Happy Birthday Jesse!

Happy Birthday to the best dad and husband I know.  We started the day with a big breakfast of eggs, biscuits, bacon, strawberries and orange juice (all but the strawberries are a rare treat around here).

Then we had a bit of a do nothing day until it was time for Mass.  Jesse and I got to go to dinner with Frances while my parents fed the kids (another treat!!). 

 

Then pie and cheesecake at mom and dad's....

Presents....

 

 

And now home to wait for Brandon to arrive in the wee hours of the morning.  It's hard to believe September is only hours away and tomorrow is Frances' Baptism!! 
Happy Saturday everyone!

Around the House Today {School, Prayers, and Frances is 5 Weeks!!}

Baby Girl is 5 weeks today!  The hustle and bustle of the house keeps her asleep in the day (and the quiet keeps her up most of the night)...babies are funny that way....She's doing well but might be getting sick of all the pictures.

 

Back to school time always evokes the need to change things around so we (Jesse and Owen) moved some furniture around, I swept and reorganized book shelves.  We made a short trip to IKEA where I managed to only get what I went for and here we are.  Sort of.  This room is where Mary and Cecilia will work.  The others will be in the front room, at the counter, or in their rooms.  7 official students this year!  My classroom keeps growing (thanks be to God) and I'm anxious to start.  We'll start late this year because of the new baby but really the world is our classroom so the kids have been soaking up books as they arrive in the mail....

Sam and Cecilia are comparing the outdoor thermometer to the tiny ones they have for school.

And we graduated to this HUGE calendar (we should have switched years ago).  There is plenty of space for our activities, Saint's Feast Days, appointments, birthdays and more. 

Last but not least please continue to pray for the DiLaura family (especially Angela).  I mentioned the other day that she was hurt in an accident.  She needs all the prayers she can get.  You can follow her progress HERE (care pages that the hospital and family sets up).  Thank you so much!

People Matter

{“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.}
Matthew 5:43-48


It happened again.  Jesse went out to his car early this morning for work and found a note (a "thank you" note...in a ziplock baggy) that read "thank you for not parking on the grass" or some such.  The same person wrote him the same note about a year ago.  Really?  He parked in the street up on the slanted curb and *maybe* a 1/2 inch on the grass.  Maybe.  It made me think...what do I do or say that's completely petty?  Grass and *things* aren't my thing but I know other things are.  Things that in the big picture of life (and eternity) don't matter a bit.  If there's one thing I want my kids to learn (after their Faith, of course) it's that people matter.  Things, grass, cars, clothes,  how big your paycheck is...none of that matters.  It's the people we interact with on an everyday basis that matter. And the people that we don't think we'll ever see again....they matter too.  And the down trodden, the poor, those that are different than we are in any way.  They ALL matter.  They matter because God says so, because HE put them here.  They matter because, like us, they are made in the image and likeness of God. 


Oh I'm sure this neighbor thinks our family doesn't matter to her.  I don't think she cares to cultivate and actual relationship with us because if she did she wouldn't do things like that....When Jesse told me about the note I first felt annoyed, of course, then I felt sorry for someone that cares so much about grass and so little about people (I'm not saying we don't have a responsibility to keep up our lawns because we do but I really wish I had a picture of where his car tire met her grass which really isn't hears because it's between the sidewalk and the road but anyway...)....

I've tried to instill in the kids that EVERYONE has a back story so I will give this woman the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe she had a bad morning or a bad weekend.  Maybe there was no coffee this morning or her mom is in the hospital or her husband left her.  Maybe Jesse's tire on her lawn was the last straw...but we have a back story too.  Maybe people, especially neighbors, could just be nice and look the other way.  It's not like he was throwing beer cans on her lawn or that he parks there all the time.  He rarely parks there. 

Today we are praying for a friend's young daughter.  She was hit by a car while riding her bike and is in critical condition.  Today of all days we recognize how fleeting life is and how every moment that we breath and everyday that we wake up is a GIFT.  In the end cars and lawns and even petty neighbors make no difference.  It's PEOPLE that make a difference and it's people that matter.

So, kids, if you're reading this now or in 20 years or after I'm dead please remember that.  Even when I freak out about the laundry I still know this is true.  I hope you do too and that you will pass it on. 

 

Gratitude Sunday {Happy One Month Frances!}

How is it possible that it's been a month already?  I just don't know.  I swore I wasn't going to bemoan the whole thing...that I wouldn't do the "she's one month already boo hoo" but, um, yeah...I'm doing it.  Crying that my baby is already a month.  She's 8lbs and still looks like a newborn...she nurses well and a TON and I still hear 500 times a day from the kids "Can I hold Frances?". 

Jesse's artwork is fabulous, as usual.  I have no talent and if it was up to me I'd slap a sticker on her chest that said "One Month" and call it a day.  I *did* make the dress she's wearing, though....if you don't look closely then you'll think it's well done.  :)

 

We came home from the grocery store to Hannah painting the girl's nails and Katie doing their hair.  Yay for big sisters who are young, creative, kind, and energetic.  They make up for their mother who is none of those things anymore but once was so maybe they learned a little something from her.  Maybe.

Praise God for sunshine, the end of summer, friends, family, a stocked fridge, good health, coffee, coffee, coffee and next week...Frances will be baptized!  Prayers for healthy kids welcomed (and appreciated).  Have a great week everyone and don't forget to count your blessings. 

 

7QT {Lots Of Baby Pictures And Some Whining}

1)  We got our picture disk from Gingersnapography (see the picture on the side for her Facebook page and contact information) last night.  Holy Cuteness.

2)  As I am going through our fall schedule I'm freaking out a bit.  (Alot)

3)  First I want to say that I am ENORMOUSLY GRATEFUL for everything that we have been blessed with (and everyone).  I wake up every morning and give thanks as soon as I open my eyes.

4,5,6 )  Also I respect all vocations equally and this is ONLY my opinion and experience...BUT :  If one more person asks me if I "work" or says "you don't work, right?" they are getting a full on, in detail schedule of my day.  I'm filling in our google calender, ordering books, making google doc after google doc for the budget, activities, chores, my school schedule, Explorers, Atrium, violin etc etc etc.  I'm managing 11 other people besides myself (Brandon is moving back to MI thanks be to God), nursing on demand, laundry, dishes, cooking, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, managing our "stuff" and yelling WAY too much.  Still people look at me like this is a nice "hobby" and isn't it "cute" that I play house all day instead of going out into the real world and earning a paycheck.  Well, to that I say "come on over".  I don't do a great job or even a good job, honestly, but it's work and there's no paycheck, no health insurance plan, alot of surly kids many days.  It's 24/7, 365 days a year with little to no "breaks".  So, yeah.  I DO work.  I don't do what society views as work but, yes, I work.  There are pros, of course, many of which I will never know about and I truly hope that what I do makes a difference in the Kingdom of God because, in the end, that's what matters.  But what I do  isn't a waste of an education, it's not secondary to any other vocation or profession, either.  It's what I've been called to by God.  It's not easy or fun some days and the lack of respect it attracts is frustrating to those of us that have laid down our lives (and bodies and careers) to do it.  I do think it's one of those *things* that can mostly be appreciated by those that have done it.  I know it's easy to say "just blow it off" when people ask if you "work" but really...it bruises on occasion (depending on the day).  These little ones (and big ones) keep needing me whether I'm a day out of giving birth, laying on the bathroom floor with the stomach flu, or just having a bad day.  There's no days "off" even if I'm not with them.  So, yeah.  I work.  And I'm sick of acting like it's OK for people to bash this vocation.  So..now I'll shut up.  (QT 7 below)

 

 

7)  A quote from Chesterton who says everything way better than I could : "How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness."
-- G.K. Chesterton in What's Wrong with the World

 

{Four Weeks}

Baby Girl is 4 weeks old today.  Unbelievable to me how fast the last four weeks went.  I'm always shocked at how new babies fit right in and it seems like they've always been there.  God is good.

Lots of loving still going on here.  Frances weighs it at just under 8lbs now.  She's nursing like a champ, loves to be in the sling or in the arms of her siblings.  God is good.

Jo Jo loves her baby too and has her in arms or nearby all the time.  She's so sweet and has had no issues adjusting to being the second youngest.  God IS good.

Off to enjoy a little quiet.  My mom has Mary, Cecilia, Clare, and Katie for a few hours. Frances is sleeping, the boys are busy with various things, and Josie is playing with her baby and horses.  GOD IS GOOD.  Have a blessed Thursday everyone.  Count your blessings and call it all joy.

Cheap Updates

A few years ago we found these chairs on clearance at IKEA.  White with (then 9) kids would be hard but they covers are washable and it was a great deal. So we went for it. I've washed them about once every six weeks since then but they are no longer coming clean.  I want to coffee with a friend yesterday who suggested dying them with Dylon Dye.  So last night Jesse and I went to Jo Ann's and a few hours later....A brand new chair (for less than $20)!!
 

The directions call for you to put it in the washing machine with an agitator but we don't have one (front loader...don't like it...that's another blog).  So Jesse opted for a rubbermaid in the bathtub.  You also add massive amounts of salt, let it soak for at least 30 minutes (we did about an hour and a half), rinse it in the washing machine, air dry and....

 

A brand new, not white, chair.  Yahoo!  We're dying the other chair green tonight and I see some prefold dying in my future!  Fun!

 

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

I snapped this today during the chaos of making lunch.  I glanced over and was reminded of the miracle and the gift of life.  I could sit and stare for hours. So grateful.  So not worthy.  So blessed.