Lent, So Far...

Well.  Just when you think you know how things will go... 

This was March 14, I kid you not.

We all had our Lenten sacrifices planned.  I had the purple cloth neatly arranged on our family altar. 

And then we got some news that took our offerings to a new level. 

OK, I'm being a little dramatic here, so let me just state the facts.  One of our children has been diagnosed with a bunch of pretty severe food allergies.  I have always felt really sorry for families who had major dietary restrictions, but never quite imagined it could be us.  I mean, we like food waaaay too much for that to happen around here. 

But, alas, we are in the thick of figuring out how to feed a child who can't have any grains except quinoa, corn, seeds, nuts, or legumes.  Thanks be to God we can still have dairy and eggs.  And bacon.  I mean the rest of us can still have whatever we want, but we're trying to be in solidarity here. 

On Wednesday night, when Joy was gone, we ordered pizza as fast as our little fingers could dial the phone. 

So, that's that. 

In other news, we can finally see the (brown) grass in our yard!!  Spring weather must be right around the corner.  In desperation the other day, I pulled out an oldie but goodie to keep Baby occupied.  I sort of forgot that in our other kitchens, we had vinyl or laminate or tile...  something other than hardwood! 

playing with my camera settings.  see how I managed to capture the splashes?

 So, we ended up with some puddles on the floor, but little Man was super happy playing in a tub of water for a long time. 

the shirt says it all.

 After a while, we decided to ditch the soggy clothes. 

 And then Big Sister, who just couldn't resist, joined in the fun. 

 

Never fear, kids!  Before you know it, we'll be at the pool! 

 

 

And then, Spike had his final basketball tournament of the year.  They even pulled out a win to make their record 2-11.  Everybody knew it would be a building year.  :)

 

The family cheering section!

time out

a baby and his cousin

Spike and I  (I was tempted to write 'me and spike' but my homeschooling self wouldn't allow it).

biggest fan

chillin' with Grandma, Pada, and pizza between games

Hope things are thawing out (if they were frozen) wherever you are!! 

Looking Forward

Spring teased us this week.  She showed up for a few days, giving us reason to bring the lightweight jackets out of storage and roll down the windows in the van...  Then she disappeared again behind today's resurgence of winter...   Oh well.  At least we know she hasn't forgotten us completely.

I've had about enough of posting snowy pictures, though, so today I'll focus on looking ahead to warmer days...

Here's a list of some things I'm looking forward to:

1.  My brother and sister-in-law moving home from abroad with their 3 little boys in 11 days.  We're counting the minutes.

2.  The rest of Lent.  Love Lent.  Love the sacrifices and focused prayer that make Easter all the sweeter.  I'm off my favorite ipad game, and I'm trying to wear skirts on Fridays.  Check out Skirting up for Lent at femgenius.com.

3.  Our parish's annual fish fry.  It's the best, and I'm not just saying that.  Everything is homemade, home fried, so yummy.  And I love the crowded church hall with people from all around our church's little community, Catholic and otherwise, gathered for food and friendship. 

4.  Tulips and daffodils.  Kid 118 and I planted bulbs last fall, so I'm really hoping for colorful flowerbeds in a few weeks.  If they don't come up, we'll just enjoy the neighbors flowers, and I'll try not to be too sad...

5.  Pool days.  Flip-flops.  Coat-less weather.  Planting the garden.  First Communions.  Easter Dresses.  Spring Cleaning. 

Happy Wednesday!

Sunday Morning... In Like a Lion

We went to Mass last evening in anticipation of another snowfall overnight.  We thought there might be a chance that CCD (Sunday School) would be cancelled today, and we were correct.  The weather situation isn't horrible, but when  your church is on a county road in the middle of a cornfield, it's one of the last places the snowplows visit. 

Hence, this morning has been an unusual Sunday morning at home...  I documented the day and the weather from indoors, of course, since Daddy was home to get the snow blower fired up.  I offered, but since he insisted...  Baby and I decided to stay in our jammies as long as possible. 

the view from inside our front door

Some of us preferred to stay in the house...

looks like we need to do a little more child-proofing



all that white outside the window...  hope it's gone by the end of the month!

Some ventured out...  But not Mommy, so we only have pictures of comings and goings...

note the pink cheeks

the messy mudroom. 

funny.  faithful about wearing her new glasses!

hammy - sneaks in whenever he can!

It's a pretty snowfall, actually, and not as cold as it has been.  Here's hoping, though, that the old adage comes true...  March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb...

living room view.   this is what happens to your house when you raise  your kids to be bookworms.  This is less cluttered than usual, actually. :)

trouble, I'm sure.

finally dressed!

serious on purpose.

a little warming up with some tea and the Drudge Report

Later this afternoon, we're making a family trek to see Frozen!!  Baby and I are the only ones who haven't seen it yet.  This will be Baby's first time in a theater, and my first time in a theater since I saw The Help with my sister-in-law about 2 1/2 years ago...  You bet I'm getting popcorn!!

I think I made it 6/7 on my 7 posts in 7 days promise...  Maybe I'll sneak in another later tonight to make up for my failure yesterday...

Happy Sunday!! 

Mr. 22 Months

My Baby is almost 2.  How is this possible, I ask you!!?? 

When folks inquire about his age, I struggle to mentally compute and then choke when I reply, "almost 22 months."  Almost 22 months!!!!! 

It is a happy/sad thing when your children grow up, though...  You miss the previous phases, but the new ones are so much fun, too!! 

Right now, he is toddling about saying the darndest things...  Daddy claims he said, "I love Daddy,"  the other day, but there were no witnesses.  Not that anyone would mind if he said that...  It's just a little suspicious...

He loves to talk about owls:  baby owls, mommy owls, Ga-ma owls, hawks, and baby hawks.  He is also developing a love of cows.  They say mooooo, you know? 

The emergence of speech is such a fun experience.  It's something new every day.  So, how can I be sad about that?  I promise I'm not...  Just hoping to cherish every day as these phases pass too quickly.

His current vocabulary also includes the following:  pizza, cheese, apple, issa (it's a)________, wazzat? (what's that?), cracker, books, truck, car, put down (as in, 'put me down!'), kee-kee (kitty), doggy, mommy, daddy, hu-see (sister's name), di-der (brother's name), football, ba-ball (basketball), hello, hi, bye, oh no!, all done, water, gamma, pada, coffee, hot, cookie, birdie...  I'm sure there are more. 

 

So big...  he can even watch the Super Bowl! 

 

 

This little dude brings much joy to our whole family.  What a blessing he is!!  We are very grateful for the almost-2 years of his presence in our lives.  Hugs and Kisses, Baby!!  I promise to change your screen name soon.  

Photo Dump from My Phone

Thanks to my sweet husband, I am just a teeny bit ahead of the technological dark ages. Without him, I'd surely still be using a phone with a cord and my Brother word processor from college. Sometimes, he has to take the bull by the horns and get all the pictures off my phone for me, a task he completed the other day after a conversation that went something like this:

Him: Do you have ios7 (or something that sounded like that) on your phone?

Me: Um.... yes?

Him: No you don't. Give me your phone.

  And now I have an old/new phone that is completely transformed. But, the point of this post is to display never-before-seen pictures from events (some more important than others) where I forgot my real camera. These date back as far as 2 years ago... or maybe more...


maybe 3 months old?



one of my favorite baby outfits.. and babies... and 10 year olds...



mommy/baby selfie!  not sure where we were



at a Lego club meeting about a year ago, I think



just barely squeezing into that cart! 

US geography fair!  We had Ohio, obviously...  this was 1.5 years ago...



First Halloween.  Best baby costume ever. Wanted one of the other kids to be fries, but no takers.



chillin' between games at a tournament last year.



She dances wherever she goes.  This is the botanical gardens about 1.5 years ago.



Same day at the botanical gardens.  One of my favorites.

Little traveler.  One year ago at the NWBA national tournament.



Little capitalists.  Last Spring.



Another Selfie.



*heart* our kitties.  They're always snuggling up in funny ways.



big sissie/baby brother selfie (or maybe little sister photography?)

Joy's rendition of us in 1989 - I think she is a little off on her dad's decade...mine is fairly close, unfortunately.



last Fall's fencing class!  It was great!  This is Spike vs. Kid118.



On a field trip last October, we got up close and personal with some farm animals.



Guess who was not a big fan of the close proximity with cattle.



Sad selfie.  At a another basketball tournament this winter. 

New Year's Day selfie!  Out to lunch with friends on a rare New Year's Day off. 



Ice skating on a relatively warm day in January. 



Recent taekwondo tournament - 2 second place medals for sparring and forms!!

 

Thanks for taking this little trip down memory lane!  If you want more, there are 486 others where these came from...


 

Yarn Along

I have long been lurking at this link-up...  I love to see what others are knitting and reading.  I've picked up some great ideas for both knitting projects and book selections.

Today, I'm actually joining in....

This Christmas, we decided to pare back the number of gifts we gave our children.  We limited ourselves to giving one bigger gift, one small gift, and one homemade gift per child.  Unfortunately, I failed to finish gifts for 2 of my boys.  But, never fear, they have finally been completed!

And here they are:

boys in beanies!

In the reading category, I have far too many books going at once, as per usual...  But, at the top of my list is Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  I also started this one last night.  I'm previewing it for my daughter and had a bit of difficulty putting it down last night...  Hence, we're running late this morning...

Have a great day!

A Day at the Soup Kitchen

This year, because I'm just a little bit crazy, I conned my friend Coleen into joining my mission to revive the youth group at our church.  We're not alone...  A sweet older couple who have been in charge of the youth for a loooooong time are still very much involved, but have asked for help with organizing events on a regular basis.  

I'm not sure if it was the promptings of the Holy Spirit or just my tendencies toward overbooking myself, but either way, for the cause of the youth of our dear parish,  my friend and I stepped forward. 

So, Sunday afternoon, 7 middle and high school kids and I loaded up after Mass and trekked to our city's soup kitchen to volunteer.  The kids served food, chopped veggies, and helped wherever needed.

My daughter Joy, her good friend and I went across the street to clean the homeless shelter (which is closed on Sundays).  Oh my.  It was dirty.

All the kids want to go back.  I do, too.  It is just really good to step outside your comfort zone, to get perspective on the little things that seem like huge problems but really aren't, and to do something for those less fortunate.

Another perk was getting to know some of the kids a little bit better.  Christian community is important.  I feel super-blessed to have spent a few hours with these neat young people.