7 quick takes (vol 6)

Clink on the image above to read other quick takes. Thanks Jen.

* Take 1*

Summer just isn't summer around here until you experience sweet corn!

And it's here!!

Summer Approved!

*Take 2*

Boy #2:
"Hey Mom, why do you have FLAMES on your belly?"
My response, "To show the burning love I have for all you kids!"
I had never thought of those stretch marks as flames before, but I kinda like that analogy.

I've got some pretty cool flames!


*Take 3*

Since our Baby got his 'big boy' haricut, we've spotted other babies in the yard:

A cardinal calling for Mama

And 4 Robins

Growing up IS something to cheer about!

*Take 4*
A Little science museum fun:

Making kaleidoscopes

Testing kaleidoscopes

Fun with mirage

And flight simulators

Over all, a great, warm day!

*Take 5*

When I grow up I want to make pizza's!

*Take 6*


As I was nursing the baby, boy # 3 says, "Is he done with the crunchy side?"
Confused, I questioned him to elaborate on his question and he replied:
"Well, which one is the food and which one is the milk?"

I informed him they are both milk and he said,
"I thought one was food so he could learn to eat crunchy stuff and one was a drink!"

Sorry people, no crunchy and creamy options coming from this mama! I'm not peanut butter!
 Can you imagine crunchy coming out of there?
Nope, just creamy!


*Take 7*
Here's a quote that touched me this morning:
"Life is not always the way we think it's supposed to be.  However, it IS the way it is.  The way we cope with it is what makes the difference."

In God's providence we can learn so much if we but open up to His plan for us and ask for the grace to see us through each day.  Much like a wedding vow, we can promise: To be true to Him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. It takes work, but in the end, I'm certain it'll be worth the effort!

A servant's Prayer by LM

Jesus, my Jesus..How marvelous your ways...Far more splendid than my mind can envision.  What an honor to be chosen by you.  A lowly child I am, but empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the great hope to which you have called me. I give myself totally to you, Lord. Take my imperfect heart and make it perfect. Peel away the hardness.  Close the doors I have opened to the temptations of this world.  Gently remove the roots of painful memories, sins, doubts and fears. Discard anything that seperates me from you. Lord, fill the emptiness with the light of your love that I might be a beacon calling the lost back to you.
To love as you love...
To serve as you serve...
To heal as you heal...
To forgive as you forgive...
Always mindful of my nothingness while doing great and marvelous things in your name and for your glory. This I pray, Jesus in Your Name. Amen

Have a Great Weekend!
I'll be spending mine gasping for air and finding new muscles as I attempt to run a 7 mile road race with my sisters.  I think I'm prepared - but some extra prayers would be nice.

7 quick takes (vol 5)

*Take 1*

Why does June go so fast? Always.  

It's here.

We adjust to summer break.

It's gone.

Poof!

Maybe we need to pick up the adjusting pace a bit so we can keep up?

*Take 2*

"7 is the best birthday ever!"

Some fishin'

Some trout

Some blue gill

Some family

Who could ask for anything more?

*Take 3*

Last day of swimming lessons:

"Hey you in the green, are you jumping?"

Too Fun!

With a bit of work

And great attitudes!

*Take 4*

My Super Heros!

 "Shirtless Super Heros, To the Rescue!"

I am so grateful for these young men.  

And their sister, who made sure they didn't "miss a spot!"

The polarized glasses helped. 

~Or so she says.

*Take 5*

Alert!

We have another teenager:

After her favorite meal of BBQ Ribs, this young lady is sure to have a great year!

We Love You!

*Take 6*

In less than 20 days, my baby will be 1.

Yes, he is still the baby!

*Take 7*

Maybe, just maybe, I'll do better blogging in July! That is if the one child who made the blog in June decides to stick around home.

Until next time...

Visit Conversion Diary for more 7 quick takes.

7 Quick Takes Friday! (Vol.4)

I feel way behind on the blogging, so I figured I would do it this way, this week!

Thanks for hosting, Jen!

-1-

Vincent's new trick

FYI, walking off the table just means you have to rub off the bump and get back on!

-2-

Michael's Growing

He's gone from a vacuum stalker to a soccer, football and golf fanatic.

We love you Michael!

Thanks for letting me coach the first half of your rainy practice today!

Maybe next time I fill in for Dad, I will be able to move faster.

Happy Birthday!

*see footnote for another story

-3-

Ok, so I'm going to quickly advertise the best birthday treats ever!

We bought them from our local SAMS club. I usually make my own treats for taking to school, but since we camped this past weekend, and Michael's birthday fell on Tuesday after a long weekend, I decided to take the easy road and try something new. I'm hooked!

-4-

Maybe it's because I know this babe is going to be here in a blink of an eye with the speed that summer seems to go, but one day this week I wondered. 'Why are we being blessed to bring another little one into this world - I can't handle what I have now!'

(I occasionally seem to get this way in the third trimester.)

Yes, I was overwhelmed one day this week. Kids were fighting all morning. The table used to be a safe place to put things, until Vincent learned how to climb onto it and spill everything in sight - cereal bowls with milk, drinks, syrup plates. He had his own food fight going on each time we prepared to eat or finished eating. Then you add a few other stressors into the mix: emotional pregnant woman, getting caught up from camping, poor spousal communication, last week of school, graduation, golf, soccer, did I mention emotional pregnant woman?

A little later in the day I came to my senses a bit with prayer. 'Ok, God, if you want me to feel overwhelmed, so be it. I give it back to you. You deal with it. I'm done!' A little later, I picked up the book St. Rita of Cascia and I will share this paraphrase with you, "By submission of our will, God graces us with suffering; allowing us to be an example of humility and patience." At this point, I was still pained with certain circumstances, but at peace with the day; ready to clean the messes and deal with life's events with a more joyful heart.

Thanks be to God for these opportunities of growth!

The next day, I got to practice more humility.

You got to love it when your dog escapes out the front door, thanks to kids opening it, and the neighbor guy comes over to inform us the dog is loose and asks the kids for their mother. Mother is sitting in the bathroom (near the front door) doing you know what, and realizes there is not enough toilet paper.

"Daniel, get the leash. We'll be right out!"

A friend on the phone even got a laugh from this conversation-I was caught!

-5-

Back to books, thanks to the camping trip this past weekend, I was able to complete Left to Tell. All I can say is, "You must read!" It's an easy read - and that is coming from a slow, poor reader. Look at #9 on the camping trip page for a brief synopsis.

-6-

Kathryn is officially a high schooler!

Only 4 short years of internal formation left. I'm excited for her and these years of upcoming growth. Since I was looking at Jen's sight earlier, I am going to steal a thought:

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, "Man, what a ride!"

Even as you begin your high school years, I challenge you to take good chances, stand up for what you believe in, and work hard at everything that comes your way!

-7-

We are officially on summer break!

We're on sum-mer bre-ak!

So what does that exactly mean?

TOGETHERNESS

NEW BABY

RELAXATION

(except when the babe is actively entering this world)

From Father at Mass to the school kids,

"Remember, we never take a break from being Christian.

Continue to be a witness to the faith:

In your families, with your friends and to everyone you meet!"

Have a blessed summer!

*For Michael's birthday, we met him for lunch and recess. Daniel hung close for a few minutes, then played tag with Gina and some big girls, and Vincent was carried away by other big girls. John ran out to play football with the big boys. He told me he was connected to Michael and was going to be on his team. For the first play he was involved in, the big boys passed it to John. His teammates cheered him on to run all the way for a touchdown. The other team faked (very well) falling down and missing John so he could make it all the way. John scored! He tripped and fell, (doesn't take much) got up and fixed his sandal, came running out of the endzone with his arms raised and shouted "Hey guys, I got a touchdown. Oh yeah, you couldn't even get me! I was super faster than you!" And yes, the emotional pregnant woman had a joyful tear come to her eye as she witnessed the goodness of these boys being spread.

7 Quick Takes Friday! (Vol.3)

A little bit of Heaven on Earth edition.

Once again, thanking Jen at Conversion Diary for hosting:

- 1 -

Easter Sunday:

Rejoice with Me;

Share your Master's Happiness!

Our family was able to share in our Master's Happiness for Easter morning Mass. For me, a number of emotions ran through. From relief of the fast, to excitement, and then joy which truly spilled over from our priest. There was something different about this day. Peace triumphed. Father talked about God's sense of humor, and after the homily, Vincent was giggling away, acting as a contagion to those around him. On this day, I had a hard time trying to tell him to stop. It was pure joy shared with love.

After Mass we got to spend the day with extended family. We enjoyed the company of parents/grandparents, siblings/aunts and uncles, cousins/nieces and nephews! A couple of egg hunts highlighted the kids day along with the grand finale of cracking eggs. There are a few competitors in this family - we even had the babes in the womb participate against each other (of course with mama's help)! Our baby was the champion of that match - not that anyone is really keeping track. ;) Visit Elephants Crossing to read up on more of the egg cracking tradition! They actually took pictures - I was too busy competing and making sure my kiddos didn't accidently take an egg that had been decorated and treasured by another sibling.

-2-

Heavenly breakfast!

Breaking the fast:

A cup of coffee and banana nut muffin has never tasted sooo good:

-3-

Where do you find Jesus?

Unedited!

Gina: (with a smile) "I dun know. Come here Mom. Mo-om 'me-here. He right here! In pray room! I love Him, and Mary here. And Jesus here." (if I type anymore, it will be redundant)

John: I don't know. But when He's alive, I do want to see him. But I don't want to see him in hell, that's bad!"

Daniel: In Heaven, and our hearts. Umm, on the cross, and in pictures. Mom, Jesus is everywhere, duh." (overheard as he was running off to play: "Jesus is with me, Mary's with me, God's with me...")

Michael: "On the Cross, and in all the pictures and statues."

Luke: "In pictures, and in my heart, mind and soul. And around me and on the cross."

Gabrielle: "Most of the time, in my heart and mind and whenever I'm praying, it feels like He's all around me."

Kathryn: "Mostly through my friends and family. Something about them will remind me of God, usually by something they say or do."

-4-

Learning about Divine Mercy

From the voice of John:

John: "Do you remember when Jesus saw me and took my sins away?"

Mom (baffled) "No, tell me about it."

John: "He gived us the white jellybeans, too!" He's awesome! I hate the black ones."

Mom: "Yes, He sure is Awesome, John! Did you know He wants us to be just like Him? He wants us to take away the black beans and replacing them with white."

John: "How?"

Mom: "By loving and forgiving others when they do bad things or hurt you."

John (with a big smile): "Ohhh, cool."

How cool it that?

Jesus died for us. And as He was being hurt, He set the great example of loving and praying for all of us who continue to have black jelly beans staining our souls.

Psalm 136:

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is Good

His Mercy Endures Forever!

-5-

A perfect park day:

Vincent

Gina

Daniel and John

-6-

What I learn from tree climbers:

It's quieter and peaceful up there,

It's sometimes good to see things from a different view,

Some branches deceive you and make you stumble,

It can be scary at times - but perseverance gets you back Home.

Kathryn and Michael

Oh, to make our hearts look and smell (use your imagination) like this:

-7-

Easter is supposed be celebrated for 50 days!

May we always strive to experience and be a witness to that Easter Joy:

By the grace of God, may we work to spread His love and mercy to the people He places in our lives. As usual, we're all works in progress. Serving God will not end in our pleasure, but it will redefine pleasure. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, "The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort...but for greatness, for good."

We learn this from the cross Jesus embraced; with great suffering comes great reward.

"For the sake of His sorrowful passion, Have mercy on us and on the whole world."

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 1)

Let's see if I can figure this out, 7 Quick Takes Friday, that is. I got this idea from another blogger, so be sure to visit her!

--1--

Spring is here: so is soccer! We set up fields and practices have begun. You may catch me chirping this spring: sometimes beautifully, sometimes a bit aggressively, but I’m happy to join the birdies. According to my dad, they know everything! ("A little birdie told me!") At least one does. Not me!

What part of springtime are you?

--2--

Michael received the sacrament of healing, Anointing of the Sick Sunday. Fr. explained and administered this sacrament during Mass. After the explanation, Michael, 7, whispers in my ear, “Should I go up there, Mom?” I told him that was fine, and then he wanted me to go up with him. I was proud of him and his understanding of the sacrament. I also had the terrible thought go through my head, ‘let’s just ask Father to do it later, so people don’t start asking what’s going on with him.’ We went up. Maybe I was the one who should be receiving the sacrament of healing with my attitude? It was beautiful and probably more moving for his mother.

--3--

Gina (the 2 year old 28 pound princess) playing with Rudy (the 5 month old 58 pound puppy):

Gina was playing fetch with Rudy down the hallway. One time Rudy tried to take the toy out of Gina’s hand. She clonked him on the head and told him, “No!” Then, “Sit!” Next, she gave him a big hug, “You’re my best friend, Rudy!” We now know what it takes to be a friend to Gina – listen and do whatever she tells you. You’ll have a friend for life. We’ve got to work on this control thing – I mentioned to my husband that someone needs to inform her that she is not an only child. My husband piped up, “she is much more well adjusted than only child. She knows many different personalities and manipulates each and everyone to get what she wants!

--4--

Daniel: Monday, for the first time, after taking 2 weeks off school, he sat down and did his work right away without complaints. Schoolwork this day was too easy. I didn’t know what to do with my extra time. He gets to put 5 jellybeans in the jar for doing his best work this year! (he did great M,T,W-NOT Thur. O well, it was fun while it lasted!)

About the jelly beans:

We keep a jar and jelly beans in our prayer room during Lent. (Gina got into them once this season, they are ‘her’ jelly beans, ya know.) Everytime we catch the kids doing something good – helping out extra, being kind to a sibling, etc, they get to put a colorful jellybean into the jar. The white beans are set aside with me. The black jelly beans are for poor behavior. They hate getting black jelly beans. The goal is to have the jar filled by Easter. On Holy Saturday night, the white jelly beans replace the black ones as a reflection that Jesus died to take away our sins and make us white again so we can enter Heaven.

--5--

Midnight madness: NO, not basketball, though my kids do enjoy keeping track of who’s winning the games for the NCAA tournament! Luke doesn’t think he can sleep tonight due to Memphis and Duke losses yesterday. Poor boy.

Our midnight madness was a bit different. Chalk it up with the “joys” of parenting. Maybe after the fact, God was rejoicing, but definitely not during the incident: I’ll just say we had a lot of wake up calls but one not so pretty. It was one of those that I didn’t exactly handle well. One of our children was screaming, again. I went to the crying room to assess the situation. The child was on the floor, screaming. I could not calm this child with talking. I went to pick the child up and the blessing decided to pee all over and on the carpet. I too lost it, my temper that is. I was tired, I was mad. How could this child do such a thing? After aggressively taking off the wet pants through the continual screaming, the shirt came off by lifting the child slightly off the ground. I must be doing this too rough. I calmed down, made sure the blessing didn’t have to go anymore in the toilet and gently put the child back to bed with an I love you.

I too went back to bed again, and felt awful (clumped up once again). How could I have treated this child like that?

This Lent, our priest has been using Preface of Lent III for daily Mass. It has been moving for me. It was all I could think of when I got out of bed the next morning.

“…you ask us to express our thanks by self-denial. We are to master our sinfulness and conquer our pride. We are to show to those in need your goodness and mercy.”

So here I am, living it. As it said in the Magnificat that morning,

“By taking upon Himself all the shame of the nakedness and sin in Adam’s, and our place, Jesus once and for all brought it before the merciful eyes of His Father…and from this point on sinners should no longer hide; they have been reprieved from disgrace. So let them come to the light of Jesus’ cross…our own nakedness and sinfulness no longer has a reason for embarrassment or condemnation. It has become an opportunity for faith, faith that can arise even from a foolish self-confidence.”

May we have the “courage to humbly and gently gaze toward the bleeding face of the crucified Jesus” to gaze upon “the shame of Jesus who covers and hides ours.”

Yes, take courage: By God’s Mercy we are saved. How shall we thank Him?

--6--

All is well with Baby: After scheduling an ultrasound with the doctor, trying to change it because we found out the girls would have practice, and deciding to leave it alone and find a sitter for the rest of the crew; the doctor’s office called saying their machine was not working and we would have to reschedule. I called the sitter off, to only call her back a few hours later because the dr. office called back again saying they would be able to use a different machine and my appointment was back on. With all the variables, it ended up being a tricky planning day, but in the end, we got to see:

--7--

Gina: Mothering me on how to cut a pinapple. “No cut it that way. Be careful, don’t cut yourself! Be careful, Mommy! Now this piece. Are you being careful?” She then proceeded to put on Kathryn’s mascara which was left out on the island for some reason.

Where’s my ‘little’ girl?

----------

Have a great Weekend Everyone!

We will be celebrating with Kathryn. She is now old enough to get her permit to drive!

I repeat, "Where's my little girl?"