Feast of the Holy Family

Let us pray
[for peace in our families]
Father,
help us to live as the Holy Family,
united in respect and love.
Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
New Saint Joseph Sunday Missal

More Babies!! More Prayers!!

Looks like another precious baby is on its way (if not already here). Please pray for my friend Veronica. Her delivery has the added excitement of taking place in the middle east.

And while you're praying, keep Kristen in mind, too. She's also due any day now.

That's three babies (including Steven Joseph Jr.) in less than 2 weeks!! Praise God!! I wonder what Aggie class these babies belong to?

** Actually, here are some more mommas to pray for **

Emily, Annie, Melissa, Alexis, Hallie, Julia, B-Mama, Beverly ( a dear, dear friend w/o a blog)

I think I'm going to add them to my sidebar. Let me know if I forgot you.

*** Also pray for those trying to conceive or adopt. A dear friend is trying to adopt her second baby. And I can think of more than a handful of couples who would love to be holding babies. ***

Merry Christmas

Have a Blessed Christmas from the Smith Family!!!

Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, has ....

... been received into the Catholic Church!!!

H/T St. Joseph's Vanguard and Our Lady's Train

Twelve Days of Christmas

This video is awesome!! I can honestly say we've seen it about 2 dozen times. My kids can't get enough of it, and frankly, neither can I. Enjoy!

H/T Newlywed Adventures

He's Here!!!

Steven Joseph Jr. has arrived!!!

Congratulations B. Family!!! We are sooo happy for you!!!

This Week's Plans

Now that school is officially out of session until next year, here are our plans:

Bake cookies.
Eat cookies.
Start and finish Christmas Cards.
Mail cards BEFORE end of Christmas (Jan. 6^th)
Bake more cookies.
Eat cookies.
Read TONS and TONS of Christmas books.
Bake more cookies and deliver them before Craig and kids eat ALL of them again!!
Christmas caroling.
Help Santa Claus wrap presents (yes we do Santa Claus).
Wake up late every morning Make big breakfasts EVERY MORNING.
Attend noon mass every day!! YEAH!!

I really love the week before Christmas!! And of course I love the twelve days of Christmas. I’m still pinching myself because I can’t believe we live in town with our family!! This will be the first Christmas in 3 years that we can celebrate with our parents.

Have a blessed Advent and Christmas season. I’ll probably only post pictures because I don’t do albums and consider this blog my virtual album for the next couple of weeks.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day

* UPDATED*

Today after our morning work we started some activities to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There are so many wonderful ideas out there in the blogsphere. But I know my limitations. I need something simple and fun.

And so ALL our projects for most of the feast days are the same. The girls color a sheet for the saint from one of our various coloring books (I own about 15 of them) and then they decorate their colored pictures with glitter glue. We usually follow our coloring project with a book and video along with a meal or snack that's appropriate.

So this is how we are celebrating today:

1. Color sheets from Fresh Flowers in Winter. Use glitter glue.
2. Listen to Songs of Mary while coloring.
3. Eat quesadillas for lunch (the easiest Mexican fare I could think of).
4. Watch CCC Juan Diego Video.
5. Read Tomie De Paola's Our Lady of Guadalupe book.
6. Eat chalupas for dinner and have buenelos for dessert with Mexican hot cocoa.
7. Attend evening mass.
8. Listen to the Glory Story on CD.
* 9. Make Juan Diego paper dolls. Instructions are here.
* 10. TRY to learn to draw Our Lady of Guadalupe. Instructions here. We weren't very successful. ;-)

**********************************************
We LOVE glitter glue. It turns a regular colored sheet into a work of wonder.

Sophia likes to use a a brush and coordinate the glitter glue with the same colors on her sheet. She uses the brush to spread the glitter glue to give it a light overall glittery effect.

Anna likes to use her glitter to accent some aspects of her projects.

Isabelle tends to apply her glitter heavily. Her projects take the longest to dry.

And Kolbe, well, he just skips the coloring all together and gets to the good part ......
painting with glitter glue!!

I have several glitter glue kits, my favorite being the ones with 50+ colors in small tubes. The big tubes don't allow you to get those fine lines. And there aren't as many colors in those kits.

Juan Diego Paper Dolls

* The picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe actually belonged to my grandmother, Guadalupe!! She gave it to my mother who gave it to me. This picture has endured much traveling and storage (as seen by the creases). As a child I used to LOVE looking at it. No matter where we where, this picture made our new dwelling feel like home. I feel so lucky to have her in my own home. Also, as a child I never really knew much about the other titles/names/roles of Mary. I was only familiar with Our Lady of Guadalupe. As a result, my devotion to her is VERY GREAT!! My grandmother, little sister and cousin are all named after her. Craig's great grandmother has the same namesake.

Weekly Advent Update

As you've probably noticed, I've not been blogging much. I'm finding that it takes LOTS of work to stay focused and un-busy during Advent. So blogging is one of those "things" that just has to slide.

We have this last week of school before our 3 week break. YEAH!! Today was awesome. All three girls got EVERYTHING done on their lists AND I cooked dinner. I don't think that has happened more than just a few times this year! LOL!!

We had a wonderful St. Nicholas Feast Day. The kids received goodies in their shoes and we had fun at our homeschooling group's evening party.

The weekend was busy with going to Mass on Saturday and Sunday. Craig has been cutting down limbs again. Brush pickup is on the 17th and Craig's favorite past time is finding things to cut down with his new saw (with an extender)!! LOL!

I rearranged the girls' bedrooms AGAIN!! And my Craig bought me school tables and school desks!! YEAH! On a business trip to Houston he decided to drive back and stopped in Conroe to pick me up the best surprise ever! He knows the way to my heart!





Now I can stop coveting my neighbor!! Just kidding! But I am happy to have school tables again.

Craig and I did ALL our Christmas shopping this past Saturday. I've tried saving up gifts throughout the year but I still end up buying gifts anyways. We actually save money by doing it all in one day. And besides, its more fun to shop with Craig and for him to know what the kids are getting. My mom-in-law watched the kids while we went on our shopping spree. Its all done. Now to find religious wrapping paper. That's always tough!

Finally, I thought I'd post these two links. Here's a way to spread that Christmas Cheer to those in need. And here's what I plan to be doing in the next few days. I'm sorry to admit we've never celebrated St. Lucy's Feast Day. I know .... bad mom. It always seems to sneak up on me.

But this year I ordered cookie stamps at the beginning of the year. We already used our St. Nicholas cookie stamp (couldn't see it after the baking was done) and we hope to find a better cookie recipe so St. Lucy shows up.

But, I also hope to make these crowns for the girls. I'm sure Kolbe will feel left out. Should I make him one too??

Okay, so there was my week in one post! WHEW! I'm out of breathe! See you next time (whenever that might be). Have a blessed Advent week.

2-for-1 Special

Today has been quite a day! Good thing the tooth fairy stocked up on dollar bills. You should hear Sophia recite her poem Singing Time by Rose Fyleman:

Thinging Time by Wothe Fyleman

I wake in the morning early
And alwayth, the very firth thing,
I poke out my head and I thit up in bed
And I thing and I thing and I thing.

Happy Birthday Sophia!!

How could I forget to blog about this too?! Sophia's birthday was yesterday. She is now SIX YEARS OLD!! Pictures coming soon.....

Sophia's Teeth are Falling Out, Falling Out, Falling Out

(Sing title to tune of London Bridges)

Well, her top front tooth has fallen out. And I feel rather silly that I've been trying to prevent a baby tooth from falling out. You wouldn't believe what I've been doing. I've been carefully brushing them and the gum line hoping to make them stronger and more solid. I've been feeding her non solids. I've kept her from rough play with the kids. I've done the ridiculous all because I really thought she had already lost those top teeth.

But I took Blair's advice and really examined them last night. And there are no ridges. And they look like very little boxes. I knew they were little but had rationalized that she was going to be a funny looking adult with very little teeth.

After examining her teeth, seeing no ridges, having Craig and two girls adamently profess no recollection of Sophia's teeth falling out, I finally gave in. I admit I must be wrong. But really, I remember them falling out. I have an image in my head of her without her teeth. Am I losing my mind?? Is my mind getting confused with the other children??

BTW, my kids tend to lose their teeth early. Isabelle and Kolbe were both 4 yo when they started losing their top teeth. Anna lost them when she was 5. I guess Sophia is just doing things out of order.

I think I got the bottom teeth confused with the top. She DID lose two of her bottom teeth. Those teeth have ridges. Thank you Ladies. And just for preserving history and my frail mind .....





Now I'm off to write in their baby books with a red sharpie marker!! LOL!! And then I'm off to look up some "professional help" in the yellow pages for both Sophia and my myself. Poor thing has been distraught at the idea of being toothless as an adult. Because of course I kept telling her to be careful with her adult teeth. This morning she asked me if she was going to be like Grandma when she grew up. I finally told her, "NO! Mommy was wrong. Those are your baby teeth afterall." She just smiled and ran off.

Why Baby Books Should ALWAYS be kept up!!!

In case you don't have enough guilt, let me add some more ........ you should ALWAYS keep up your children's baby books. Especially the pages regarding lost teeth. Because one day you will have 5 children. And child #3 will have two top teeth loose.

Mom will swear those teeth have fallen out before and that those are adult teeth. She will say too many accidents have occurred (involving siblings feet, jumping off furniture and trees, etc.) and that false teeth or some other kind of emergency action needs to be taken.

Dad will swear that her teeth have NOT fallen out. And that they look too little to be adult teeth.

Said child will be crying every night because teeth are loose and doesn't want to be like grandma (toothless).

Two siblings will swear those teeth have not fallen out yet. One sibling will say they have. The minority child has the worst memory BUT she's agreeing with Mom so maybe this time she's right??

And Mom has checked her blog for ANY entry regarding lost teeth. Turns out she forgot to blog about any of this child's lost teeth. What kind of mom/blogger is she anyways?!?

Does anyone know if Sophia has lost her top front teeth??

I can't believe her parents don't know for sure. Actually, they are both VERY SURE. They just don't agree. If only I owned an X-Ray machine .......

Immaculate Conception Novena

The Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Solemnity
December 8th
Jean Bellegambe
Saint Anne conceiving the Virgin Mary
Douai, Musée de la Chartreuse

PRAYER TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

First, recite the Prayer to the Immaculate Conception. Then, recite the appropriate prayer of each of the nine days.

---

Day One

O most Holy Virgin, who was pleasing to the Lord and became His mother, immaculate in body and spirit, in faith and in love, look kindly on me as I implore your powerful intercession. O most Holy Mother, who by your blessed Immaculate Conception, from the first moment of your conception did crush the head of the enemy, receive our prayers as we implore you to present at the throne of God the favor we now request...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.
Amen.

---

Day Two

O Mary, ever blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Queen of angels and of saints, we salute you with the most profound veneration and filial devotion as we contemplate your holy Immaculate Conception, We thank you for your maternal protection and for the many blessings that we have received through your wondrous mercy and most powerful intercession. In all our necessities we have recourse to you with unbounded confidence. O Mother of Mercy, we beseech you now to hear our prayer and to obtain for us of your Divine Son the favor that we so earnestly request in this novena...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.
Amen.

---

Day Three

O Blessed Virgin Mary, glory of the Christian people, joy of the universal Church and Mother of Our Lord, speak for us to the Heart of Jesus, who is your Son and our brother. O Mary, who by your holy Immaculate Conception did enter the world free from stain, in your mercy obtain for us from Jesus the special favor which we now so earnestly seek...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.
Amen.

---

Day Four

O Mary, Mother of God, endowed in your glorious Immaculate Conception with the fullness of grace; unique among women in that you are both mother and virgin; Mother of Christ and Virgin of Christ, we ask you to look down with a tender heart from your throne and listen to our prayers as we earnestly ask that you obtain for us the favor for which we now plead...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

---

Day Five

O Lord, who, by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, did prepare a fitting dwelling for your Son, we beseech you that as by the foreseen death of your Son, you did preserve her from all stain of sin, grant that through her intercession, we may be favored with the granting of the grace that we seek for at this time...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

---

Day Six

Glorious and immortal Queen of Heaven, we profess our firm belief in your Immaculate Conception preordained for you in the merits of your Divine Son. We rejoice with you in your Immaculate Conception. To the one ever-reigning God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three in Person, one in nature, we offer thanks for your blessed Immaculate Conception. O Mother of the Word made Flesh, listen to our petition as we ask this special grace during this novena...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

---

Day Seven

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and my mother, from the sublime heights of your dignity turn your merciful eyes upon me while I, full of confidence in your bounty and keeping in mind your Immaculate conception and fully conscious of your power, beg of you to come to our aid and ask your Divine Son to grant the favor we earnestly seek in this novena... if it be beneficial for our immortal souls and the souls for whom we pray.
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

---

Day Eight

O Most gracious Virgin Mary, beloved Mother of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, intercede with him for us that we be granted the favor which we petition for so earnestly in this novena...O Mother of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God. O Glorious Mother of God, in memory of your joyous Immaculate Conception, hear our prayers and obtain for us our petitions.
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will.

---

Day Nine

O Mother of the King of the Universe, most perfect member of the human race, "our tainted nature’s solitary boast," we turn to you as mother, advocate, and mediatrix. O Holy Mary, assist us in our present necessity. By your Immaculate Conception, O Mary conceived without sin, we humbly beseech you from the bottom of our heart to intercede for us with your Divine Son and ask that we be granted the favor for which we now plead...
(State your intention here...)
O Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine Son while upon this earth; you have the same influence now in heaven. Pray for us and obtain for us from him the granting of my petition if it be the Divine Will. Amen.

Recite the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Lord, have mercy on us Christ, have mercy on us Lord, have mercy on us Christ, hear us Christ, graciously hear us God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us God the Holy Spirit, ... Holy Trinity, one God, ... Holy Mary, pray for us Holy Mother of God, pray for us Holy Virgin of virgins, ... Mother of Christ, ... Mother of Divine Grace, ... Mother most pure, ... Mother most chaste, ... Mother inviolate, ... Mother undefiled, ... Mother most amiable, ... Mother most admirable, ... Mother of good counsel, ... Mother of our Creator, ... Mother of our Saviour, ... Virgin most prudent, ... Virgin most venerable, ... Virgin most renowned, ... Virgin most powerful, ... Virgin most merciful, ... Virgin most faithful, ... Mirror of justice, ... Seat of wisdom, ... Cause of our joy, ... Spiritual vessel, ... Vessel of honour, ... Singular vessel of devotion, ... Mystical rose, ... Tower of David, ... Tower of ivory, ... House of gold, ... Ark of the covenant, ... Gate of heaven, ... Morning star, ... Health of the sick, ... Refuge of sinners, ... Comforter of the afflicted, ... Help of Christians, ... Queen of Angels, ... Queen of Patriarchs, ... Queen of Prophets, ... Queen of Apostles, ... Queen of Martyrs, ... Queen of Confessors, ... Queen of Virgins, ... Queen of all Saints, ... Queen conceived without original sin, ... Queen assumed into heaven, ... Queen of the most holy Rosary, ... Queen of Peace, ... Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Grant we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we, Thy servants, may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body: and, by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow and enjoy eternal gladness. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Chinese Culture Reading Booklist

Children’s Chinese Stories and Tales

*The Five Chinese Brothers (Claire Bishop)
*The Story About Ping (Marjorie Flack)
*Empty Pot (Demi)
*Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel)
*Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem About China (Ed Young)
*Dim Sum for Everyone (Grace Lin)
*Daisy Comes Home (Jan Brett)
*Fortune Cookie Fortunes (Grace Lin)
*The City of Dragons (Laurence Yep)
*Carlos Digs to China (Jan Stevens)
*Marco Polo: Overland to Medieval China (Clint Twist)
*Imperial China-From the Creators of the Magic School Bus (Cole)
*The Yangtze (Julia Waterlow)
*The Panda Book (Levine)
A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night (Song Nan Zhang)
The Children of China: an Artist's Journey (Song Nan Zhang)
Yikang's Day: From Dawn to Dusk in a Chinese Village (Sungwan So)
Awakening the Dragon: The dragon Boat Festival (Arlene Chan)
Celebrating Chinese Year (Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith)
Chin Chiang and the Dragon's Dance (Ian Wallace)
Dragonwings (Laurence Yep)
The Legend of the Panda (Linda Granfield)
Marco Polo: A Journey through China (Fiona MacDonald)
The Silk Route - 7,000 miles of history (retold by John S. Major)
Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Festivals of China (Stepanchuk & Wong)
Moon Festival (Ching Yeung Russell)
Red Eggs & Dragon Boats (Carol Stepanchuk)
Three Monks, No Water (Ting-Xing Ye)
The Warlord's Puzzle (Virginia Pilegard) -Famous story of Tanagrams

Some Books by Demi:
*Kites : Magic Wishes That Fly Up to The Sky
*The Emperor’s New Clothes: A Tale Set in China
*Dragons and Fantastic Creatures
*The Greatest Treasure

* These are the books we’ve actually read and enjoyed. The others sound wonderful but were not available at our library. I hope to find The Warlord’s Puzzle since it’s a story about tanagrams. I also didn't include the books that looked more like reference books. I tried to stay with living books, stories and tales. But the resource books were very helpful. We just enjoyed the story/picture books more.

In January we will be traveling to ...... Turkey!!

Traveling to China!!!

Tomorrow the entire family is headed for China!! We leave about noon and should be home in time for dinner.

......huh?

Its our monthly Geo Culture Club. This month we travel to China and the girls are ready to go. Isabelle will be presenting a report on the history of paper, the Great Wall of China, the Yangzte River panda bears. I’m just glad she picked a topic and finished! LOL! It’s actually a nice report that she did ALL BY HERSELF. She read several books and wrote her notes on index cards.

Anna, my timid girl, will hopefully without my forcing or cajoling do a book review on four of her favorite Chinese books. She will give brief summaries on The Five Chinese Brothers, Ping, Tikki Tikki Tembo, and The Empty Pot. She will also hand out a list of children’s Chinese books and will have some library books on display. I helped her pick a topic she would feel very comfortable presenting. My gut feeling is she will back out I will end up presenting along side her. She really gets anxious about getting up in front of people. I don’t know what she’s going to do in January for her Suzuki Piano Recital in Austin …..

We will also be taking Chinese Pork Fried Rice and some fortune cookies. I’m mostly excited that the whole family is attending … yeah, Craig is home all week!!

My Little Saints

These pictures are long overdue. But I still want to post them so the children and I can enjoy them years from now. Have I ever mentioned I'm YEARS behind in my albums? A few weeks late doesn't bother me! LOL!

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (Anna)























I stayed up very late sewing an "authentic costume" for my little Indian.


St. Francis of Assisi (Kolbe)











Notice the little "birdie" on his right shoulder? St. Francis was VERY upset when he lost him at the party during a game of tag.















St. Rose of Lima (Sophia)
For a photo comparison, look here.




Bl. Mother Theresa (Isabelle)




















* Unfortunately, my little Catherine REFUSED to wear her St. Catherine of Sienna costume. Not even for a photo op. Also, all costumes were lovingly hand made by me. I love watching them dress up in them throughout the year.

Mayday ...... Mayday

...... Houston we have a problem. I can't find a box of Christmas tree decorations and my tall boots. Could they have been left behind in someone's garage? Should they be replaced only to be found later? The kids (along with dad's help) are giving it one last try. If they can't find "the box" it might mean I have to buy all new decorations. *sigh*

I hope not. I've been collecting ornaments and decorations for over 5 years now. I hope we find "the box." I wonder if my boots are in the same box?

Thanksgiving Pics

Here are some pictures of the my family gathered for Thanksgiving. The children ate in the breakfast nook and were happy to have their own table with "real plates and napkins." They had a wonderful time. My nephew's seat is empty. I don't think he ever ate! LOL!




Here's the adult table. Craig's undergrad professor/mentor/advisor (lower left corner) joined us for the 14th year now. We think of him as family. He didn't leave until 2am!! Actually, that's VERY normal. In undergrad, after the law library would close, Craig and I would walk over to the faculty lounge to meet Dr. Alvarez. And we would be there until 2am. I usually just fell asleep while they talked. Its so nice to be able to invite him over to our house, now. Normally, he's come over to either my parents' or Craig's for the holidays.

My parents are sitting next to the professor. Craig's dad is wearing the white cap and sitting next to Craig's grand-ma and aunt. My sister and brother-in-law are sitting across from each other. My mom-in-law and I are sitting at the end.

Everyone came over around 2pm and stayed until the wee hours. And we mostly talked and laughed. The next day EVERYONE reconvened to watch the Aggies WHOOP the Longhorns!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I pray that you and your loved ones are kept safe. I pray for safe travel for you or your loved ones.

We are excited about hosting our very first Thanksgiving with family. Our guest list keeps growing everyday. :-/ Normally, I wouldn't mind, except I am battling a stuffy head and plugged up nose. Allergies or head cold??? Who knows? I pray I'm back to my old self by Thursday.

I am thankful for my family and living so close to them. My wonderful husband and five precious kids. And for a little saint praying for us (whom I still wish I could hold in early January). I'm thankful for dear friends who call, visit, email, and comment on my blog!!! For my beautiful house that has finally become a home. For life. For freedom. But most importantly for being a daughter of God. No matter what happens in my life, my joy comes from being who I am. I am still learning and discovering this.

I'm also thankful for another wonderful year. Last year at this time, I was praying that we would sell our house to the perfect family. And I was dreaming of the day when I could celebrate holidays with family. Thank you God for allowing the B Family to be your instrument of grace.

Sorry for all the incomplete and fragmented sentences. My head does hurt that much! I'm thankful for Walgreen's 24 hour Service and the pharmacist on call.

*** And go Aggies!! Beat t.u.!!! ***

TGIF

We're done! School is now out for the next week as we prepare for Thanksgiving. I don't know who's more excited, the teacher or the students?! Hmmm...... the teacher!

Catherine, the little helper

Today Craig's mom and grandma stopped by for lunch. They wanted to see their little boy (A.K.A. Craigee) and the grandkids, too.

Well, EVERY time Catherine sees her great-grandma, Catherine has a habit of "helping" Mo-Mo. She likes to pull her walker, which sometimes is a little too much help. Today I finally thought to take a picture. Its so sweet how she always runs out to help Mo Mo into the house.

Here's Catherine helping Mo Mo to the car. She really pulls on that walker. Maybe to help her go faster?? We all think its adorable. Catherine is normally very serious and sees it as her mission to help Mo Mo along.

Kolbe's TooF

Would you believe the one time I step out for a mother's night out I miss my only son's 1st tooth falling? When I asked him how he lost it, he said, "Daddy punched me." They were rough housing and playing Transformers. His tooth was already VERY loose.

Kolbe was upset about losing his tooth even though he knew it was loose. Apparently he wanted to keep it. So he refused to put it under his pillow. But today his outlook has changed, thanks to his sisters. He now understands the benefits of leaving his tooth for the "tooth fairy." He's hoping he can buy an Optimus Prime for a dollar (the going rate around here).

I'm afraid not, sweetheart! LOL!

Classical Music for Kids: New Finds

This year Isabelle is studying the Baroque period in classical music. While our syllabus calls for listening to cd’s, I find this a very dry and boring way to experience music. Especially if this is the ONLY way a child is becoming familiar with classical music.

In addition to attending the San Antonio Young Symphony Series and piano lessons, we have discovered a new set of DVD's. At least they're new to us.

I stumbled across these great DVD’s based on the classical kids cd’s. We’ve just finished watching Classical Kids: Mr. Bach Comes to Call. Even 4 yo Kolbe sat and watched the whole show. I’ve already reserved the following:

Bach’s Fight for Freedom
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Mozart’s The Magic Flute Story
Handel’s Last Chance

Some of these aren’t strictly Baroque but that’s okay. The best part is I was able to order them through our online Blockbuster program. So I didn’t have to buy them or worry about late fees with the library. Which reminds me ……

*We also enjoy watching musicals. Again, its great music and so refreshing to see how films used to be great works of art. So much work goes into the choreography and music. We own many. Our favorites include The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Oklahoma, Sound of Music, White Christmas and Our State Fair. Does Shirley Temple count too? We own most all of her movies too.

Anna Piranha

Anna has made the Piranhas!!

She is on the pre-swim team. During try outs Sophia jumped into the water and "tried out" too. Poor Coach Derek had a heart attack. Sophia did complete 3 laps before being pulled out. She uses the wall liberally to help her finish the laps.

Anna did awesome. I knew she could do it. She's been a little shy about trying out. So instead of pushing her I've been letting her watch Isabelle. Now, she will be doing dry land with Isabelle's team and then swimming with the 8 year olds and under.

Sophia will probably take a few swim lessons and then try out again. The coach LOVED her determination, even though he almost collapsed! LOL!

Anna has always wanted a nickname. She is now called Anna Piranha.

Swim Meet Results

Isabelle did great. She didn't place but that was to be expected. This meet included kids from other cities who have been swimming longer than her. But we've started a log where she can record her times. Right now her goal is to beat her own best times.

This weekend she swam the 50 m butterfly, 100 m backstroke, and the 100 m freestyle for the first time. She beat her own times in the 50 m backstroke and freestyle.

She swam the 50m butterfly for the first time this weekend. She was VERY nervous. Now, nervous for Isabelle isn't the same kind of nervous as other people. She doesn't get scared and doesn't back out. She worries more about how well she's going to do. She didn't want to come in last. I think she inherited my competitive gene.

Well, she didn't come in last. *sigh of relief*

In fact, she was swimming wonderfully!! Her arms were coming out of the water. Some kids get disqualified for doing strokes under water. Her legs were wonderful, no flutter kicks. She was approaching the wall when she made a BIG mistake. She started a new stroke with her arms when she stopped half way and touched the wall. She DID touch the wall with both hands (another common DQ), but she was disqualified for not finishing her arm strokes. It would have been better had she just kept her arms in front of her and touched the wall. Or had she just completed the stroke and touched the outside of the pool.

Now she knows. But was bummed to be disqualified at the very end.

The nice thing is the judges are VERY sweet. They go up to each child and explain why they are DQ'd and then pat them on the head with a good job.

We have finally found her sport. She loves swimming and hates to miss practice. We've tried ballet, tap, gymnastics, and taekwondo. And although she had wonderful experiences, I think she liked her teachers more than the sport itself. She never minded missing those practices.

But swimming is a whole 'nother story. She craves getting in the water everyday. And she LOVES to swim against her teammates, neighborhood kids, father, etc. The head coach at the aquatic center loves her spirit and dedication.

Quick Hello

Just wanted to quickly say that the haircut is working! No regrets. I have to say that after my last posting I was VERY regretful about chopping her mane.

But I've grown to love it. And the fact that she seems to be cleaner. LOL!!

Isabelle had a swim meet today and swam very good. She is swimming the butterfly for the first time tomorrow and is rather nervous. She was ALMOST disqualified in the 100 breaststroke because the judge "thought" he might have seen her flutter kick. But he wasn't sure so he left her alone. I'm so glad. She would have been DQ'd during the first 25m.

Also, I ran into my college roommate today at mass. We went to evening mass across town and she spotted us toward the end. She ended up marrying a guy from my history classes. He was the 2nd smartest person in my class. We had an unspoken competition about our grades. You know who was the smartest, right?! LOL!

The only thing he could beat me at was geography. So, of course I told him that Isabelle was a whiz at geography. He just smiled at me and started quizzing her. Isabelle did me proud and got all the capitals right!

*In case you're wondering, he asked for the capitals of Kentucky, Idaho, and Maine.

Catherine's First Haircut

I've had it!!! I swore I wasn't going to cut Catherine's hair. I said I wasn't going to give her any bangs. I dread that growing out period. But I just remembered why I end up chopping all my girls' hair ...... its a sticky mess most of the time.

Catherine has hit that age where everything she eats (oatmeal, lollipops, yogurt, applesauce, lollipops, ice cream, etc.) makes it into her hair. And this is usually by noon. So she is always a sticky mess. WHY? Because I was refusing to cut her hair. So she spent all day wiping her hair out of her face, with her crummy, dirty, chubby, adorable, little hands.

This is how she normally looks ....



Notice all the hair in her face. Now just add something sticky to it and you have the Catherine I'm used to.

Here she is now:





It's not the best haircut but its an improvement over what she normally looks like. I'll tell you tomorrow if it works! LOL!

She didn't want to stand still and pose. I thought it only appropriate that she stand next to her latest work of art. Yeah, that's the first wall you see when entering our lovely home.

Today

Today was a good day although we didn't do what I planned. After breakfast, I practiced with Anna and Isabelle. For years we've been in the habit of having morning practicing sessions before leaving for our lessons. We do practice during the week, but our best practices are always the morning of lessons. Please don't tell our piano teacher! LOL! I guess its kind of like cramming. I like to think of it as that last chance to study before a test. LOL!

My mom-in-law watched Sophia, Kolbe and Catherine. After lessons we made a quick stop to the school/teacher's store to pick up some poster maps and other odds and ends. When we arrived at my mom's, the house smelled DELICIOUS!! She was making soup. I was about to pack up the kids when she asked if we wanted to stay for dinner.

Well, I didn't have to think too hard! LOL! Even though I knew we should go home and do our half day's worth of schoolwork (Tuesdays are half days), we stayed. While I played baseball in the backyard with Kolbe, the older girls were busy drawing pictures and talking with their grandma. Catherine did us all a favor and took a 2 hour nap.

I then took Isabelle home to get her ready for swim practice. After her swim practice I picked up the rest of the kiddos and we headed home.

Days like this remind me of why we moved back.

Oh, and Craig arrives home tonight! YEAH!!

All's well that ends well

I'm lucky to be posting right now. Actually, I'm lucky to be IN my house right now! WHY?

Well, I went outside to sit and watch the kids dance during the lunch recess. I took out our cd player and was enjoying watching them dance to the Beach Boys when I remembered my lunch was still in the microwave. I got up to go inside BUT the back door was locked!!

And then I remembered .... I forgot to unlock the door before coming outside. One of my nightmares (I have several) was coming true! I was locked out of my house while Craig was gone and NO ONE had a spare key. I've been meaning to get spare keys for a while now.

The kids instantly realized what happened. Anna and Sophia started worrying. Kolbe said he would throw a brick through the window. Isabelle stated it was a good thing she knew how to survive out in the wild and offered to build a campfire. That child is the opposite of me!! LOL!

We went to the front door to see if it was unlocked. I knew it wouldn't be because I remember specifically locking it this morning after running out to the van. I always have a fear that some stranger will just walk into the house. Actually, I used to keep it unlocked and my father-in-law WOULD walk in unannounced just to prove that point. I got it.

We hoped the garage door was open because maybe the laundry room door would be unlocked. NOPE!

So I just sat there trying to figure out what to do. All three doors were locked. I told the kids to search the back yard for nails or something sharp. Maybe I could lockpick the door (yeah, like I have alot of experience doing that!!).

Then, as a last attempt I took the screen off the window to check if the window would open. BINGO!! Sophia crawled in and unlocked the door.

WHAT A RELIEF!! Two of my biggest fears are locking myself out of the house and locking myself out of my car WHEN CRAIG IS AWAY.

But then I started thinking. It only took me less than 5 minutes to break into my own house. That was too easy!! So although I'm grateful to be back in, I plan on locking all the windows and getting several copies made of our house key. And I guess I should hide one for me somewhere.

Back to school now. Recess is over. All's well that ends well.

Picture of the Day

SACRILEGE!!

I went to check on the kids outside and look what I found. I guess I need to keep an eye on Our Lady of Guadalupe to make sure she's not subjected to any other humiliations.

*The situation has been rectified.

Saints in Progress .....

.... LITERALLY!! So far we have Sophia ROSE dressing up as St. Rose of Lima.

And Kolbe is going to be St. Francis of Assisi.

Catherine will be St. Catherine of Sienna. Her favorite part will be the stigmata markings with markers. She LOVES markers!!

Anna is going to be Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha IF I can find an Indian costume. Apparently it was lost in the move and we just found out today. So either I'm finding a discounted Indian costume (preferred method) or I'm sewing up a costume OR she's switching if I can't find the time for the first two.

And, Isabelle is still undecided! *sigh* Just too many choices ....

Here's a preview of one of my little saints (who was trying to get just the right pose like in the saint book):















*Tip: To get just the perfect looking guimpe, grab a tee shirt or turtle neck. Put the neck part of the shirt around the child's face. Make sure to hide the sleeves under the veil (which is just material).

Halloween 2007

Here are the kiddos in their costumes. This was the first time we were separated. Isabelle went to swim class in her costume where they played games before diving into the pool. Isabelle REALLY enjoyed being with older kids. One of the games they played was mummy-fying (toilet papering) their swim coach. She had a blast!! In case you can't tell, Isabelle is Nancy Drew. Since that drew a blank when she told some of her teammates, she switched to being a girl from the 50's.





Anna, Sophia, Kolbe and Catherine went begging for candy trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with Craig. They went as a cowgirl, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Spiderman and a bumblebee.


Can you believe how much candy was left over?! They probably ate another bowlful last night! Now to find a local dentist! LOL!


We have our All Saint's Day party this weekend so I'm off to finalize our costumes. The kids keep switching their saints!