Little Things in Life

Am I completely silly to be super excited about our stove being hooked up and working? Its the little things in life that make me happy. I have artisan bread in the fridge waiting for supper tomorrow. Darren requested it even before the stove was completely preheated while he was checking it.

Hear that?? Its the sound of contentment and appreciation - after no stove for two months. It sounds a lot like the beeping of a stove timer!

Leap Day

Leap Day is exhausting. If only all of us could take this extra day to catch up on our sleep.

Red is NOT My Color!

I have decided that rosy red cheeks do nothing for me. I did earn them today. Rex, Cormac, and I shoveled the driveway off for Darren as a surprise. He's on his way home from Michigan. I figured he'd probably had enough snow and wind by the time he gets here. He's pulling a trailer and would appreciate not having to back it into a driveway with 5-6 inches of snow.

A job well done! I didn't stop moving ONCE during the whole 2 hours. I am feeling it already. I think a snowblower should be on the list for the next snowstorm.

Saturday Morning Fun

Pancakes! Pancakes! Get your very own, special pancake!

A Mickey Mouse pancake for a boy who loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. (Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggy dog!) He also got a "mini" Mickey Mouse pancake.

A special snowman with chocolate chip buttons, eyes, nose and mouth. This boy also ate a radish-shaped pancake. I think that is the only way to get him to eat anything resembling a vegetable. The radish pancake was a mistake - but we go with the flow around here.

An attempted three leaf clover for our little Irishman. He was extremely pleased as he has bragging rights to the "MOST CHOCOLATE CHIPS EVER! THANKS MOM!".

SG for Stephen George. He was excited about that, but then requested something that no one has ever had before. Honestly - SON, do you think I can work miracles?? I have a griddle, a flipper, and pancake batter. Sigh....

He was thrilled with my attempt at fishing for pancakes. A lot easier than the Empire State Building that was requested....

Prayer for Our Government

WILL YOU JOIN US AND PRAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT?????

We pray Thee, O almighty and eternal God, Who through Jesus Christ has revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy; that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue, with unchanging faith, in the confession of Thy name.

We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist, with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of laws in justice and mercy; and restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy Divine wisdom direct the deliberations of the Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government; so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of natural happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate to us the blessings of equal liberty.

We pray for his Excellency the Governor of this state, for the members of the Assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare; that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise to Thy unbounded mercy all our brethren and fellow-citizens, throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union and in that peace which the world cannot give and, after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Amen.

Archbishop Carroll, Baltimore, MD A.D. 1800

Lent, Love, Life

This year for Lent we have picked a theme of Respect Life. Each of us have spiritually adopted an unborn baby that we will pray for all of Lent and all the way until November 22. The idea behind this wonderful work of charity is to name your chosen baby, though God already knows who you are praying for. So here are our names:

Darren - a baby girl named Celestine Isabelle

Karen - a baby boy named Joachim Tarcisius

Blase - a baby boy named Thomas Lawrence

Stephen - a baby boy named Francis George

and a baby girl named Therese Rose (he has to say the prayer twice a day)

Cormac - a baby boy named Joseph Patrick

Rex - a baby girl named Mary Catherine

Brech - a baby girl named Anne Rita (he picked his names by pointing to saints he likes)

Gianna - a baby girl named Elizabeth Cecilia (both November saints)

We will pray the following prayer everyday:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

I love you very much.

I beg you to spare the life

of the unborn child that I

have spiritually adopted who is

in danger of abortion.

(by Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

We are also going to offer prayers for a mother's home here in North Dakota and provide some financial support. That is what we are doing to respect the unborn.

We would also like to find an older person to visit who is either shut in or does not have much family. We have visited nursing homes in the past and found that quite rewarding. It has been awhile since we have done that as a family. I am hoping it works out.

We will be doing the usual giving up things and adding more prayers. The boys have given up cereal in a cup breakfasts (they enjoy that A LOT) and all movies that are not school or religious in nature. They are quite excited about this Lent. They have decided to say the Stations of the Cross on Wednesdays, hopefully before the Blessed Sacrament at our local church (I still have to look into that option). I am so proud of them to come up with those ideas. The kids and I are reading a little thought for every day of Lent in the mornings. That will hopefully be a source of inspiration for all of us. And thanks to an idea from a wonderful homeschooling mommy here in Fargo, we are participating in the Lenten Adventure from Holy Heroes. Our last idea is to attend Stations of the Cross at the Cathedral on Fridays. That will be a week to week - see if the whole family is up to it - go with the flow - what was I thinking - kinda of commitment. I am not sure how Gianna and Brech will handle that. Maybe their angels will encourage good behavior for an hour.

I feel very good about this Lent. While we have a lot going on as a family, both Darren and I have added our own commitments here and there. I think we will find ourselves happier and spiritually strengthened when Easter finally comes.

God bless you this Lent!

Unknown Substance

An unknown white substance fell in large quantities today. We are not sure what it is as we haven't seen it for so long. We can tell you that it was wet, cold, and heavy. We know this because Blase, Stephen, and I shoveled most of the driveway off.

This unknown white substance made great balls for throwing at each. The boys had an especially good time ganging up on their mother. No worries - I got them back with shovelfuls of this wet, heavy stuff. Many giggles and good times were shared by all of us.

Daddy Says

Daddy tells Gianna - "Be more ladylike." So what does Gianna do??

Spits and drools.

And when your teeth are bugging you the best thing to do is spit at out side of your mouth. She cut one tooth on the top last week and is working on another. Brech Earl is cutting 4 molars right now. I am exhausted since Gianna and Brech keep getting up in the night with teething problems. One of these nights we will sleep all night. Sigh.

Please Dad

Our week has been quite boring. Can I blog about your week?? ;-)

The Mighty Fishermen

Not bad for a few hours of fishing. They had a great time and made many memories!

LOVE

We hope everyone had a wonderful St. Valentine's Day!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

A special thank you to Sarah and Rebecca for the Superhero Valentine suckers. And another special thank you to Shelby, Taylor, and Tory for the wonderful Valentines.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day came early for me this year. Darren bought home these lovely flowers for me last week. I think they are perfect. They have brightened the kitchen and made me long for spring.

I stayed up late last night and made homemade Valentines for the kids. I can't remember the last time I made Valentines for the kids that I actually put time and effort into making them special. The kids were quite surprised this morning. I had intended to get them ONE movie, but they were on sale for $9 a piece.

Kung Fu Panda 2 AND candy?!?!

I just love those smiles!!

This is our "THANK YOU GRANDMA GEBES FOR THE VALENTINE'S DAY CANDY" picture. And also, thank you to Aunt Mauri and Bella for the Muppets Valentines. We didn't send you anything - sorry! We wish you a Happy St. Valentine's Day anyway!!!!

Minor Miracles

Minor Miracle #1 - All of the boys were dressed and ready for church 30 minutes before we had to leave. That is a miracle. I let them watch a movie since they were ready so early. They watched The Traditional Mass for Children. This movie is a simple, yet powerful explanation of the Latin Mass for children. The boys enjoy it every time they watch it. I have had them watch it in the past if they had to stay home from Mass because they were sick.

So now onto Minor Miracle #2 - I found out exactly how much they did enjoy it after we came home from Mass. They begged me to watch it again because they wanted to learn to say the Mass and be altar boys. They set up an altar, found a chalice (plastic baby cup), and wanted a crucifix for their altar. I found them a candle holder that looked like a crucifix, the St. Patrick dress up vestments so Stephen could be a priest, two candle holders for their altar, and cut some leftover material from the St. Patrick outfit to make a chalice cover. These memories will be some of my most precious - and hopefully theirs as well.

Prayers at the foot of the altar. They were explaining on the DVD that the cross on the back of the priest's vestments reminds us that he is taking Jesus's place.

Kissing the altar stone while learning about the relics of the saints kept in the altar stone.

Reading from the missal.

An official request for altar boy vestments has been submitted. I guess I know what my next sewing project will be. :-)

God's blessings to you on this wonderful Sunday!!

Joke's on Blase

If you want to play a joke on Blase - here's what to do.

Clean out and dry half a spaghetti squash.

Fill it with something good to eat. (Co-Co Wheats in this case.)

Spot your prey....

"You want me to use WHAT?"

"Yah, sure, whatever Mom."

Heckling from a younger brother or two also helps with the joke.

Giggle as he plugs his nose and tries to eat.

Oh so happy.

Come to find out - he didn't mind at all. He was just playing along with the goofy faces and plugged nose. He actually enjoyed eating out of the squash bowl. I have had two more requests from Cormac and Stephen for bowls of their own. Stephen even suggested we sell our regular dishes and eat out squash bowls from now on.

Blase told me I was the strangest mom he has ever had. I think I would have to agree.

Snow Games

Today was a beautiful day in the low 20's. We spend about an hour and a half outside just playing. The boys worked together on their forts.

Rex was pulling the sled while the other boys shoveled.

They didn't stop walking or shoveling until the sled was full.

Then it was back towards the fort walls with another load.

Everyone had their opinion on where it should be dumped.

Blase did the heavy work while the other boys spread it into the proper shape.

Little Sister just watched.

I think she has the CUTEST nose!!

Then we played a game of Fox and Goose. That is a wonderful childhood memory of mine. I remember spending more time making the trails than playing. It was still fun just walking around and seeing how many trails we could make.

Pack those trails down boys!

BRECH - STAY ON THE TRAIL!!!

On your mark, get set, GO!

Gianna and I were the "fox" for the first round. We played until Rex fell down in front of us and both of us girls took a tumble in the snow. She loved it. I wished I had worn gloves and snow pants. Then I had to come in the house and wash the dishes. Boohoo.

The boys used up the last bit of sunlight with another snowball fight. Everyone is talking about next time. They actually got along very well today. I hope it snows again for their sake.

10 Month Photo Shoot

She's 10 months old today.