Let the Little Ones Come

Strawberry Shortcake Cake!

 

The Pioneer Woman has created the most marvelous Strawberry Shortcake Cake.  I am making it for Memorial Day Week-end.  We have been invited down to Bill's sister's and her husband's "ranch" for the week-end.  I will be the most popular aunt ever if I make this!!  And that's saying something with 9 nieces and nephews to impress.  ;)

Doesn't it look like pure bliss?

I won't be able to eat anything but salad all day if I want a piece but I think it will be worth it!

 

Prayers for a gentle soul

Meg's godfather passed away Saturday morning at the age of 78.  He had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis a few years ago and had begun to suffer terribly from this disease.  He was a gentle, loving soul and a father to five, grandfather to 11.  He will be sorely missed.  Please pray for the repose of his soul.  

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Amen.

Voting Our Conscience

catholicvote.com has a wonderful video that really shows the power of voting without compromising our faith and values.

First Holy Communion

Paul received his First Holy Communion this past Saturday, May 3. It was a very beautiful Mass and I cried when I saw him process in with the First Communicants. He looked so happy and innocent and full of joyful faith!

Marie's godmother, Janet, saved the day. We couldn't find our camera, my parents couldn't find their camera, Janet had her camera. Thank God for Janet! :) Here are the pictures she took for us:

Paul surrounded by his sisters and friends of the family:

My mother and us with our First Communicant:

The Happy Family with the Happy Boy:

Sorry the picture is sideways--I don't know how to download Janet's CD to iPhoto to correct it, yet. I will fix it soon, I hope!

A bouncy house is necessary when you have a big celebration!

Isn't the cake lovely? It had raspberry filling--it was delicious!!

Paul's godparents, Katherine and Doug, gave him a special John Paul II Rosary that was also blessed by John Paul the Great in Rome five years ago. They have been holding on to it for all those years to give to Paul on this special day!

We are so thankful to God for friends, family and the beauty of our Faith! Thanks be to God for a wonderful day and for Paul's first encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. I pray he will continue to grow in love of the Eucharist more and more with each passing day.

A Big Day for my Big Girls

Tomorrow is a big day for Meg (12) and Grace (10). Meg (below at her Christmas recital) will be attending her first Solo and Ensemble Band Contest!

Grace (below at her dress rehearsal for Irish Fest) will be attending her first Feis.

Please pray that the girls have fun and do their best! Bill and I will be splitting up to get them to their destinations and I will have baby Joseph with me as I navigate Grace through her first Irish dance competition. Here's hoping her wig stays put! ;)

ETA: The girls did their best! Meg bravely played her solo and managed to make it through in one piece; the judge was very kind with her praise and criticism and offered to call her when she is in town for some lessons! A good day for my Meg! :) Grace received a first place in her 4-Hand Reel and placed 5th in her reel (solo). This is pretty awesome considering it was her first feis and she was competing against 20+ in each dance! Baby Joseph was pretty popular with the crowds, too! :)

Prayers for a soul and for me

--Will's gravestone, January 2006

Yesterday was the fourteenth anniversary of our firstborn son's death. We actually always try and celebrate Will's feast day by visiting his grave and remembering his brief life. Some years this means a little party, some years just a quiet remembrance during our family Rosary. This year, my dear husband visited his grave on his lunch hour yesterday and found that his gravestone was stolen. Apparently (according to the cemetery employee), this kind of thing is not uncommon as people steal gravestones to melt them down for the copper as it is quite valuable. :(

God protected me from witnessing this. We were going to visit Will's grave today and now we will just wait until we have a new gravestone. Please pray for whoever did this and for me to forgive him.

St. Will, pray for us.

Amen.

The Week in Review

Last week was our first week of school. To say it went smoothly would be a bold lie. For various and sundry reasons, I am having a hard time pulling together the finishing touches to the children's lesson plans but I am ALMOST done gathering together all the basics and now that their new Math-U-See books (that were back-ordered) are in transit to our happy home, I feel like the school year will be officially under way.

Highlights of the week include:

Baby Joseph playing with the toy kitchen while I try to explain place value to Rose (no, don't worry, that banging of toy pots and pans really helps with concentration!).

Baby Joseph helping Mommy fold that dreaded laundry in a hurry--it's taking up precious workspace at the kitchen school table. The first week of school loses its ambience when you have to push over the princess panties to do your handwriting. :S

What a Montessori protege! He is taking this practical life skill thing to a new level!! And at only 7 1/2 months!!

Meg spends over an hour sharpening the new prismacolors in celebration of what I hope and pray will be a new year of artistic endeavors with our nature notebooks and picture study only to cause me a bit of worry when she remarks: "Wow, do you know they have over 20 shades of grey?" Hmmm....

And my baby girl turned 3! Isn't she cute? She got her little "nermaid" party and looks cute as a button in this rather darkish photo--why so gloomy? Well, my camera's batteries were about to die...I got a whopping 4 photos of Marie's special day...

But all those veteran moms who used to tell me that life does get a bit easier when the kids get older were RIGHT!! Meg made this for Sunday dinner last night; my only gripe--she should have doubled the recipe--there were no left-overs!!

And I can't resist posting this cute little photo of baby Joseph making his patron proud praying the family Rosary....

Here's to a new week of mishaps and adventures! :)

Steppin' Out With My Baby...

Both my babies, in fact! ;) Aren't my guys cute? Baby Joseph's godfather turned 65 and we attended a surprise birthday party in his honor. It was fun and the baby was the hit of the party!

He has finally done it!

Well, my dh is like all fathers with a well-sized family...busy trying to cram a lot of love into his family's waking hours and spending his late-nights trying to scratch just one more thing off that massive to-do list.

But I am glad he finally decided to take a little time to blog. Why? Because, he is pretty smart, nice, easy-going, caring, loving..well, you get the idea--I think he's very special or I wouldn't have married him, obviously! Actually I think there has only been one person in the 18 1/2 years I have known Bill who didn't like him...(And he had to work for her for a few years and he even did that cheerfully and courageously). Everyone loves Bill--really. So go check out his blog and "meet" him! He's great!

Gregory John is born!

Deo Gratias!

My dearest friend, Katherine, has had her baby!

Doug and Katherine are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy--Gregory John Johnson, born today at 1:05 p.m. He is very healthy and doing well, as is his mother. He weighed in at 7 lb 4 oz and is 19 3/4 inches long!

Let us pray:

"The Lord said to Jeremiah:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you." Jeremiah 1:5

May God, in whose presence our ancestors walked, bless you. May God, who has been your shepherd from your birth until now, keep you. May God, who saves you from all harm, give you peace.

Amen.