Trick or Treat

 Since we'll be out of town for Halloween, we decided to visit our zoo's 'spooky' event today to give everybody a chance to dress up.  These costumes turned out pretty well considering they were put together in about 15 minutes (including construction of Victor's hat by Lucy). 

The ballerina.  Not sure what's up with that sassy pose.

The cowgirl in my old hat.  Sometimes hoarding has its benefits.

Robin Hood.  He made the weapons himself.

Steelers fan dressed as a Colts player.  If I had a quarter for every person to whom he explained that today...

'Tis the season...

...for coughs and stuffy noses and kids passing bugs back and forth between siblings and friends (and grown-ups, too!). 

...for 10 catalogs in the mail per day!!  Just the thing to encourage materialism in every single member of your household!  They are pretty fun to look at though, I must admit...

...for Christmas decor in every store.  I walked into the mall with my eldest son the other day, and he quipped, 'Hey mom, Merry Christmas!'  Pretty funny for a little dude whose jokes are usually ter.ri.ble. 

...to really enjoy wearing sweaters.  It's a lovely day when it's sunny but cool, and all you need is one extra layer to keep the chill out. 

...to take a nice vacation.  Well, maybe not exactly, but we're doing it anyway!!  My brother and his wife are moving overseas soon (sniff, sniff), so we're making a family voyage to Tennessee to spend some extra time with my siblings and parents. 

...for pumpkins, and lots of them.  I LOVE pumpkins, don't know why.  They make me happy with their funny shapes and cheerful color!!  We tried our hand at a pumpkin patch this summer, but our yield was limited (ie. one small pumpkin).  No matter!!  We made our annual trip to my favorite pumpkin patch and came home with more orange than we really needed.  Then the farmers who live behind us donated a few more!!  i am in gourd heaven. 

...for bedtime.  Daddy's working nights, but I'm sure my kids will be perfectly cooperative about going to sleep...  as usual...   haha. 

Happy Fall!

Sunday Recap

After muscling through Sunday School and Mass today (poor Daddy has been working nights and was running on about 1 hour of sleep), a couple of unnamed grownups in this house crashed in separate rooms for afternoon naps (not that we would have minded being in the same room!  It just didn't happen that way).  We both have good excuses, mind you, and I was in the living room in case of disaster...  There weren't any, fortunately, except for excessive TV-watching while I slept... 
Even after the monster nap I managed to sneak in, I was still moving slowly from the couch, so Victor, age 6, took it upon himself to fix dinner.  God bless him.  Here was the menu:
-leftover pancakes (warmed up by himself in the microwave)
-sweet pickles
-apple slices (cut by big sister, whom he recruited for the task)
-crackers

A pretty well-rounded meal for a first grader, don't you think?  I was quite proud of him.  He even set the table all by himself. 

Then, I had another visit from the 'grown up' named 'Jewel', and this time it was for her baby's one-year birthday party.  After I complimented her on the cake, she explained, "Oh, actually, her grandmother made it!"  Telling!!!  Thanks, Grandma, for all the birthday cakes you've helped me with over the years!!  At least one little person is paying attention!!

After I revived a bit and was feverishly lesson and meal-planning, Jewel transformed into a princess in need of a tea party.  I acquiesced as I thought she was happy playing by herself.

  "Madame, wouldn't you like to try some tea?" was the next request.  I put my type-A tendencies aside for a few minutes and sat down for a little sugar water and crackers.

 "Oh, could you please help me?  Sometimes I get it a little too full..." the princess asked ever-so-politely.  The teacups are tiny and require lots of refilling.  So, again, my to-do list was pushed aside.  All for a good cause. 

Happy Sunday!  Have a great week!

A Decade of Lucy



Walking at 10 months

  This child has been vocal, headstrong, and determined from the second she was born (no exaggeration).  She broke us into parenting with the force of a hurricane. 

 This has made for some interesting developmental phases along the way, but throughout her life, she's balanced her willful personality with sweetness, affection, and a strong sense of humor.

One of my favorite pictures with Uncle Phil at age 2.

 Dear Lucy, we are very proud of the young lady of virtue you are becoming.  We've seen you stand up for what is right, even when that's difficult.  Your big smile and fun-loving nature shine.

Tomorrow you turn 10.  It's a bit hard for me to believe.  I feel so blessed to be your mom.  You are such a help to me, and your siblings admire you so much!!  My prayer for you on your birthday is that you continue to grow in your faith, remaining true and developing more into the person God created you to be.  Have a great day, Loops!!!

First Holy Communion

Yesterday was a very happy one for our family.



Receiving the scapular

 After much thought and prayerful consideration last Spring, we decided to delay Ignace's First Communion by a few months to allow for more preparation.

 We were blessed that our decision was a good one, and yesterday's Mass was exceptionally beautiful. 

 We had a private Mass celebrated by Father/Uncle Earl, Father Alex, and Deacon/Uncle Trevor.  The alter servers are all cousins.

 And here are lots more cousins.  Only 3 were missing yesterday.  These kiddos are always happy to see each other.

God bless you, Ignace!!

Fall Fun

Love this dress that Grandma and Pada got in Ecuador.  Won't be too many more days to wear this warm-weather outfit!

Wow - I'm a little behind on documenting all the fun stuff we've been doing in the past couple months.  Thanks to my sister-in-law, I discovered a website that prints out blogs!!  I had 4 years compiled into one book that is really fun to read (for us, anyway!! Probably not so much for anybody else...).  So, trying to keep track of the little moments we'd like to remember....

Our little friend has been spending Tuesdays with us while her big sister undergoes chemotherapy.  Please keep Anna and her family in your prayers.

We tagged along with Daddy, who had a conference in Cleveland, so we could visit our good buddies there!!

Victor and his Godmother.  Cleveland has this really great metropark.

Loops and I spent a morning serving apple dumplings at our local Johnny Appleseed festival.  It was a fundraiser for our local Ballet company.  The festival requires all workers to wear costumes true to the time period when good 'ol Johnny lived.  All the crafts are made from natural materials, too.  There are cannons, drum and fife cores, bagpipes.  Lots of fun, but also lots of people.  Not terribly wheelchair-friendly. 

Fairies made of mulch and garden-finds

A delightful performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by the Youth Company.  We were all spectators at this one after ballet class, but many friends were in the show.  The costumes were so beautifully done.

Last week, we had a field trip to a Pickle Factory.  The highlight was the sampling at the end.  Don't let the facial expression in the photo above deceive you.  This little dude was in pickle heaven.  He loves them and probably ate an entire jar from the sampling station.