Ramblings of a tired mommy

Yesterday we went to St. Kenneth Church in Plymouth to do our Little Flowers service project. We donated items and filled Easter bags for St. Christine's soup kitchen. Below is a picture of my godson, Mikey, "helping" with the eggs. Here's Hannah filling one of the many bags. What a great project this is for the girls!
Here's Katie putting a doodle book into one of the bags. We put in water paints, doodle books, toothbrushes, fun little toys, candy filled eggs, and other items.
Today we crashed grandma's house and she even had new outside toys to play with. It was big fun!
And here's Mary Therese in her new sun hat.

Now for my ramblings. We finished up our Catholic Scripture study on the Passion last night. I missed a couple of the classes but really got a ton out of the classes I went to. It's not always easy to get there and I tend to be really tired at night but it's so worth it when I make it there! Brandon and I did our lesson together a couple of nights ago. Isn't it great when your kids are finally smarter than you and you can cheat off of them? ;) Brandon really seems to have a good grip on scripture and the catechism.

One of the questions was to reflect on the person that has been the most Christian influence in your life. That's a big question. I was not able to answer it with one person. When I look back on my life I see that it has been (and continues to be) quite a journey. Along that journey I've encountered so many people. And what a blessing they have all been in my life. They have all brought me closer to God in one way or another. Of course there's my family, my parents and brother, my husband and children, priests I have known. I think I'm about the most blessed person in the world to have the friends that I do. Without them I would be completely lost most days. I look to them for strength and courage and cry to them often. They set me straight and give me a soft place to fall. I think when you have so many Christian influences in your life you are so, so blessed. God knows what I need to get through the times when I just don't think I can go on. And I've learned to reflect on the beauty that each person I meet brings into my life. Even if the situation doesn't end well, there is always something to be learned, right?

On that note I am going to go pray for a bit before bed. It's a rare night of quiet here with even Mary Therese sleeping soundly. May God bless your day!!

The Passing Days.....

The days are passing quickly. Mary Therese is nearly 6 wks old already! I can't believe it. She's smiling and trying to "talk" already. She has a fussy time for a couple of hours every night. Daddy is pretty good at calming her down. I am usually pretty fried by then so am not much help.

Our days are pretty average right now. Below are pictures of Jackson, Samuel and Owen finger painting with the paints our good friend Colleen brought over for them. What a fun time they had! And what beautiful masterpieces!!


Grandma Jackson has been coming by for a couple of hours everyday to help out with whatever I need help with. What a HUGE thing that is! It's something to look forward to everyday. She generally folds laundry, dose dishes, and holds the baby. It's so nice to have another adult around to talk to. It's especially helpful at that time of day when there are kids freaking out and dinner to be made! I'm so blessed!!!
This week has been very warm! Below is a picture of Katie swinging at the park in our neighborhood. We went there on Sunday with Daddy, Monday with Grandma in the afternoon and in the evening with Daddy, and just for a long walk on Tuesday.
And for our last picture we have Jackson in his new outfit that grandma Jackson bought for him. Who knew that he'd get to wear shorts in March!
Well, the baby is calling and it's time to make dinner. Have a blessed day!!

The Baptism

Mary Therese was Baptized on Sunday, March 11. She did wonderfully (mom was a bit of a wreck). Anyway - everything went well. I am so blessed to have family and friends that bend over backwards to make my life easier. And as I look at the picture above I see how blessed I am to have so many healthy children (they're sleeping right now so I feel especially blessed, LOL).
Above is Mary Therese in the dress that Hannah, Katie, and I were Baptized in. Mary wore it to mass on her Baptism day but was given a gown by her Godmother to wear for the actual Baptism. As the seventh child I imagine she won't have much that's her own so a new Baptism gown was definately in order. Thanks Colleen :)
On Saturday while an actual cleaning company came in and cleaned my house Jesse, the kids, and I spent the morning at the Denja's house. It was a nice day out so the kids got some much needed outdoors time. We are so blessed to have friends like the Denjas that aren't put off by our *many* children. They not only allowed all of us to crash their Saturday morning but they also fed us lunch!

So, that's that. Brandon asked who read my blog and I said "no one" LOL. That's OK. It's a good journal for me and reminds me how blessed I am.

So you finally got your girl.....

Here's Mary Therese in her strawberry outfit from our favorite store, Baby Bliss.

I took Samuel, Jackson, and Mary Therese out for pictures today at the mall. I can't tell you how many comments of "so you finally got your girl" I got. I like the shock affect so I answered "I have two more girls and two more boys at home". Anyway - the people were all friendly but I just find it funny that they would make those comments. Like I would've stopped at two kids had I gotten the boy and the girl first, right?

Anyway - the other picture is just a snapshot of Jackson, Hannah, and Katie. They got some clearanced items from Lands' End that they wanted to show off. I will have to have my friend Leigh Anne show me how to post the pictures and then move them around on the page. Haven't figured it out yet.

Well - I've a pile of laundry to catch up on and I'm not feeling all that creative so I'm off.