Kate's First Christmas Concert

Christmas Fun!

And so I try again... ;)

Decorating Christmas Cookies

Trimming the Tree

At The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade - it was awesome!

Luke Turns Two (A Month Later...)

Here are some pics from Luke's 2nd birthday party, which included a "choo choo" train cake, many friends and lots of presents. Luke had a great time!'

I haven't updated in so long. So here are some quicktake/ updates that I also posted over on babyhomepages:

1. As you can imagine, Kate LOVES preschool. I really believe she could go everyday and be just fine. I am glad she's not, however, because I really enjoy the time we have at home together.

2. She also LOVES her friends and plays with them every single chance she has. Seriously, she plays with friends all the time. Often one friend will leave and she will ask to call up another.... I wonder where she gets that?

3. Luke is incredible talkative. He talks constantly and we don't mind one. single. bit.

4. Luke was just diagnosed with mild intermittent asthma. It seems that every time he gets a cold it develops into wheezing and a trip to urgent care or the ER. The bad news is that he has to have breathing treatments and inhaled steroids, the good news is (besides that we're getting it under control) that he will most likely grow out of it.

5. The kids really play together well. They also really know how to push each others buttons. Our days will often go from hugs and kisses to screaming at the top of (his) lungs.

6. Luke is kinda a screamer. OK, OK, so he really knows how to let it out "Tin Drum" style. That we don't like so much... nope, not so much.

7. Luke also seems to be a 12 hour of sleep/ day TOPS kind of guy.... which means that he's giving up naps. If he doesn't take a nap, he will sleep from about 7pm-7am. If he does take a nap, however, he will not go to sleep until about, oh, 10:30 or 11pm!!! It's a pick your poison type of situation.

8. We recently had a last minute, lovely trip back to the midwest where we saw so many friends and family. As pictures can attest it was great to see everyone and be there for the baptism of our new (and incredibly cute, I might add) nephew, Thomas Robert Frey! We also had a couple night with Aunt Terry and Uncle Tom in Minnesota - what a treat!

9. We're job hunting now. It looks like we'll be here through August and then, well, who knows where we'll be? We hope much closer to family. I know it's going to be tough for the kids, especially Kate, to move. She loves it here and never tires of telling us so!

10. Luke's 2nd birthday is coming up!!! He has already informed me that he either wants a train cake or a fireman cake. As you can probably guess, I'm excited and up for the challenge!

11. It really seems like everyone I know, really everyone is pregnant or has just had a baby. Really, I am not exaggerating, not even a little... I could list at least 15 people off the top of my head right now who are either pregnant or just had a baby (I won't because some of them have asked me not to say anything - the pregnant ones, not the ones who have just had babies, obviously ;) This is nice because 1) babies are awesome and 2) I have a lot of doula-ing opps coming my way!

12. Kate will often take my face in her hands and stroke it a bit and tell me, "mommy, I love you so much." It really melts my heart.... and it makes me want about 10 more kids. :) Today she told us that she is so happy to have our family. Yep Kate, it's true, we are lucky.

For some recent pics check us out here

Happy Feast of Saint Faustina!

Geez! There have been a great many excellent feast days lately, huh?

‎"I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls."

-- Divine Mercy (Jesus to Sr. Faustina)

Happy Feast of Saint Francis!

The prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

For more on Saint Francis read here and for a great project to do with the kids go here and here. Charlotte over at Waltzing Matilda is chalk full of wonderful and creative ways to celebrate the liturgical feasts with your kids. I was going to do the people cookies, but after a trip to the beach (by myself with the kids. there was a sand sculpture contest. i forgot my camera) and daddy working all weekend, I didn't get the cookie cutters. Sooo, we're going to have to settle with coloring a picture of St. Francis (Charlotte also draws coloring pages that she is willing to share with us) and some animal crackers and milk. Good enough for this year ;) Oh, and we are going to focus on the prayer as our evening prayer this month. Thanks for all the help Charlotte! I think you're pretty darn amazing (especially after seeing that pirate ship cake)! God bless ya! And have a very blessed and happy Feast of St. Francis! y'all!!

Happy Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux!

The rose project will have to wait because our little Luke is in and out of the doctor's office today with breathing treatments and a chest x-ray. He'll be OK, but he needs a little extra TLC. So, in the meantime, here's a quote from one of my favorite saints to ponder:

‎"Love consists in bearing w/ the faults of others, not being surprised at their weakness, in being edified by the smallest acts of virtue we see them practice" - St. Therese of Lisieux

I am also Pondering:

Moving all my blogging/ baby updates to this page. I have really loved babyhomepages for a lot of reasons, but this site is free and, at this point in our life, that is a very compelling reason. So far I've used this page mostly as a little journal where I write down thoughts (mostly spiritual) that I want to return to and I like having that space, but I guess I could consolidate. Some worries:

-I really like the "photo album" aspect of babyhomepages. I believe I would have to keep up this blog AND use some sort of site (i.e. picasa) to have the same effect?

-Another plus that builds on the last is that babyhomepages is one stop shopping, so to speak. I can upload photos, have the photo in album, relay stories, and have a guest book all in one place... Oh and I almost forgot, you can also buy prints from babyhomepages.

-Babyhomepages will send you a PDF of the entirety of your content for a minimal fee, which will then serve as my baby book/ memory book for the kids.

-I tried sites like picasa and (what's the name of that other one again?) and you can't upload multiple pics at a time... ughhh. Oh, and you only get a certain amount of space free and then have to start paying for it.

-Can you buy calendar/ albums/ prints from sites like picasa?

So, my question to you, dear readers ( I think there are about four of you ;), is how can I do all the things I listed above in an easy, one stop way with a blog. If I can't, I might just consider going with what we have for now (at least until we move). Also, do any of you like babyhomepages/ keep up with us through that site? Would any of you have a preference?

Ok, so, do any of you have any good advice/ info for me about this? I would really appreciate it and it would really help us make our decision over here. Thanks!

Today I am Pondering...

“This style of parenting drives us to our knees and so brings us closer to heaven. It forces us to die to self again and again to meet the needs of God’s little creatures. It’s immediately easier to shout and/or hit and abuse our authority to put out the fires of our day. We can stop the behavior through fear and punishment. But that doesn’t really require any heroic, saintly effort on our part, does it? Ultimately, it destroys the relationship with the child and it becomes for us the occasion of sin.”
Elizabeth Foss

Oh Lord give me the Grace! :)

St. Therese Novena

Five days ago I started praying this Novena for two special intentions. Before she died, St. Therese said, "My mission - to make God loved - will begin after my death, I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I will let fall a shower of roses." I've heard from others who have prayed this novena that they received a rose during or at the end of the Novena as a sign . I thought that I would receive something (even in the form of a drawing or a card), but I thought it would maybe be towards the end of the Novena or on her Feast Day, which is October 1st. Well, since I've been praying it, I have received roses twice! She is a beautiful saint in her "little way" and I look forward to celebrating her feast day with my kids on October 1st (not sure what we're going to do yet, maybe make roses and give them to others). If you would like to learn more about St. Therese, you can read about her here.

Take Me Out to The Ball Game

Uncle Jim was in town and he treated us to a wonderful afternoon at the ball game. It was great to see him and "Uncle Adam" (as Kate says). As pictures attest, it was a great day! Thanks Uncle Jim! ( And we missed you Aunt Faye!)

Kate telling Uncle Adam secrets - she loves him!

Luke got to be a tired dude after awhile

A good time was had by all!

Jesus, I Trust In You!

Today I am pondering this:

"The moment you realize you are worrying, make very quickly an act of confidence: 'No, Jesus, You are there: nothing - nothing - happens, not a hair falls from our heads, without your permission. I have no right to worry.' Perhaps He is sleeping in the boat, but He is there. He is always there. He is all-powerful; nothing escapes His vigilance. He watches over each one of us 'as over the apple of His eye' He is all love, all tenderness. It is really an offense against Him when we worry voluntarily about anything. That is what causes Him pain. That is what wounds His Heart more than anything else."

-St. Therese of Lisieux from I Believe in Love by Father Jean C. J. d'Elbee

Often, I really struggle to believe this is true. But it is. God is here, right now, working. I'm quite sure that this will be be mantra in the year to come... Jesus I Trust in You!

It's A Big Week

It's a BIG week liturgically speaking as we celebrate the feast days of some of my all time favorite saints!

Monday the 9th: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Tuesday the 10th: St. Lawrence

Wednesday the 11th: St. Clare (Kate's name sake - her middle name)

Thursday the 12^th: St. Jane de Chantal (I keep feeling called to her - it's probably time to pick up some of her writing)

Saturday the 14th: St. Maximilian Kolbe (this guy is amazing. I love him! Seriously love him!)

Sunday the 15^th: Solemnity of the Assumption

Later this month we celebrate the feasts of St. Monica (Friday the 27th) and Augustine (Saturday the 28th)!

The Last Two Months in Photos

We've been busy over here. Two trips back to the midwest, two weddings, two weeks of work and training, VBS, swimming lessons and one hike later, I've found a moment to blog a bit and tell you that I've posted pics on the kids site here. And that's about all I've got right now because life is still a little hectic and we're still settling into our routine. And well, I like saying things with pictures. They paint a thousand words, right?

Pretend City

We saw something really cool at Pretend City the other day:

And the kids had a lot of fun exploring, imagining and creating!

St. Gianna Beretta Molla

I'm a day late on this one, but yesterday began a Novena to one of my favorite saints, St. Gianna Beretta Molla. St. Gianna was a wife, mother, and doctor. The novena began yesterday and ends on her Feast Day, April 28th. Here are the prayers:

God, our Father, You have granted to your Church the gift of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla.
In her youth she lovingly sought You and drew other young people to You, involving them through apostolic witness and catholic action, in the care of the sick and the elderly.

We thank You for the gift of this young woman, so deeply committed to You.
Through her example, give us the grace to dedicate our lives to Your service, for the joy of our brothers and sisters.

Glory Be...

Jesus, Redeemer of humanity, You called Saint Gianna to become a doctor, a role she lived as a mission for the comfort of bodies and souls. She saw You in all the sick, in the needy and the weak.

We thank You because, through this servant, You revealed Yourself to us as one who serves and who alleviates the sufferings of all men and women. As we treasure her example may we become generous Christians at the service of our brothers and sisters, especially of those with whom You deign to share Your Cross.

Glory Be...

God, Sanctifying Spirit, You who love the Church as Your bride,
You poured into the heart of Saint Gianna a share of Your Love so that she could give it to her family, and thus cooperate with You in the wonderful plan of creation, and give life to new children who could know and love You.

We thank You for this model wife and for her encouraging example. Grant our families the serene and Christian presence of mothers committed to transform them into cenacles of faith and love, capable of generous actions and sanctifying service.

Glory Be...

O God, creator and lover of the human family, You remained with Saint Gianna when she painfully had to choose between her life and the life of the child she was expecting, a long-awaited gift.

Trusting You alone and aware of Your commandment to respect human life, Saint Gianna found the courage to do her duty as a mother and to say yes to her baby's life, thus generously giving her own.

Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and after the example of Saint Gianna, inspire all mothers to welcome with love the seeds of a new life. Help us all to have great respect for human life.

Grant us the grace we seek... and the joy to find an inspiration in Saint Gianna who, as a model spouse and mother, after the example of Christ, gave up her life for the life of others.

Hail Mary...

If you'd like to read more about her, you can follow this link or this link.

7 Quick Takes

I did 7 Quick takes over at the kids' site. You can read them here.

Howdini

People keep asking how we made this:

It was really pretty easy... time consuming, but easy. So, Ok, I'll give up my secret and you will no longer be in awe of my baking abilities. :) Here's how you can do it (or something else you like :) too!

Thinking of Haiti

Lord Christ,

You have no body on earth but ours,
No hands but ours,
No feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which your compassion must look out on the world.

Ours are the feet by which you may still go about doing good.

Ours are the hands with which You bless people now.

Bless our minds and bodies,
That we may be a blessing to others.

St. Theresa of Avila

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