayer time though.

(For non-Catholics this is just reading scripture, mostly the Psalms, and is the same readings for Catholics all over the world)

~~2. Pray a decade of the Rosary with the children.~~

Not at home, but we prayed it before Sunday Mass with the parish.

3. Set up our house blessing with Fr. Bill and invite a few families.

I did finally register at the parish, and filled out a ministry form everyone got this week, but haven't picked a date for this yet, maybe I'll call in the morning.

Health

4. Attend two Zumba classes.

Made it to one.

~~5. Take a nature walk with the children.~~

Went to the beach today and climbed the dunes, also played on the seawall with 3 of the kids while Ellie was at ballet one afternoon.

~~6. Plan at-home dinners each night.~~ (Mon-Pasta Bake, Tue-Crockpot Roast, Wed-Homemade Pizza, Thur-Crispy Cheddar Chicken from Pinterest, Fri-Leftovers, Sat-Grill, Sun-out?)

Yes, did good at this. We didn't have leftovers for Friday but picked up Little Caesar's Pizza, and today we had baked chicken.

Home Management and Homeschool

~~7. Tackle Mt. Washmore in the living room.~~

Almost done, just SJ's clothes to do as soon as I stop typing this!

8. Donate a large bag of children's clothing.

Haven't donated but have it set out and folded, some may go to resale.

~~9. Get in 4 mornings of homeschool and visit a Classical Conversations program (2 families who do it together).~~

Yes, got our schoolwork done and enjoyed the CC class. We're going to start it weekly with one of the families next week (the other is moving to our old area)

~~10. Write encouraging notes to the children and Steven in their "fridge pockets."~~

Monday Motivation

10 Goals for January 30-Feb 5

Prayer and Community

1. Read the daily Mass readings 3x this week.

2. Pray a decade of the Rosary with the children.

3. Set up our house blessing with Fr. Bill and invite a few families.

Health

4. Do 2 exercise videos on Netflix.

5. Take a nature walk with the children.

6. Plan weekly meals

Home Management and Homeschool

7. Sort SJ's clothes and donate/resale all the clothes we don't use.

8. Finish hanging artwork on walls.

9. Get in 4 mornings of homeschool and visit a Classical Conversations program (2 families who do it together).

10. Make new files for bills.

7 Quick Takes Friday

2012-01-26T23:04:00.000-06:00

Joining the link up with 7 quick photos, from our outing to the nearby university trails last weekend. I'm halfway through sorting through the kids' clothes; the boys' clothes are next! I think I'll do some of that while watching my third episode of Downton Abbey. Have a fabulous Friday, friends!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2012-01-25T23:51:00.001-06:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

This weekend we went on a beautiful nature walk near the local university. It's a great place to bird-watch and walk along the water.

{happy}

I've been trying to find something to do with the other kids while the girls are at ballet class. The studio isn't big enough to wait there, and there isn't really a place to play. The parking is a nightmare, and many times I end up just letting them play on some kind of electronic device (my iPhone, the Leapster, or watch a DVD).

Today, while Ellie was at ballet class, I took the others down by the water, and they had a great little time! If only we could keep Thomas from trying to climb up to street-level and run away. He's not impressed by the sand yet.

{funny}

A funny little photo of SJ trying to fill up his tires with half an air pump, and T throwing a football which actually appears to be in-air in this photo! The picture below also makes me giggle, thinking of the kids just playing their silly games in the backyard. It's rare that they are all in one place, and it's fun to think about how they'll be pairing up more as the years go by...girls in their dreamlands and boys with their baseball bats!

{real}

I was overdue for an oil change, and ventured out with all the kids yesterday afternoon to have it done at Wal-Mart while we shopped. Took an hour and a half. Then they tried to charge me extra money for no good reason, and we waited for manager after manager. Had to feed the kids bananas, and oranges, and Juicy Juice. They became monkeys, and SJ climbed on the side of the shopping cart and the whole thing fell on him! What a zoo! Finally they took a few dollars of my tab and I was outta there! What a mess.

Overall, though, we're getting into our groove here, and I'm grateful to be making progress around the house and with homeschooling. Slowly finding contentment in everyday life in our new home and new city! Hope you are content just where you are right now, too. Have a blessed day!

Happy, Healthy Learning and Living in 2012!

2012-01-23T22:39:00.000-06:00

I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, but it does seem to be a natural time to look at our goals and lifestyle and rethink the way we do certain things. I'm going to try to follow this up with a "Monday Motivation" post each week. Hope it works out, you guys keep me accountable! Here's a summary of some things I've been pondering so far in 2012...

::Eating
We need to improve our eating habits. One way is by curbing our fast food and restaurant outings, which tend to become frequent when we go through busy and/or stressful times for our family. It's so easy to just grab a burger or chicken basket, but it isn't good for the pocketbook or the belly. I'm going to have some more specific goals about this during Lent, but for now I'm going to try to cook more from scratch, work on healthy snacking, and try some weekend cooking and planning.

We have a Sprouts grocery store nearby (photo above) where there are lots of healthy snack options to buy in bulk. We went on Friday night, and the girls enjoyed picking out different snacks, bagging them, and labeling them for checkout. All of the kids love fruit (save for one who only eats apples and bananas), so we can try to keep a steady supply of that for snacks.

Another big help with curbing our fast food intake will be to remember bags of snacks and fruit when we go out for classes and activities. The kids start whining, and if I don't have a plan in place we'll end up grabbing fast food. We live probably 3 minutes from a great HEB for quick grocery trips, as well as two drive-thru restaurants that have more healthy options (BBQ and wraps/salads), so that can be a last minute go-to for food. I'll be trying to add healthy side salads with dinner most nights or a large vegetable option. We need to increase our veggie intake! Putting small veggie hints in our fruit smoothies (which ALL the kids love) should help too.

Weekend grilling and smoothies--This weekend I made a bunch of fruit smoothies (frozen fruit, Simply Apple juice on sale, and ice in the Magic Bullet), and I put some of them in plastic cups in the freezer. I was hoping they'd last several days, but it looks like there's only about half a cup left. I guess I need to make more next time, and maybe invest in a large blender. Steven grilled meat and chicken last night, and if we grill enough, we can use that chicken in salads, quesadillas, and pasta dishes over the coming days. I know meal-planning would help a lot, but I haven't been too successful at that. Best I have done is to have a general idea for a few dinner ideas in my head while shopping, keep staples for them on-hand, and then improvise as needed. I'm going to work on this!

::Exercise
This is a big goal for both Steven and me, and we're still working on the details to succeed at this. I'd like to go to two Zumba Fitness classes each week (we have a studio just down the street), and one or more walks, jogs or rollerblading outings aside from that. We found a nice hike and bike trail at the university nearby; it would be good to visit there weekly for exercise, nature study, and bird watching. We have so many unique places within 5 minutes of our house, from the Zumba studio to the university, to several Churches and convents, and we need to take advantage of this! The girls have started ballet classes, and hopefully we'll get Steven Joseph on a t-ball team this spring. The kids are so active and spend a lot of time outdoors, so I don't need to worry much about exercise for them!

::Laundry
I feel like I have somewhat of a handle on the basic house stuff, although I could very well be back to frustration level with it in another day or two! But the laundry is my arch-nemesis and always has been. I can get it washed but never put away. I'm committed to purging our clothing. We purged a lot of belongings, mostly toys and adult clothing, when we moved. But the kids' clothing is taking over the living room. I'm working myself up for this. You can see it is time to get things under control... (this is all kid clothes)

::Homeschool
I've been in a real rut for the past maybe 2 years. I think it started around the time I got pregnant with Thomas and lost my vision and motivation for our Charlotte Mason Alphabet Path year. We've stuck with most of the Mother of Divine Grace (MODG) program and lesson plans for last school year and this school year, but I think I'm ready to venture out on my own again next school year. We are happy with Math U See, and MODG's recommended Abeka Science, Geography and History. I also love the recommended reading books for a more "living" approach to history. I'm sensing that we'll stick with Math U See, but move to possibly the Story of the World or the Catholic Connecting With History program and Apologia for science next year, along with adding Latin (probably Prima Latina).

The MODG language arts program was just not working for me and the kids. It consists of The Writing Road to Reading intensive phonics and spelling program, Primary Language Lessons, and a handwriting workbook for 3rd grade, and 100 Easy Lessons and a handwriting workbook for 1st grade. I've also been substituting the Funnix online reading program for some of their phonics instruction. My girls just haven't been progressing as I feel they need to with reading and writing. I have been worried that if they ever needed to be enrolled in school, they'd be terribly behind in these areas. I know that they will get there eventually and the Classical and Charlotte Mason models of education encourage a slower progression of reading with lots of dictation and copywork, and we've done that too. But I have been feeling like they need some of the nuts and bolts and repetition that a more standard educational model would give me.

Enter the Seton workbooks. For Mary Clare, I bought Reading, Phonics (MCP Plaid), Spelling, Vocabulary (Wordly Wise), English, Handwriting, and Religion. Ellie has started Phonics (MCP Plaid), Spelling, English, and Handwriting workbooks in addition to her Funnix reading program. In just the three weeks or so we've been using these, I can already see improvements in their reading and writing. But most importantly, I have gained some confidence and feel like I'm giving them a more thorough program and am not as worried about gaps in their education. I think by the end of this year we'll be able to get them where they need to be, and I'm so happy about that.

Girls were reading to SJ in the corner. This is our front room, the "piano room,"

with all the kids' books and my sewing desk and prayer altar on the other side

I think we're also closer to finding some music instruction for them, which has been on my heart for a very long time. Hopefully we can start some piano or violin lessons for them next month!

::Prayer
I saved the best, and hardest, for last! I keep saying how we're really spoiled here with Catholic churches and convents all around. We don't have many outside obligations and should be able to grow more in our faith during this time. Our parish and homeschool group consists of very devout families who are always encouraging and challenging each other. I know I need to find a spiritual director, and I'd like to venture to one daily mass each week. I'd also like to start praying the Rosary more often with the children and teach them the Rosary prayers they don't know yet. I'd like to continue to work on praying the Divine Office (on my iPhone) in the morning or evening, and slowly get back into journaling and quiet time. Baby steps will be my motto for all of this!

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So to end, I'm going to start my first Monday Motivation Post! I'm going to try to imitate what Crystal does on Money Saving Mom each week and join on her blog link.

Monday Motivation

10 Goals for January 23-29

Prayer and Community

1. Pray the Divine Office at least 3 mornings.

(For non-Catholics this is just reading scripture, mostly the Psalms, and is the same readings for Catholics all over the world)

2. Pray a decade of the Rosary with the children.

3. Set up our house blessing with Fr. Bill and invite a few families.

Health

4. Attend two Zumba classes.

5. Take a nature walk with the children.

6. Plan at-home dinners each night. (Mon-Pasta Bake, Tue-Crockpot Roast, Wed-Homemade Pizza, Thur-Crispy Cheddar Chicken from Pinterest, Fri-Leftovers, Sat-Grill, Sun-out?)

Home Management and Homeschool

7. Tackle Mt. Washmore in the living room.

8. Donate a large bag of children's clothing.

9. Get in 4 mornings of homeschool and visit a Classical Conversations program (2 families who do it together).

10. Write encouraging notes to the children and Steven in their "fridge pockets."

The girls saw these on a show, made of one sheet of printer paper.
They made one for everyone in the family, and we've all been finding sweet little notes! So cute!

Junior Livestock Show

2012-01-23T15:25:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday afternoon we met Steven at the Jr. Livestock Show in a neighboring town. We watched children showing pigs and then walked through the areas of other animals being shown that day...cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, turkeys, and chickens. I didn't get any photos of those areas; I was chasing and strolling the toddler.

After seeing the animals, we went to the exhibit hall to see all the 4-H projects made by children in the area. There was quite a variety! Photographs, dresses, flower arrangements, baked goods, canned goods, quilts, purses, and more. It was fun to walk around and see the different items, look at the ones which won awards, and brainstorm projects that Mary Clare could do next year. 4-H is for ages 8 and up, so Ellie still has a bit longer before she can participate, but MC looks forward to joining in the fun! Maybe next year we'll plan ahead to see more of the show, dress more "for the part" (we were some of the few not in jeans and books!), and take the children to the carnival area.

Mary Clare's 9th Birthday

2012-01-21T21:51:00.002-06:00

From the time we first started talking about moving, Mary Clare was insistent that she would have her 9th birthday party with her friends back home. She had been planning to have a board game party at my parents' house with a few girl friends.

But since my mom was very sick all week, we ended up having the party at our favorite park in "the woods," still bringing some games as well as scooters and skates to enjoy at the park. When they won a game, they got some pennies to get candy out of Ellie's new gumball machine...all the kids loved that!

Since it no longer had to be a drop-off indoor party, we had some siblings join along. The night before, we stayed with the K family, who were so generous in helping us pull everything together, offering their serving platters and even putting together party bags about a half hour before it started!

Party was at 10am, and Mary Clare and I rushed out to the store at 8am to buy all the goods. We were really able to pull things together quickly! She had a fun morning; it was a totally gorgeous day, and we were grateful for her sweet friends who were able to come and celebrate!

Even though she'd been sick, NeNe still was able to have a candy stick bouquet with personalized tags for Mary Clare. There were lots of colorful candies, fruit, and presents!

The kids had some races in the tennis courts and played Guesstures (charades).

The littlest ones seemed to enjoy the candy the most!

SJ really wanted to help put on the candles, but big sis wanted to do this all herself!

Happy Friends!

It was so windy, it was hard to keep the candles lit!

SJ enjoyed going off on his own and continually scaring Mommy when I couldn't find him! Over and over again, "You MUST stay with people you know!"

The skate park is a fun place to hang out!

Hmmm, I always seem to have a photo of Baby with a slice of pizza.

Checking out the checkers game...

And a sweet big sister to help with little Thomas! She even babysat the kids the night before while we went to a very late dinner date with her parents! Thanks, Johanna!

The birthday girl opening all her fun gifts...everything from craft and bead kits to bath soaps, to inline skates! What a special day!

Mary Clare, you are a bright girl with some very big aspirations. Right now you are really hoping to go to medical school and be a pediatrician. Today while in Target, you were commenting on how fun it will be when you're a mom and get to decorate a nursery for your baby (only a baby girl, that is, but I say that God will give what you need!). I look forward to walking along the journey with you. Whatever you become, I know you will do some great things for God. May He guide your steps and lead you to his perfect will.

{pretty, funny, happy, real} Aquarium Edition

2012-01-18T22:20:00.001-06:00

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

(again please excuse the poor photo quality!)

{pretty}

The girls had science classes today, so I took the boys to the Aquarium while their sisters were in class.

Beautiful boys, beautiful fish, beautiful day.

{happy}

This was the lone "success" from the plaster molding kit we worked on earlier this week (the consistency was not right and the others were all ruined). He is very proud of his painted fire hydrant and thanks the K family for his birthday gift!

{funny}

Steven Joseph was really fascinated by the underwater diver presentation. He kept standing in front of the diver while others were watching and trying to take pictures, so I had to keep reminding him to kneel down!

{real}

Wouldn't it be really great if all public restrooms had step stools like this? And water fountains too. They're mostly all built for adults, so we are always having to lift the kids up to wash their hands or drink from a fountain. Maybe I can start a campaign to include children into the accessibility requirements of public places! It's so hard to deal with multiple small children in public restrooms, and this would make it one bit easier! I know I once posted a photo on the blog of the kids and me in a Kohl's restroom where they had a mini-potty! Genius! Our pediatric dentist has one of those, too!

Grateful for a fun morning with my boys, educational enrichment for my girls, new friends for us all, and feeling that we're finally settling into our new city. It's still not quite "home" yet, but we're getting closer.

Monday Daybook

2012-01-17T01:03:00.000-06:00

On a late Monday night,

I find myself:
::Noticing God's glory
Sitting in a quiet house, after a fulfilling day. We had amazing weather today, breezy and sunny, and our homeschooling day went fairly well. I breathed in the ocean air and spend some time just sitting outdoors. The kids, too, found it a great day to work and play outside. It was nice and relaxing to be home after a full 5 days of traveling and dentist, doctor, birthday and friend visits.

::Listening to
The wind chime outside and my ticking clock on the shelf. It's rare I have a moment to hear these things. Tonight the noise at the dinner table was almost too much to handle. That's why I love being up late at night! Many times I've had a fussy, teething baby on my lap so I couldn't blog. But tonight I am alone.

::Clothing myself in

A t-shirt filled with memories. My LaVida shirt which I believe dates back to early high school. On the back it says, "One love celebration*Feelin' free throughout every united nation*ONE BRIGHT DAY." There are many memories tied to this shirt...Galveston beach youth group trips, college computer lab and getting my first email account...LaVida...TheLife.

::Giving thanks for
Two lovely phone calls with local homeschooling moms. Connections are starting to happen and I trust that we are going to find our little niche with fun activities and some good friends here soon. Also giving thanks that the dental work for the girls is done, and that Steven Joseph got a great report from the cardiologist, so we don't have to go back for a year! Praise God!

::Pondering prayerfully

Enjoying my children and our homeschooling days. I've been in a rut for a long while, and I need to change things up. I need to set a positive tone. I need to let them paint and create and give them opportunities at home to do things that are exciting and meaningful. I need to remember our Alphabet Path year and the excitement those days held. Can you tell I've been with Charlotte Mason friends recently?

::Turning the pages of this book
Oh, when will I get back to reading? I read a dyslexia book recently, but haven't read a for-fun book in awhile. By next Monday, I'll find something on one of these shelves!

::Creating by hand
The girls started making adorable felt dolls like this at their homemaking club "back home" on Friday. They have a lot to finish, and I am going to make it a point to help them, and to finish some of my own sewing projects. I'd like to: applique the stockings, embroider the stockings, make a tree skirt, and make a bed skirt for our master bedroom.

::Learning lessons in
Patience. Aren't we always? I was such a patient person before having children, and even with one and two children. From the moment the kids get up, there are messes and fighting and whining, and I need to take a deep breath and realize that a spilled breakfast, a broken glass, or an elaborate craft.

::Encouraging learning
They painted today, and we tried to complete a plaster mold craft kit this morning, which didn't go as planned, but we tried. We're working on spelling and grammar and handwriting and enjoying these new workbooks right now. I'll be re-working our curriculum for next year over the coming months. This week the girls have a science class through the aquarium, and they've been doing a lot of bird watching. Lots of science and nature opportunities here!

::Carefully creating rhythm
Trying to get back into an earlier bedtime and earlier wake-up. Adjusting nap times for baby who had switched to one, but today took two, naps. Starting our schoolwork after breakfast before crafting and games and play around the house can happen. But making sure there is time to create, both art and music. Today, a moment of sweet guitar songs. Working on music plans, maybe violin. They are enjoying the handbells they got from their godparents, and still playing silent night on the piano. It makes me smile.

::Begging prayers
For Leroy, our friend Gordon's father, who passed away today after a battle with cancer. For Hans, our sweet little friend who had a radioactive treatment for his cancer last week and is waiting to be released from the hospital. What suffering that kind of isolation must be for a child! For my parents, who have had some health issues. And for the family of little Aimee, friends from our old dance school whose 3yr old daughter was hit by a car and killed in front of their home two weeks ago. Please offer a prayer for their family, friends, and also the young driver of the car.

::Keeping house
Our new home is easier to keep. We have lots of tile floors, more storage, and less stuff. We've kept the playroom clean for a few days, and I've gotten a new Rubbermaid Reveal spray mop that has a duster/sweeper attachment. I'm really liking it!

::Crafting in the kitchen
I pinned a bunch of recipes on Pinterest today. Hoping to try some new recipes this week after being gone for 5 days and eating out or at others' homes. I believe tomorrow will be "No Peek" (stew meat over mashed potatoes), a recipe of Steven's family. Then I'll be trying some new ideas after that! Looking forward to using the feta cheese and sundried tomatoes :-)

::Living the moments
Making a point to read books more with the little ones. I love those moments. This was a moment with a new board game last week.

::Living the liturgy
We prayed tonight with the boys, it's been awhile since we've prayed with the kids at night. Maybe a family rosary decade after dinner? Sunday Mass back home yesterday was beautiful. I love the Latin Novus Ordo Mass. I feel the universality of the church so much there. I miss Annunciation. But our new church home here is beautiful too. It is a very small and close-knit community, and offers many opportunities for growth. Really, this whole city offers so much Catholic culture and opportunities for the sacraments and spiritual growth. There are about 5 Catholic churches within 10 minutes of us, a spiritual center, and 2 convents. And within 20 minutes, at least double that! It's a gift that we have yet to fully take in, but I pray we will.

::Planning for the week ahead
Tomorrow will start our new school week, since today was catch-up. Wednesday is science class. Thursday the 4-H Fair to attend with Daddy. Maybe we'll attend daily mass on Friday, and maybe a walk on the beach this weekend? I've got to call our priest to set up our house blessing, and hope to invite some friends over soon.

pretty, funny, happy, real

2012-01-11T21:48:00.001-06:00

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life.~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter.

(Posting from phone so not sure how the photos will load!)

Pretty

Pretty girls working on new workbooks at the school table I just moved to the dining room (where the Christmas tree had been).

Also pretty new workbooks from Seton for language arts. I am loving them so far.

Happy

Happy boy eating in his new booster we bought to eat at NeNe's house!

Funny

Funny Tommy playing with the iPod while the girls were doing their schoolwork.

Real

My real laundry piles. Each kid has a basket but I never get the clothes folded or put away. Maybe twice a month. Really need to get the kids to take over this chore!

Pinning it Down Tuesday, 2 Christmas Crafts!

2012-01-10T23:02:00.003-06:00

Tonight I'm slipping in at the last minute to the Pinning it Down Tuesday blog hop at

Amongst Lovely Things.

Since these are a bit old, I'll go ahead and post two Christmas project ideas I had on my Pinterest boards. (And I must also warn any new readers that my dSLR camera is broken so my blog photos right now are horrible, so sorry!)

The first is a wreath for the front door I found here! I used a few old sheer curtains and cut them into strips about 3-4 inches wide. I took a wire coat hanger and bent it into a circle.

Then I took the strips of sheer fabric and pushed them onto the hanger. The first time I just went back and forth, but it was too symmetrical. So I took all the strips off and twisted them back and forth as I was poking them onto the hanger. Hard to explain!

Here's the finished project. Cost = $0! I did put some red ribbons on it (that I already had), but took those off when I took down the Christmas decorations last weekend.

My next project was one I'd been planning to do for years. When we found out on Christmas Eve that we'd have to stay home for Christmas, I quickly got busy cutting and sewing! These were the links I used for inspiration, but I ended up figuring out the whole quilting part on my own. Now I'd really love to sew a quilt! I cut them out of lightweight denim I already had from an old jumper.

I used an old fleece blanket inside for stuffing, and some fabric for the inner lining that came from an old prayer blanket from when Mary Clare was little.

I did make a quick run to the fabric store to buy some coordinating fabric for the tops. Aren't they cute? Next project will be adding some fabric to embroider their names at the top!

Here's how they looked all filled up on Christmas morning, with little cardstock circles with their initials taped on for now!

Thanks for hosting, Sarah! I hope this will inspire me to try some more creative things this year!

Museum of Science and History

2012-01-08T16:20:00.002-06:00

Thank You

2012-01-08T00:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all my sweet friends and blog readers who sent encouraging messages to me over the past few days. I try not to whine too much on the blog, but I also think it's good to be honest about the struggles of family life so as to not paint a picture-perfect life here. Living out our vocation to the married life isn't always flowery, especially in the thick of difficult circumstances and life changes. But I know many of you have been through this all before and made it out on the other side. You've moved cross-country and overseas, you've been through surgeries and job changes and illness and all the things we face in family life. It's nice to know that others will encourage, support, and pray us through our difficulties, while recognizing that yeah, it's really no fun. But we'll get through it!

God's grace is sufficient. He is so generous. He knows just how much I can handle and when I need a pick-me-up. After typing that blog post, I woke up to a wonderful day on Thursday. We went to the museum with three other homeschool families with very similar-aged children and had lunch at the park together. Mary Clare willingly tried the ballet class that evening (with just a small bribe :), and wants to go back! She's even more excited about it than Ellie. On Friday we went to evening mass and First Friday Potluck dinner. Saturday has been a day of cleaning and organizing, taking the kids to use some Target gift cards, and attending a baby shower. I even got a new spray mop, how exciting! My floors are clean for a few hours!

I know it will take some months before this city starts to feel like home. But in the meantime we are making friends through our parish and our homeschool group, going on lots of fun family outings, and trying our hardest to make our home a happy place. It's not easy though. I'm not a home-body, and am the type of person who gets my energy and joy from being out and keeping busy. Spending day after day at home with all the kids, homeschooling, and doing the regular homemaker duties gets very monotonous for me. And the kids start to fight after so many days at home. We're ready to start a few activities, make some friends and have some playdates and parties! First on the agenda will be planning a house-blessing!

And to prove that this isn't the most miserable place on earth...just look at these photos from our drive to the museum! Isn't it pretty?

Holiday Celebrations in Houston

2012-01-06T00:06:00.000-06:00

Memories of our holiday weekend,

celebrating Christmas, New Years, and Mary Clare's Birthday with family.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and the kids were immediately ready to open presents!

They each got their first Nutcracker to start a collection like NeNe's

Opening stocking gifts

Not sure what this was, but they look happy :)

Thomas got a rolling suitcase like the big kids. He loves pulling suitcases around!

Mary Clare has an odd attachment to a lamp that my parents got her several years ago. The lamp fell apart, and she used aluminum foil to put it back together. It's really a fire hazard and we've ordered her not to use it, but she insists it stay unplugged on her nightstand. NeNe came to the rescue with a new one!

One thing Ellie really wanted for Christmas was a gumball machine, and thanks a tip from a friend, my mom found one at Kohl's! A real one that takes coins!

Here is the beloved wooden sword that has already been broken. And disappeared.

Took some photos after Sunday Mass downtown.
Oh, I miss my Latin Mass!

SJ and the sword again.

And here's the birthday girl riding by!

Cupcakes with cousins

Cake with cousins

A new monkey bar enthusiast. He can't make it very far yet.

Presents with cousins

More Playmobil!

And we capped off that evening with a Nativity Play.
Ellie was Mary, SJ was the Angel Gabriel, and MC was the backstage manager.

This is the rehearsal because my phone ran out of battery before the performance.

Love this one of MC trying to be a camel or sheep or something,
and Thomas about to knock over the new flat screen! Ellie laughing.

Rehearsal done. Maybe I'll get the video from Aunt Jill.

I also failed to get photos of the wonderful gifts from Grampatti and BopBop! GP is always good at finding just what we really need. We had a fabulous visit and look forward to the next holiday we can spend with our families. We really have been blessed to spend so many years in the same city. And now we're glad that 4 hours isn't too far to drive for special celebrations like this.

{pretty, funny, happy, real}

2012-01-04T20:52:00.000-06:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

{pretty}

A friend of my parents made this for them for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful?

{funny}

Here's Steven Joseph playing with his toy gun outside by my parents' trash cans! Behind him are Mary Clare's old rainbow shoes that have finally been retired. She stepped into a muddy pond to try to retrieve Timber who couldn't get himself out of the water (Which was back in November, I still need to write an update about +Timber+. He'll have a post soon).

I'm always surprised by how naturally attracted SJ is to weapons. He wanted pretty much all weapons for Christmas...guns, slingshot, bow & arrow, sword. And he has broken most of them already, including a wooden one we bought on our trip this past weekend thinking it would be indestructible. Not quite! Yesterday he brought me a tiny firefighter figure and told me he wanted a "toy one of these." I thought he meant a toy fire hose, but looked closer to find he meant a toy chainsaw!

{happy}

Last Friday, Steven had a half-day of work and took the older 3 kids fishing that afternoon, while Thomas and I had a date. We went to Freebirds...yes, they have Freebirds here! They also have Wings N More. All my Aggie friends will relate when I say that those places make me feel like I'm home again!

After our lunch, we shopped for awhile and made a stop at Toys R Us. He refused to sit in the carts, and kept running away from me. It was exhausting and I was trying to remember if Mary Clare was such a bad shopper as a child. I had hoped that shopping with one child would be easy! But regardless, he was in heaven in this car section of Toys R Us and screamed when I finally dragged him away...

{real}

Our last morning in Houston, Thomas knocked over a pint of white paint in my parents' pantry. Took me a long time to clean it up, and almost as long to get all the paint off my hands!

Road trips can get real hard with a toddler. One of the girls finally gave him this toy computer the last few minutes of our road trip home. He stopped screaming for a bit.

Only one more week until we hit the road to head "home" again, for some more doctor appointments and to celebrate another birthday! We'll have some good car travelers soon enough! But the best update, which I don't think I've posted here, is that we got the best Christmas present ever...our house is RENTED! We are thrilled to no longer have two house payments. Thank you, Jesus, and all of you who have prayed for us!

Struggling

2012-01-04T20:50:00.000-06:00

Moving is hard. We knew it would be. Still, I think I started this process this summer with such a positive outlook on what this move would mean for our family. I was ready for a change, Steven was ready for a job change, and this position pretty much fell into his lap. But the move took longer than expected as we opted to go through with Steven Joseph's heart surgery, and then as we waited to find the right rental home here.

We've still had so many loose ends with getting our old house rented, having some doctor and dental appointments, and celebrating birthdays and holidays back home as the kids really wanted to. Next week will be our last scheduled visit for the time being, and I hope that will allow us to move forward with life here, settling into our home and community, and making the most of this new opportunity God has placed before us.

But right now, I can honestly say that we are really struggling. We miss our friends. We miss our family. We miss our neighbors. We miss our ballet school. We miss our church. We miss our homeschool group, and our homeschool activities. I miss the mom's nights, and I miss my stores and restaurants. And I'm in a bit of a pouty stage about it all right now.

I'm trying to be positive for the kids and Steven is working very hard to help us all adjust. Today I finally convinced Ellie to try out the new ballet studio nearby. She wasn't impressed, and Mary Clare definitely wasn't...and I'm not sure if it's going to work out. That makes me sad on many levels because ballet was such a big part of my childhood, and thus far it has been for my girls too. They have met many close friends and had wonderful teachers who we admire. And they are very talented. I would be sad to see them give this up because they aren't willing to give this new studio a shot. There just aren't many options around as far as dance studios go, so I'm hoping the girls might try it out long enough to give it a fair consideration.

Our homeschool was already struggling before we moved. It's long days for Mommy, teaching the girls and caring for the very needy boys. We always have lots of battles, but combined with the lack of outside activities or motivation, it's been hard. We're pushing through week 13 over here, and I've just ordered a new set of books for Language Arts. Maybe next week I'll give an update on the curricula we've liked and what I need to change right now. We still feel this is the best option for our family at this exact time, but that's not to say that we haven't considered other options. Hopefully the new year and new books will bring about some positive changes that make this a more positive environment!

So now, entering 2012, it's time to move forward...to get into our new routines, make some new friends and find some new activities. They won't be the same as what we're used to, but we can find joy in them nonetheless. Our house is rented, and after next week we won't have appointments and other events pulling us back there. I know God has a special little niche just for the B. family here in C.C. We just need to pray that He will show it to us, to allow us to find our place in this new city, and to make our home here all it needs to be for a healthy and happy family. Thanks for praying for us and supporting us along the way!

I have to end this saying that I hate being whiny, but I'm trying to be real about what our family is going through right now. Still, our struggles pare in comparison to what some other friends are facing. A family from our old dance school lost their 3yr old daughter Aimee in an accident in front of their house, and our old little buddy Hans is facing some difficult treatments for his cancer in their new home in California. Others suffer illness, death, house loss, and job loss. They are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Nine is Fine!

2012-01-03T17:18:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mary Clare! She turned 9 yesterday. We had a fun long weekend celebrating with family and are now back home trying to get back into our homeschooling routine. Happy New Year, friends!

Botanical Gardens Nature Center

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

{this moment}

2011-12-30T12:38:00.000-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo (or two) - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{pretty, happy, funny real}

2011-12-29T00:52:00.000-06:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

The evening of the 26th we drove down the main road by the water to find a park. We've been getting a bit stir-crazy at home; it's been an odd Christmas week with no family or friends to visit, or activities to do! Here are the pretty girls with the pretty ocean in the background! Ellie got the skates for Christmas and Mary Clare insists she doesn't want any, she just wants to wear mine!

{happy}

Looking at the Christmas card photos on the side of my fridge makes me very HAPPY! I love seeing everyone's beautiful faces and growing families!

{funny}

My funny little Eskimo baby! I'm pretty sure I found some photos of Steven Joseph wearing this coat at age two. But it already seems tight on Thomas and makes it so he can hardly move!

{real}

My sweet baby is here awake with me right now at nearly 1:00am, after going to sleep at 8:00pm for a few hours! This is REAL life in the night with a baby cutting 6 teeth and having a stuffy nose and earache. He's happy when he's awake, but isn't sleeping very well at night. But it's time to try again. Good night and happy 5th day of Christmas!!!

Some favorite Christmas pictures from years gone by...

2011-12-27T23:30:00.002-06:00

2004-Our first year with a digital camera!

Mary Clare was almost 2 years old. I love the photo in the ballet leotard, which was taken in front of the giant tree on Market Street. She would wear her "ballerinatard" everywhere, and wore it to a Christmas puppet show that day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2005-Ellie was 8mos and MC almost 3

These were taken in my parents' front yard

And this was at Market Street, our Christmas card photo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2006

This was the year we lived in College Station. The girls were almost-4 and 1 1/2.

Our Christmas card photo was taken on Thanksgiving at St. Mary's.

And these were taken at my parents' house. Ellie must've not wanted her picture taken here...

I love the smocked dresses! Maybe one day I'll have another baby girl to wear them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2007-Steven Joseph Jr was born 5 days before Christmas! The girls were almost-5 and 2 1/2

An online friend sent the girls these matching sweaters.

And this was our Christmas Card picture, taken after Mass on Christmas Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2008-This was one of the photos from Steven Joseph's 1yr birthday pics!

And here are the girls ready for his Gingerbread Boy 1st Birthday Party!

This was one of our Christmas card photos, taken before the homeschool Christmas Showcase.

Mary Clare was almost-6, Ellie 3 1/2, and Steven was 1.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2009-Photo at Steven's parents' house after Christmas Eve Mass at St. Thomas High School

Kids were 2, 4 1/2, and almost-7

and our Christmas Card pic, taken by Steven's cousin at our family reunion in Oklahoma

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2010, the year of Thomas William!

One of our Christmas Card shots, I think this was my favorite!

ages 3mos, 3, 5 1/2, and almost-8.

One of our best pictures with Santa...love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2011, the Christmas without a good camera!

Our Christmas Card pic, taken by MckMama in September

Bad pics of Mommy and Daddy, but cute kids and good for the memory books!

This was our Christmas "stuck" in our new hometown, Corpus Christi, getting over illness.

Photo taken after Mass at the Cathedral.

Lots of fun Christmas memories! Maybe one day I'll scan some from before we had digital cameras.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T02:01:00.005-06:00

All week long we debated going "home" for Christmas. The last of us had the stomach virus on Wednesday, so we didn't think we'd be contagious, but we couldn't decide. Then on Saturday morning, Christmas Eve, Thomas woke up with a slight fever (he already had a cough) and Steven Joseph fussed all morning about a tummy ache (he hadn't gotten the bug yet, but ended up being fine). So our decision was made, we'd have to stay here, and we told the kids. Many tears were shed, but we tried to stay positive and offer this quiet Christmas as a little sacrifice to the baby Jesus.

I got right to work on making stockings! We were looking forward to Christmas with my parents and planned to use the stockings they had there. It was time for me to make the denim stockings that had been on my mind for years! I got to run to Confession (the last one before they ended at 3pm), and then got some fabric to top them with. I already had the denim and the inside fleece and fabric, which I cut and quilted on and off all afternoon.

The kids baked Christmas cookies.

And we let them open a present that night, one for the girls to share and one for Steven Joseph.

The girls loved their Nutcracker paper dolls book and they all loved the little fishing game.

Finally at about midnight, after the kids stayed up late and the baby fussed on and off, I finished the stockings! I'd still like to add some appliques and embroidery.

Santa came with a special big toy for each, and some overflowing stockings, including their age in 2-dollar bills! Santa may have to rethink that one as they get older!

It was just enough but not too much. Steven is always impressed with my ability to keep it simple. I am always worried about going overboard. I was also planning on a houseful of gifts at NeNe's, so that helped me keep things here at a minimum. Next weekend should be another big Christmas!

At 6:30am we finally let them get out of bed and go see their gifts!

Oh, the joy of Christmas morn!

A knight costume

A St. Therese rose petal rosary. Ellie has a special devotion to the rosary and loves praying it. That was on her list of 3 things she wanted and got for Christmas (Rosary, rollerblades, and a Leapster).

The kids love picking out gifts for each other and watching them open them!

I was very proud of the way the girls were gracious about their gifts even though there weren't a lot. They were even reminding each other to be thankful, and I don't think they whined or complained all day.

I love Thomas' bed head here!

Bath toys from big sisters

They gave Daddy some posters about honeybees that they got at 4-H class.

I think SJ's favorite gift was the little set of western guns and holsters that the girls picked out for him. "This is the best Christmas ever," he kept saying. He is so happy about everything :-)

Thomas liked his phone!

Thomas was still under the weather but we decided to venture out together to a non-crowded but beautiful mass at 12:30pm at the Cathedral downtown. I was able to spend most of the mass in the empty cryroom in a rocker nursing the baby. It was a really nice mass.

A quick photo by the nativity!

and an attempt to take another one. Somebody didn't want his picture taken anymore!

We came home and rested some more. The kids played with their toys. Ellie and MC rode the rollerblades, played with the Leapster, and MC spent a lot of the day putting together her Playmobil school building. Steven cooked a nice dinner of pork loin, broccoli, potatoes, and bread, and he even bought an apple pie and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream! I was with Thomas a lot of the evening, but the rest of the crew ended the day watching The Sound of Music DVD, which Mary Clare got for Christmas, always a favorite!

It wasn't quite the Christmas we had in mind, but we tried to be mindful of the blessing we have in each other, and in the gift of Our Savior, born this day to save the world!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Advent Memories 2011

2011-12-25T18:39:00.001-06:00

On Friday the 15th, our homeschool group met at a nearby nursing home for a Posada nativity play. We got there and had about a half hour to find costumes and prepare in this living area. Ellie is towards the right in a white angel gown.

Mary Clare is standing here with the hat on. She didn't want to participate until right before they were about to start. Then she decided she'd go ahead and put on an angel gown too. I was proud of her for joining in, even though she didn't really want to.

Here they are performing for the elderly residents.

Mary Clare is to the right of the little blonde toddler and Ellie is behind the child in the black robe.

They sang some beautiful Christmas carols and then were given some special treats by the staff!

Steven Joseph didn't care to join the play. He watched with me while Thomas slept in the stroller. SJ was fascinated by this dancing Santa display!

After the nursing home, on this cold winter afternoon, we headed to the church where the kids played on the playground and later had a 4-H meeting.

The weekend before Christmas we drove around looking at lights. This was a huge Nativity display in someone's front yard! The house is behind it, and it was larger-than-life-size! They even had caged white doves and gave out popcorn and punch to visitors.

In between our bouts of a stomach virus the week before Christmas, we went one evening to a nearby nature preserve at dusk.

A beautiful sunset!

We made fried donuts with biscuit dough on Steven Joseph's birthday morning. Thomas wants to sit in a big boy chair these days, and usually SJ does too! We are out of chairs. That will be one of our goals this new year, to find a set of dining chairs, and possibly a table (or we'll paint ours).

Here's Steven Joseph at his birthday dinner with his Playmobil pirate case!

(Oh these fuzzy iPhone photos are driving me nuts, but at least they tell the story. Anyone have recommendations for a cheap but decent point-and-shoot camera?)

He also got a pirate set from his grandparents, so he's been playing lots of Playmobil pirates and knights! Ellie and SJ wanted me to take a pic of these guys...

Thankfully he needs my help to climb the trees, otherwise I'm sure we'd have some injuries that a hard hat and life jacket couldn't fix!

And last, a night photo of our "home away from home!"

Steven's ASD, Open Heart Surgery Story

2011-12-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Steven Joseph. When he was one year old, the pediatrician heard a murmur while listening to his heart. A few months later, the cardiologist diagnosed him with Atrial Septal Defect, a hole between the upper chambers of the heart. Before surgery, we were told the hole was the size of a dime, and it turned out there was also another tiny hole in his heart that needed one stitch. In addition to this, his superior vena cava was attached in the "wrong" spot, so the patch for his ASD would be a specialized curved one to allow the correct flow of blood due to the incorrect location of the vein.

The doctors decided that Steven would be ready to have his heart repaired around age 3. We decided to wait until after the summer, so that he could enjoy a full Texas summer at the pool and beach! After a diagnostic MRI at the hospital the month before, we met with the surgeon at Texas Children's Hospital and scheduled his operation for September 22, 2011. This would be the day after his brother's 1st birthday! But since we were also preparing for a move, and had been anticipating the surgery for several years, we decided to take the first slot available.

The day of pre-op tests

After a day of pre-operative tests and procedures on the 21st, we found out that Steven's surgery would need to be postponed a day due to a critically ill newborn baby who needed his surgery slot. So we enjoyed our evening celebrating little Thomas' birthday and then spent a day at home before waking early on September 23rd, the memorial of St. Padre Pio! We dropped off the girls with their grandpa and headed downtown with the two boys.

After a short time in the pre-op area where his vital signs were taken, they gave Steven a small sedative drink to make him sleepy when they would take him back for surgery. He sat in his daddy's lap in a rocking chair, watching morning cartoons, until the surgery team came and the nurse took him and his "fisherman bear" and they were off to the operating room just after 7:00am.

I will say that those hours of surgery were some of the hardest of my life. I sat with my mother-in-law, Steven Sr., and little Thomas, and tried to distract myself as much as I could. I even tried to sleep once but was so nervous and crying so often that there was no hope in resting. We were sitting near another family whose child was in open heart surgery. They had about 10 people with them at all times, and I admit I was jealous of all the physical support they had there, even knowing how much prayer support we had coming from all over the world. I felt lonely and afraid, and extremely anxious for the surgery to be over.

Little brother who was a distraction for all

We got periodic updates from the surgical team that were maybe a bit more difficult than I'd imagined. For one of the first updates, I was hoping they were already repairing his heart, but instead they said that they had just started the actual incision. The prep time to put a child on a heart-lung bypass machine is very long. It must have been about 2 hours! At about 12:30pm we were finally told that he was out of surgery and breathing on his own. Praise God!

We were able to see him soon after. This was what he looked like in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. He had lines in his neck, arm, wrist, and even his feet! So many monitors, tubes, and needles!

That first afternoon and evening was very hard, because he really wanted a drink. They wouldn't allow him anything for a few hours, and then only a tiny medicine cup each hour. Oh, the pain to watch your child beg for a drink! That was really, really hard. But as the hours went by, he slowly woke up more, and they started to take the different lines out.

We put some videos on the iPhone for him to watch, but really the CVICU was just a miserable 24 hours. I remember him sweetly asking for me to lie with him in his bed, but then realizing it made him hurt more. So sad. We did have some great nurses that were very knowledgeable and kind. But it was so hard to see all the very sick children. We also had to share a room with the other child whose family had been next to us in the waiting room. The most difficult part was that during the night hours we had to switch off being with Steven and little Thomas in the Ronald McDonald room downstairs.

After those grueling hours, it was finally time to pack up the bags and move downstairs to the cardiac recovery floor! Steven Joseph slept through the move.

That evening we put some jammies on him (which didn't last long, it was too hot!),

and he even got a Happy Meal!

Daddy played with him and his cars and knights.

And finally he got his drain removed (it was where the band-aid is, under his scar). After the drain is out, it's much easier and less painful to move around. The nights were hard in that room with the baby staying there too. One night he had to get a new IV at about 2am, and that was very difficult.

But on Sunday afternoon, his sisters and cousins came to visit and he actually got out of bed for once!

We took him down to the playroom and he started playing and painting and walking!

He was so excited and proud of himself, stating, "Mommy, I can do everything now!"

He couldn't wait to go show his sisters and cousins all the things he could do now. It was like a complete change in about half an hour. He went from sad and bedridden to happy and determined. It was a beautiful thing to see.

So happy to be out of bed!

Now he could sit up and play with toys!

Later that night, our friends the K family came to visit, to bring us Holy Communion, and to take the girls home for the night. Here we are in the hospital chapel looking at the scrapbook they made for Steven Joseph.

On Monday he was out and about, playing with balls in the hallway,

and doing some fun crafts!

Baby brother was still around. Causing lots of trouble! Everyone was getting bored at the hospital.

Here was the one couch bed for Mommy, Daddy, and Tommy to sleep!

We went back to the playroom where he did some dot painting.

It was right at this table when the attending doctor came to tell us we had the all-clear to go home! In a whirlwind of half an hour we packed and ran out the door to try to beat the Houston traffic!

With his bears and balloons in the car to go HOME!

The next day, we set up FaceTime at home on the iPhone with his friend. He was so excited!

Here he is with the painting that I credit for his turnaround. While painting a picture of the aquarium in the playroom at the hospital he went from sick to well in a few minutes. It's amazing what art can do for your mental well-being!

And here he is having a playdate with his buddy J a few days later.

This picture was taken before his one week appointment where they would take off the steri-strips and therefore this scary-looking red scar due to the iodine stuff we had to keep on it.

Posing with his balloons.

Brothers in the exam room. Lots of waiting to meet with nurses and such to make sure he was a-okay!

My little transformer dude!

After getting this all-clear from the heart clinic, he also met with our local cardiologist about a month after surgery. All signs point to a full recovery and repair, and we will follow-up again in January and in the summer. After that, he should only need a yearly visit to make sure his heart continues to function normally. We can't wait for a fun spring and summer filled with baseball, beach days, and swimming! Thanks be to God for the staff of Texas Children's Hospital who make it such an incredible place of healing for children like Steven. Many thanks also go to the friends and family who prayed and supported us through this journey.

May we always remember "heart babies" and their families in our prayers. We know so many personally, and I'm grateful that they were placed into my life to be a support during this time. Some are still suffering. Some need on-going medical procedures. And sadly, others' hearts have only been healed in Heaven. May God bless each of these children and their families in their times of need.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we put our trust in You!

Birthday Boy

2011-12-21T01:51:00.001-06:00

Our sweet birthday boy had a fun day today! Daddy came home and brought him to McDonald's for a special lunch. He was still a bit confused about how we already had his party...he wanted another pinata and party and cake! We ended up going out for dinner too. This photo is of him in front of the restaurant eating a peanut. He has his boots on the wrong feet, and a birthday crown, and I could hardly get him to stop moving for an instant to take his picture!

I failed to mention that my mom shares a birthday with Steven Joseph, so I also wish a belated Happy Birthday to NeNe! My dad's birthday was earlier this month too, Happy Belated Birthday, PaPa! We look forward to sharing Christmas with you!

Finally, I'd like to ask for prayers here in the middle of the night. The 3rd child is down for the count with a tummy bug. We'd love to make it up to see our families for Christmas if we are all well. Please pray for healthy tummies. And if you could spare a prayer to find renters for our house, that would be great too! We are really hoping to have it rented by the end of the year.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph...Holy Family who knows the struggles of family life, pray for us!

Steven Joseph's 4th Birthday Celebration

2011-12-20T13:35:00.000-06:00

Today is Steven Joseph's 4th birthday! While in Houston, we celebrated with his buddy "J" on the 10th. Their birthdays are a week apart and they wanted to share this party together with our families.

The mommies went shopping for treats the night before and let the birthday boys fill the pinata!

The next morning, we made the cake using these directions from Betty Crocker.

Then that afternoon we went to a local fire station for a tour!

Here we were checking out the kitchen,

the workout room,

and the bedrooms where they sleep.

Next we went outside to see the trucks!

The kids were very excited to climb in the fire truck,

especially Thomas!

Next, they took out the fire hose,

And they let the kids spray it!

Steven Joseph was thrilled!

Then it was time to roll up the hose, the hard work that apparently the firefighters dread.

Forever friends! B family + N family = 9 kiddos!

Best Buddies!

They let the kids look in the ambulance and at the stretcher.

Thomas loved this part; he could pull the stretcher around!

They also got to check out the Jaws of Life!

Thanks to the guys at Fire Station #5 for a great visit!

The masterpiece :-)

Cake, Pinata and presents

Pinata time!

Ready to sing and blow out the candles! SJ blew his out while we were still singing and lighting J's candles, so we had to light his again!

My friend's fantastic idea to frost the cake with white frosting, put plastic wrap on the cake, and then put the red frosting on top! So when it was time to eat, we just pulled off the plastic wrap and the yucky red frosting!

It was getting dark (and was already super-cold), so they quickly opened presents before we headed to a warm restaurant for dinner.

Such a special day for two special boys! S and J are the sweetest friends and we look forward to sharing many more birthdays together! Happy Birthday, boys!

7 Quick Takes Friday

2011-12-16T02:18:00.001-06:00

Our week visiting back "home", iPhone edition
(and I did take my Nikon to the repair shop while there and it looks like it's probably a goner...so sad)

--- 1 ---

On Thursday they went back to the old ballet school for class and on Friday they got to attend their girls' club. They had a fun liturgical tea party celebrating St. Lucy, followed by some English country dancing with the boys' club. It was great to visit with our friends and feel "home" again. We'll probably be visiting often for awhile. I feel kind of half here, half there right now. But I need to remember that lady from Luby's Cafeteria many years ago who told Steven in her strong accent, "in your life, no half and half," while shaking her finger at him for getting half sweet and half unsweet tea!

--- 2 ---

Against my better judgment and the advice of all those close to me, I opted to take all 4 children to a concert by myself (with another friend and her 4 kids!). Audrey Assad was giving a free Christmas concert at a protestant church near our old home. I just had to go! It was wonderful; she is an amazing singer and pianist. I love her music and it's been my background music the past few weeks, my calming stress relief! I spent half the time in the lobby and the cryroom, but was still so glad I went!

--- 4 ---

After the concert, we drove by an amazing Christmas light and music and video display near my parents' house. It's amazing the way they have the lights set to the music of these videos, much of it focused on the real meaning of the season! A nice way to end our Sunday.

--- 5 ---

It's definitely hard to travel with a toddler! Both places we stayed had stairways, which he loves. TV remotes are another fascination. I'm just glad that the boys sleep well in the car, because I'd just take them on a drive each afternoon and then sit in or near the car on the driveway while they napped...perfect! Thanks to my parents and the N family for putting us up.

--- 6 ---

Friends. Met up with some of my dearest friends at a Chick-fil-a on Monday afternoon. So grateful for each of the new and old friends God has placed in my life, especially those who I've known since childhood. We sat around and talked while the kids took over the playland. But soon after I had to rush off to head to an appointment, because...

--- 7 ---

The main purpose of our trip back home was for some dental work for the girls. I am the worst mom for not taking them in the past 2 years, and now they had to deal with a bunch of fillings and even a crown for one of them! Poor girls! They did great and came home to NeNe's on Wednesday for some special presents because they were so brave. Here they are all smiles with their magnet paper doll fashion show! We'll have to go back in January for the 2nd half of the fillings, and for Steven Joseph's cardiac appointment.

Yes, I messed up the numbers above, so I don't have a #3...but the significance of three is that it's almost THREE A.M. and I don't know why I'm still awake!
Off to bed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

At the grocery store with Thomas

2011-12-13T13:12:00.001-06:00

Thomas in the sink

2011-12-10T08:24:00.001-06:00

{pretty, funny, happy, real}

2011-12-07T23:26:00.001-06:00

~ Capturing the context of everyday life ~
(still with iPhone photos)

{pretty}

We've put up the Christmas tree, lights, and wreaths! I still don't have a mantle, and our artwork and pictures still aren't hung. I have high hopes for sewing stockings this year, but we'll see what I get to! For now, I'm proud we've made it this far and that we're almost done unpacking. Can you see the candy cane ribbon on the gas lamp? So cute, and Steven's idea!

{happy}

A happy St. Nicholas Day yesterday! The kids got some candy and ornaments in their shoes (candy was in little Santa containers), and then we rushed off to take Daddy to work (broken car), and then to a nursing home visit with the homeschool group.

Ellie was so sweet helping this lady play Bingo.

After Bingo, they sang some Christmas carols. I loved this home; it's run by the most joyful Carmelite Sisters and is just a few blocks away! I hope we can try to visit often.
I was proud of the way the kids really took it upon themselves to make some special cards for the residents. They spent lots of time over the weekend writing, drawing, painting, and glittering!

{funny}

My funny climbing boy. He is climbing on stools, ladders, high chairs, and tries to get into the sink. Such a big boy and too cute for me to discipline too much!

{real}

Steven Joseph cut a little chunk out of his hair the other day. He had a bandaid on his forehead that was stuck to his bangs so he snipped it a bit. It didn't look too bad, but the bangs were getting long anyway, so I trimmed them a bit while he was in the shower this morning. Well, when he got out and dried off it didn't look right, so another snip here and a snip there...and then I had to cut it all off into a buzz! I'm so sad. I was just commenting on how much I love the boys' hair. Oh well, it'll grow back, right? I'm still grieving.

Well, hopefully soon I'll get my camera fixed and get the old photos off of it. We're doing okay here although it's been a crazy few days...broken toilets, broken car, and all those other little minor things that can seem so big at the time. Hopefully a weekend back home with family and friends will be just what we need for a little perk-up amidst this now-winter weather!

Hope you all are having a blessed Advent season so far!

Thanksgiving memories

2011-12-03T09:28:00.001-06:00

Couldn't believe a Shipley Donuts was open on Thanksgiving morning, here in town, but we were thankful!

Tried a new route out of town and drove by fields and fields of windmills. It was actually really pretty.

Didn't get any photos of Thanksgiving lunch with Steven's family, but here are cousins eating cookies in the front yard, getting ready to head to the park.

And here at the park, the big flag football game!

Thomas in a swing with the flags around his waist :)

Steven's team vs. Uncle Thomas' Team, the Destroyers vs. the Green Pickles

The coaches with the players. It was a tie!

Then we were on to my parents' house. Didn't take many pictures there either. But I liked this one of the boys in the driveway.

On Saturday I took the girls to see a performance of The Nutcracker to see one of their good friends. I forgot to get photos of them, but waiting for Daddy to pick us up we snapped this one of the girls with two of their favorite teachers from their old studio who now dance with this other studio. It was a very nice production.

NeNe playing Christmas songs and Ellie and MC singing.

On Sunday we had a pizza lunch back with all Steven's family at his parents' house. Fun memories of playing with cousins in the backyard,

And just hanging out. One big, happy family.

So glad we were able to go back home for the weekend. It will be hard adding the packing, the 4+ hour drive, and overnights in someone else's home to visit for any holidays. But it'll be worth it and we'll be back again a couple more times this month!

7 Quick Takes Friday

2011-12-01T23:47:00.001-06:00

--- 1 ---

Our life has been flipped upside down a bit the past few weeks! I'm feeling almost settled in the new house; I still have the front room (piano room with homeschooling and kid books) to finish unpacking and organize, and all our photos and such still need to be hung on the walls. But we're having great family time. These photos are from a nearby park. Today we took a walk around the neighborhood, and the kids are spending lots of time playing in the backyard, climbing trees, riding scooters on the sidewalk, and playing lots of make believe! The weather has been great for all of that.

--- 2 ---

Mary Clare is adjusting really well, considering she was the one most obstinate about moving. She still doesn't want to try a new ballet school (and Ellie claims she won't go unless MC does), and is hesitant about meeting new friends. She mostly wants to be at home, which is pretty much where we've been every day, just spending our days at home together and getting into our new routines. This weekend we'll decorate for Christmas and hopefully finish more unpacking and organizing. She is very much looking forward to putting up the Christmas tree!

--- 3 ---

Tommy is still my "MOMMY" boy, babbling my name all day long. It's so sweet. He's cutting his molars and is sleeping horribly, but he's also giving the most adorable kisses and snuggles. He's climbing on everything and loves to run down the sidewalk. And he still loves eating paper and crayons, and splashing in the toilet.

--- 4 ---

This big boy is about to turn 4! I can't believe it. He's been really attached to Mommy, although today he got into a big make believe story of Survivorman, playing by himself in the backyard. This photo was from yesterday morning after we went to the nearby Latin Mass at the convent (which didn't go over so well; I'll need a cryroom for daily mass at this point). He found his apron and was so excited to help me make a puff pancake for breakfast!

--- 5 ---

I was trying to take a nice picture of the kids on the front porch, but it didn't go over so well. This is our new home, and it's feeling more and more like "ours" every day. It was a bit hard going back to our old house over Thanksgiving. I hadn't seen it vacant and it was sad driving through our neighborhood and all the familiar streets. When we're home in our new house we are comfortable, but I admit that everything around us still feels foreign. We'll get there. Our old house will officially list on the MLS tomorrow, so hopefully we find renters very soon!

--- 6 ---

Ah, brothers. It's going to be so fun to watch them grow up together! Soon enough, Thomas will be able to share in all Steven's sports and games. This photo below was them waking up this morning. SJ has been insisting on footie pajamas...so cute! And Thomas got a haircut today. The bed-head in the back was just too crazy! But I'm enjoying their longer hair and have somehow kept Daddy from buzzing them for awhile now :-)

--- 7 ---

This is the room I'm trying to finish. Tonight Thomas was crawling into the bookshelf and throwing all the books around the room. He was also standing up on the piano bench and laughing away! Oh, my boys...they keep me on my toes!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Some house photos!

2011-11-28T10:27:00.001-06:00

Still a lot to do, but this was our progress before Thanksgiving!

The Past Week in (a lot of) iPhotos!

2011-11-20T22:33:00.001-06:00

If you're wondering why I'm having a hard time loading photos and why they're all from my iPhone, well it's not just because I haven't found the USB cord for my Nikon! Oops. I think I'm just not a good candidate for a fancy camera. It was hanging on the back of the stroller at our last co-op meeting, the stroller tipped, and the lens got stuck and wouldn't zoom out. I was still able to use it for close-ups for a few days until I did the SAME THING and hung it on the back of my stroller at the museum (baby had gotten hurt, I'll use that excuse!) and it fell again and now doesn't work at all. Boohoo. Why did I not learn my lesson? This is the 2nd lens I've broken. Maybe one can be fixed easily.

I think I'll have to go back to the world of point-and-shoot cameras for awhile. Anyway, we're doing pretty well here in our new home and I've made lots of progress with unpacking. I'd love to have most of it done by the time we head back "home" for Thanksgiving, but we'll see! Baby had a tummy bug the past day, so I'm praying it doesn't hit everyone else! Can't wait to see the family and also get a bunch of things squared away with our house there so we can get it rented!

So here are my iPhotos from the past week or so....

Before the move:

Steven Joseph entertaining himself with parts to a breastpump and inhaler puffer, using his cars and a sponge hair roller!

The girls used their Easy Bake oven thing to make fondant and cookies. It's actually not an Easy Bake "oven" per se, but rather a tray with a cover that goes in your own microwave! Much easier than that little oven!

SJ insisted I photograph him in the neighbors' backyard. We miss our neighbors! He was playing today and looking out our mail slot (yes, we get mail delivered to our door here!) and claimed that the T's were outside bringing our beehive back ;-)

Poor Tommy had several big falls the last day we were in Houston. We went to classes at the science museum and he fell into a corner and got this nasty cut. Looked so painful but he was a champ!

After science classes we got to go to the Butterfly Pavilion. Here are the kids in the learning area. MC looks so big there next to Thomas!

Butterflies emerging from their chrysalids!

The Pavilion was a lot of fun but so hard to keep track of everyone, especially this little guy who hadn't napped yet...

and would stop for a split second to notice a butterfly, before...

stopping at EVERY single puddle to sit down and splash! Such a mess!

We had to escape quickly to get on the road to our new town, but not before

getting a waterfall picture

and one by this butterfly projector wall

and one on the caterpillar

So at that point I was nearly in tears trying to say goodbye, but not wanting to say goodbye and really lose my composure! The kids did great, but Mommy shed some tears while driving out of town, leaving behind so many good friends there at the museum. It was very bittersweet.

But we had a busy time ahead, rushing to town to go look at the house, and then for a fun night with room service in a hotel! I didn't get photos of the moving day. It was long and tiring, but as soon as the movers left, we headed down...

TO THE BEACH! Only 20 mins or so to get to the seashore. Gonna love that part of living here!

Another thing we love is the backyard with big climbing trees

Mary Clare enjoys them most of all!

I can't remember where the girls were, but SJ wanted to sit down and write out his Christmas list. So cute!

Friday afternoon was our first 4-H and Fun Friday meeting with our new homeschool group.

It'll be a lot different than what we're used to, but I'm sure it'll still be lots of fun! This group was a bit boy-heavy...

and SJ fit right in with the boys playing in the field next to the church!

Saturday morning we tried out the Little Flowers girls group here, which was meeting at the Catholic church on the island. While the girls were in their classroom, I slipped away for some prayer time in the church...

without walls! Pretty unique!

Their class was nearly done, but I heard the sand and sea calling my name, so I drove across the street, walked down by this nice patch of sunflowers,

And took a quick little stroll on the beach!

Since we hadn't been busy enough yet, why not make a trip to the Aquarium?

We'd gone once before but this was Daddy's first visit.

This was right at Thomas' level!

The bird show was great! Very similar to the one we saw at the San Diego Zoo.

Lots of wind there by the water!

Love the dolphin room!

and love this photo of my little guy looking at the big dolphin!

While the girls went to mass and social time at the church with Daddy today, I stayed home with the boys since Thomas had been sick overnight (and got to go to mass alone tonight :-)

We had some fun in the backyard,

drew a picture to send to his buddy,

and played with the Montessori matching wood blocks. I have a great craft cabinet in the laundry room now, which will be a good spot for our arts and crafts supplies, Montessori boxes, and other things I like to keep a bit out of reach!

I'll have to get more house photos in the coming days, but here are the kids making some "houses" and "yards" for the boys in their new room. This is the one paint color I really don't like. It's kind of a rust color but has a slight orangey-pink hue. Not sure if I have it in me to paint in a rental though.

Here is the girls' room, I love the big windows in their bedrooms!

Once we get it organized, this sunroom will be a great playspace. Yes, we moved the playhouse! Well, the movers did it :-)

My biggest accomplishment was finishing the unpacking of the kitchen! I'm still missing a few things, so maybe there's a box in the garage, but for the most part it's all put away. Yay! We even had a spaghetti dinner at the table tonight.

Whoa. That was a lot of photos. Hope you've enjoyed our week in pictures and hope to be back with some more house pics soon. We've got three days to work on getting it all set up, so we can have a fun weekend away and come back to start schooling again as well as start the Advent season and all our preparations for Christmas. I can't believe it starts next week!

Although I still have a lot of moments where I'm missing my family and friends and hometown I love, I still have a deep peace in knowing that this is where God wants us right now. I'm very thankful we've made it through all the events of this year, and I hope that the coming weeks bring about more peace and comfort in our new surroundings, while having special times at "home" when we visit our family and friends. Lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2011-11-16T22:09:00.001-06:00

{capturing the context of contentment in everyday life}

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter:
http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/

We are moved in, slowly unpacking, and starting to feel at home. Still no home Internet or working fridge, but hopefully by Friday we'll be set!

Before I get back to the boxes I'll leave you with... (all at the bottom and out of order due to iPhone blogging!)

Visited the PRETTY beach after the movers left today. HAPPY kids at our new house. FUNNY baby eating a page out of the hotel room-service menu (Apologies to our fellow hotel guests for our very loud children and screaming baby!). And REAL exhausted girls asleep in their room! We've survived a move!!!

Moving Day

2011-11-14T23:00:00.001-06:00

Tonight I'll be sleeping in the bedroom I had at my parents' house when I was visiting from college. The bedding and curtains are a fun black and white checkerboard print that I picked out during a big move we made to the next street (same street number!) when I was in high school. The girls sleep in the room I decorated during college, more of an "adult" floral in colors I love. I comforted myself during those times of change with planning and decorating and choosing new colors. In the same way, the thought of moving to this new house (which I have yet to visit!) brings much excitement and anticipation as to how we'll set things up, decorate, and make it our home.

And so here we are, our last night as Houston area residents for awhile. Our belongings are packed and ready to be loaded onto moving vans tomorrow. While Steven supervises at home (it stresses me out so I left halfway through today), we'll have our last outing to homeschool science class, and then we will drive off into the sunset to our new town. It's all starting to hit me as I'm sleepless even though very exhausted after two nights of prep work until after 1am to get ready for the packers today!

Tonight I was watching that show on hoarders and feeling grateful to have a husband who helps me to not be attached to "stuff." We've been purging the past few weeks and even more today. I've been ordered to stay away so I don't see all the things that are sitting out on the curb, and I'm glad that I can let others deal with the mess. I have great hopes for creating a more minimalist lifestyle in our new home. I know we won't be quite as minimalist as we might like, but this move is allowing us to really go through our belongings and make sure they are all things that we really want, really need, and really use.

I also have great hopes for how this journey will stretch our family. I was thinking about how in the past couple years, my blog has become mainly an avenue of sharing our outside activities, family celebrations, visits with friends, and homeschool events. And I think in some sense this is what we have focused on as a family...our activities and outside events. I hope that we can create more of a peaceful home atmosphere and that our own family life becomes the focus moreso than the activities that we do. I still hope to participate in a few of them, but being in a less-active homeschool group should help us to pare down our outside commitments and focus on enjoying these fleeting days with our little ones at home.

I admit that Steven and I have both felt overwhelmed recently with the demands of caring for this little brood of growing children. It is a lot more work than we anticipated, but yet rewarding in ways we couldn't have imagined. They all have such unique needs and it is physically demanding to continually have babies and toddlers who need attention and older children who need to be challenged intellectually. And then there are the most important aspects of virtue instruction, prayer example, and faith formation which are challenging to teach the children when you struggle yourself. Discipline is a sore area all around. And so I know that God has seen our family's needs and determined that this move will allow us to work on these areas of weekness and give us many opportunities to grow.

I know we will look back and hope that we treasured these days with young children, and I pray that God gives us the resolve to continue to follow His will as we move to to this new location and to find joy in the journey. There is a vibrant faith community and a beautiful little home waiting just for us! Jesus will be there with open arms to help us "grieve" the loss of our current community and comfort zone, but He will also challenge us to grow closer to each other and to Him. I look forward to seeing our new house and what he has in store for us in these coming days! Thank you for your prayers...

Another fun (not goodbye) day with friends

2011-11-12T23:53:00.001-06:00

Wednesday was a glorious day, and the perfect day for a friend to drive from across town for a (non) goodbye! She herself moved several years back but we still stay in touch. These two moms and I have enjoyed spending time together since we each joined the homeschool group when our oldest kids were preschoolers. Our children are each very close to the same age, though Tommy was the only baby this time!

We had fun at the Waterway, on the Trolley, and eating at the Mall. A fun day was had by all, and we'll have to do it again the next time we're all in the area!

I love this last photo! We really looked like a school or something with the number of kids we had altogether! They were on the lookout for a missing "Squinky" toy that fell into the water!

We'll miss our beautiful surroundings here, but will be thankful to be living so close to the beach in just a few days!

(Not) Saying Goodbye to friends

2011-11-12T12:56:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had a nice evening at the farm, a kind of farewell party with a few families, but without an official farewell! I'm refusing to say a big "goodbye" to everyone. When people try to hug and cry and say goodbye, I just respond in a bit of denial.

Yes, we're moving this week. But we'll be back a week later for Thanksgiving, and then likely several times in December too. It's been an emotional past few months and I'm not feeling like making a big to-do out of this move.

I guess I'm in some denial, but mostly I've just got a bit of a new perspective after going through the open heart surgery experience with Steven Joseph in September. Nothing seems like quite a big deal after handing off your child to be put through something like that.

Two of the families we shared the evening with have spent or are spending a number of years living in the Middle East. So for me, moving 4 hours away seems like such a small move! We hope to be back maybe in a few years, so we'll look at it as an extended vacation to the coast, right? Yes, a bit of denial. I'm sure it will hit me these next few days when Steven is home and we watch movers pack up our stuff and see our home of five years emptied of all our belongings.

Can you believe they got me my favorite RJ Goodies cakes? Oh, now I might cry saying goodbye to RJ Goodies! Just kidding ;-)

We also retired Timber out to the farm that evening. With renting a home and many trips back to Houston, we just couldn't imagine moving our 13 year-old Labrador with us. He has had a rough few months and has been really going downhill. The children cried and sobbed as we drove away, wanting to take the doggy with us. Poor kiddos, and poor Timber. More on him later...

We really will miss our friends here. Sharing Sunday Mass, frequent birthday celebrations, local family events, and homeschool activities, we have formed close friendships with so many families. We did not imagine that we'd be one of those families who would move away, but here we are trusting that God has a beautiful plan in store for our family. This job really fell into Steven's lap and we have great hopes for a fun new adventure down by the bay!

I know we will meet new friends and have new activities, but our Houston friends will always be very close to our hearts. As I write this, Steven Joseph is reading a book made by his best buddy J for SJ's surgery. It's filled with photos of the both of them from the time they were babies, born only a week apart. He kisses the photos of them and says how he'll miss his friend.

All of our friends were so generous during that time of great stress for our family in September. Many watched our other children and brought us meals and even Holy Communion, others did laundry and cleaned our home. All of them were an amazing prayer support for us. When I could barely breathe, they were there as intercessors to lift up my intentions to God. And even during other times of illness and struggle, they have each been there for me as a listening ear, a warm meal at my door, and a mass offered for our family.

We are eternally grateful for all that God has blessed us with during our time here in "the woods" and trust that even if we don't move back anytime soon, we'll still keep our friendships with all of these families. They have been here for us in the good times and the bad and we will always thank God for the great blessings they have been to us.

"Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure." Sirach 6:14

"A friend is a friend at all times,and a brother is born for the time of adversity." Proverbs 17:17

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2011-11-10T00:12:00.002-06:00

~ Capturing the context of everyday life ~

{pretty}

It was a gorgeous day today, and a sweet friend drove from across town to spend a lovely afternoon with another friend and me, and all our kids. We hit the waterway, took a trolley ride, feasted in the mall food court, and enjoyed this outdoor scene at the mall (Urban Outfitters and Anne Taylor Loft were cropped out). I liked the pumpkins still sitting around outside; the inside of the mall was decked out for Christmas already. I also love the pretty hairdo on my Ellie. I enjoy doing french braids, but the girls are rarely patient enough to let me do them. This morning, she let me :-) But no bows or ribbons anymore, "those are for babies." :-(

{happy}

A friend emailed me this photo today from Halloween night. It makes me smile :-) And worry about the teenage years with this little princess, hahaha! Today she told me she didn't need to do her math because she "is beaUtiful, and you don't need to do math when you're beaUtiful." Ellie is a funny one, but really a happy girl who can always make her mama smile. And thinking of all our wonderful friends in this photo makes me happy too.

{funny}

I am not kidding that my child eats cardboard, paper, crayons, toilet paper. One day he was screaming and I gave him a toilet paper roll to eat. Seriously. Today I noticed that he is getting his molars. Hopefully these eating habits will improve soon! Also funny in this photo is just how bad our kitchen table is. Those pink and black spots to the left of the book do not wipe off. I'm really wanting to paint the table, and seriously considered doing it this week, as if I don't have anything else going on, like MOVING!

{real}

Everyone asks if I'm packing, and the answer is NO! I am so glad we'll have a moving company taking care of all of that next week. But I am trying to clean things up, and find some missing items, especially those that belong to other people (St. Anthony, please help!). This was SOME of what I found in the couches last week. The cushions don't come off, so I was digging deep. Yuck!

If you'd like to help with this prayer intention, we specifically would like to find the 2 missing Leapster games (belong to someone else), my watch, baby's best shoes, and 2 schoolbooks of MC's. Thanks!

I'm making it through this last week at "home" by keeping busy and trying not to think about it too much. I just can't believe that in one week we'll be living in a different home in a new city. Thanksgiving will be a week after we move, so we'll be back for that and likely for a few visits in December. So it won't be a real goodbye, but it will be a goodbye to our house and our comfort zone, and if I think about it too much I'll get sappy...and I better just go to bed now. Good night!

Honey Harvest with Videos, November 2011

2011-11-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

(Videos at the bottom)
This weekend was time to harvest the honey! On Friday we moved the hive to our friends' house down the street. The guys have had so much fun working on this hive over the past months. Finally, it was time to see the fruit of their labors!

Moving the hive in the back of the truck

Thomas enjoying their backyard toys while the daddies were working

The hive's new home

The next morning, it was time for the harvest! The guys got some "real" bee suits this time! Aren't they cute?

Again, kids playing while the daddies are working, at least until we got sent inside when the bees started swarming!

Checking out the frames full of honey!

Scraping off the capped honey

Then using the extractor machine to spin it off the comb

Time for a break playing in the backyard, he requested his photo taken!

Look at all that honey! Much more than they expected!

Pouring the honey into a pitcher

and then into baby food jars

Our friends even made cute labels to put on the jars!

This has been a great learning experience for everyone! We look forward to continuing our bee adventures, whether long-distance or close to home. We'll see how things go. We're also looking forward to joining the 4H group that our new homeschool group participates in. Should be fun!

And here are the videos...

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T20:07:00.000-06:00

The past few years, we've spent Halloween night with friends from our homeschooling group. With 4 families, together we have 16 kids (plus one on the way!). It's encouraging that even though one family has moved overseas, they can usually still make it back for this special celebration. It was an eventful 2 days with our All Saints party the night before. I was so happy that Steven was able to stay in town to share this night with us. Lots of fun memories (and here is a link to past years)! Maybe we'll make it back next year!

I was having some camera issues! But here's most of the crew.

Thomas the sweet lion

Steven Joseph changed his costume plans multiple times, but ended up choosing to be a Texans football player.

Ellie the ballerina

3 of the 4! Mary Clare was an Irish Dancer and even wore her tap shoes!

As soon as we let them out the front door it's nearly impossible to keep track of this crowd. The kids are on fast-forward and we end up in 3 or more groups of faster big kids, slower younger kids, and the little toddlers hanging behind with the parents :-)

Again, camera issues here, but I love Tommy's smile on Daddy's shoulders!

Somehow I convinced them to all take a picture before the candy fest!

Best buds!

Friends forever :-)

And one pic of the candy fest! What a fun night!

We are so grateful for our friendships and hopeful that they will continue over the miles!

All Saints' Day Festival 2011

2011-11-03T10:47:00.002-05:00

Marching into the annual All Saints Day Party!

So excited!

Little guy was dwarfed a bit by his habit; it'll fit much better next year!

He was a little St. Joseph with his hammer

Ellie as St. Maria Goretti

Steven as St. George, on his horse and ready to fight a dragon!

Mary Clare as St. Therese the Little Flower.

I didn't quite get the appropriate brown habit made. Oh well.

The saint parade begins!

Daddy and Tommy

Games!

Croquet?

St. Anthony's Lost and Found

Make a Bouquet for Mary

Sewing with St. Anne

All Souls Chapel

St. Patrick's Shamrocks

All Saints Bingo

Knock Down the 7 Deadly Sins Pinata

St. John Bosco Bouncy Castle

St. Sebastian Bowling

and top it off with a yummy potluck dinner!

Some real Dominican Sisters even came (see right)

And my sweet boy, sans costume, dipping a stick in the dirt and eating it.

Loving our night at the farm!!!

Another fun time celebrating the saints!

I'd love to write more...

2011-11-01T21:39:00.003-05:00

And hopefully I'll get some Halloween and All Saints pictures up soon. But tonight I've got to get to bed. Because this adorable little guy keeps me going all day long. He took one 45-minute nap today, and the rest of the day was spent eating crayons and board books, trying to plug things into outlets, throwing cabinet contents around the room, climbing on chairs like this, and just being as cute as can be! My favorite thing is when he says "Mama" over and over again and just looks at me with the happiest grin. Our conversation goes..."Mama!" "What?" "Mama!" "Yes, baby." "Mama!" "Oh I love you!" and I smother him in kisses. So adorable.

7 Quick Takes

2011-10-28T07:17:00.003-05:00

--- 1 ---

We are really moving. This is our rental home! I'm very excited and tiring of this single-parenting thing. The house is very similar to our current layout and I hope it will be an easy transition. The thing I like most is the big sunroom behind the living room. It will be a wonderful place for toys and other fun kid stuff! The living and sunroom are both tiled, which should be a big help in keeping the floors clean in a rental!

--- 2 ---

My father-in-law ordered me to post some photos of our clean house last weekend! After the garage sale on Saturday (which was a bust, by the way, hardly any traffic), the guys were outside cleaning up, fixing some siding, and our sweet neighbor was also helping with the kids. I had about an hour and a half to clean the house for a showing. I was AMAZED at how much I got done with NO KIDS inside! It felt so good to be able to clean the whole house all by myself.

--- 3 ---

We got Netflix. Yo Gabba Gabba has been one of Steven Joseph's favorite shows to watch. This might be the most ridiculous show I've ever seen. Am I missing something? What was so wrong with Mr. Rogers? The kids shows these days are really, really strange and kinda creepy.

--- 4 ---

Our big boy had his one month post-surgery check-up on Monday. Thankfully, Daddy had some meetings in Houston and was able to come. He got the all-clear to go back to normal activities, everything except contact sports. We're so happy he's doing so well!

Notice how Daddy was enjoying the Toy Story movie and SJ was up to no good, probably about to leap off the exam table onto the rolling doctor chair. Then as soon as Daddy left and it was time for an x-ray, he threw a big tantrum. I was just thinking we were over the doctor/nurse fears after being traumatized by what he went through those 4 days in the hospital. But I guess he had to finish it off with a bang! Thomas had a screaming fit there for awhile too, since I had to leave him with a nurse to deal with his tantruming brother in the x-ray room.

--- 5 ---

Thomas and Thomas. Little guy warmed up to big grandpa last week. Mama appreciated having another adult around the house. I know the kids will have special memories of BopBop reading and writing about the Divine Mercy and St. Faustina, and teaching them good lessons.

--- 6 ---

Thomas is really keeping me on my toes! He can now climb chairs and likes to sit and color. He's trying to talk and tell us all kinds of things, like in this first photo where he's starting to make the 'th' sound. He likes to eat pencils and crayons. But his FAVORITE thing to eat is cardboard. Most of the moving boxes around the house have the corners eaten off, same with the board books. He also likes regular paper and toilet paper, but I think cardboard is his favorite treat!

--- 7 ---

SJ painted this yesterday for Daddy. He's even learning to write his name, so cute!

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For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Our Lady of the Toothbrushes

2011-10-26T00:20:00.001-05:00

This is the week of the year where we talk a lot about the saints of the Church. The kids are trying to choose a saint to dress up as for All Saints' Day and this weekend's big celebration at the farm. We're doing a lot of preparation these days, and not just for the holidays. We have a house to prepare for new renters, our belongings to prepare for a new home, children to prepare for a move. There are big decisions going on each day, and it's easy to lose focus and get caught up in the excitement.

At some point I inherited this sweet statue of Our Lady. It has a container in the back, likely for a small bouquet or flower arrangement. I'm not sure how it ended up in our master bathroom, but somehow it did. And at some point, someone started putting toothbrushes in it! I've hesitated about this; it seems somewhat sacrilegious to put toothbrushes, toothpaste, and even a razor in a Mary statue! And I have to wonder what people think when they're touring our home and see this interesting juxtaposition.

But is it really a juxtaposition? Don't we always remind ourselves that God is with us in the little things? Like we are reminded by St. Therese (Mary Clare's saint of choice this year), we should be doing all the little things for God. Even brushing our teeth! And Mary, maybe more than any other saint, was someone who had a true juxtaposition in her life. Being Mother to Our Lord, to God himself. How she must have known that each little detail of her life was devoted to raising her Son in a Holy Family. How they must have loved each other in the little things. How prayer would have been central to every action she did as a mother. I love this image of Mary hanging laundry with the baby Jesus at her feet. A beautiful thing to ponder...

Whenever I'm tempted to move the toothbrushes to a more appropriate container, I end up convincing myself that they are just fine right there. That having a reminder of Mary's example of quiet prayer and unity with God in her family life is something I can strive for as a mother. I believe she was the perfect Mother, which is why God chose her for His Divine Son. And though I am very, very far from perfect, I can emulate her actions and ask her to pray for me to be a good mother. Even when I'm brushing my teeth.

Down by the Bay

2011-10-24T01:03:00.000-05:00

We went "down by the bay" last week to house hunt and be with Steven during some of his workweek. We had a nice time, although we didn't find a house until we got home!

On Monday we got a membership to the Aquarium! Here are the kids before the dolphin show. This is going to be a great afternoon outing once we move. We went at about 2pm and the crowds were very light. The kids will get to talk to trainers and get in lots of "real" science lessons here!

Love this spot for photos! So beautiful!

I was so proud of myself for petting a sting ray. I tend to associate them with the death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, and I had no interest in petting them. But I realized that the kids wouldn't try if I didn't do it, and sure enough both the girls tried right after I did. A happy mom moment :-)

Isn't this bald eagle beautiful?

I was very proud of Ellie for answering the speaker's question about what the largest mammal is! She knew it was a Blue Whale, and couldn't believe that someone might not know that when I praised her later that day. Kudos to their Animal Scientist Daddy!

This was neat because there was a diver in the aquarium during the talk!

This sting ray was really big!!!

We look forward to many more days at the Aquarium! They have a large splash pad and sandbox too, so the kids can't wait to try those out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

NeNe and PaPa came down to the bay for a night and helped with the kids while I ran around looking at houses and dance studios!

Our last outing before leaving town was the Schoenstatt shrine, right down the road from the bay house where we stayed! Here are the kids and NeNe and PaPa with the founder (I think).

This is my life! CRAZY!

heading into the little chapel...

As we were leaving we ran into a sweet nun who said she would pray for our intention to find a house for our family. Sure enough, the next day I found one! And it looks like we might have found renters for our home too. Thanks be to God!

Time for a moving sale!

2011-10-22T07:59:00.001-05:00

Coming up for air

2011-10-21T23:34:00.001-05:00

What a week! We spent 3 nights "down by the bay" to look at houses (and went to the aquarium pictured below) and then came home to a busy 2 days of co-op, ballet, and garage sale prep! Tomorrow is our big sale and hopefully we'll get rid of a lot of stuff!

After checking out a bunch of homes and a couple ballet schools, we've possibly found a rental home, which of course happened the day after the kids and I left town! So things could maybe happen pretty soon and we could find ourselves living in a new house in just a couple weeks!

We have Steven's dad here helping, and we'll have SJ's one month post surgery check up on Monday. Thomas has a runny nose and isn't sleeping well. I definitely could use some time to catch my breath!

No rest for the weary, though! Gotta get a few more things out for the sale! Happy weekend, everyone!

House Hunters

2011-10-18T00:31:00.001-05:00

Spending my nights watching House Hunters and my days AS a house hunter. Today, I'm loving this tree.