Visiting the Sisters

Our parish GodTeens ventured out to visit the School Sisters of Christ the King on Wednesday night. We filled a bus & headed out for the evening. Andrew & Rebecca were excited just to ride on the bus!

We broke up by grades & were given a tour of the place. Here Sr. Mary Catherine, one of my two college roommates that now live here, is holding a picture of thier crest that shows the most important aspects of their charism.

We toured Epiphany House & heard all about the upcoming Superbowl of Saints.

Then we played some very intense 3 on 3 basketball with the sisters!

Finally, we headed out to the bonfire for s'mores & hot chocolate. So much fun!

I hope we get to visit again soon.

Priestly practice

Mom's Group

Each Wednesday morning we get to enjoy the company of other moms & kids from our parish. It's been a great way to get to know people over these last 6 years! This last week we decided to let the kids dress up for a mini Halloween party. Here are our cuties!

After a rousing game of Musical Pumpkins, the junior high teachers let us parade around their rooms & trick or treat. It was great for kids big & little.

Back to the social hall for more yummy goodies!

Did you know that giraffes like frosting?

Hug

One bonus of washing all of the sheets in the house is being able to throw them around my shoulders while still warm. Love it. Feels like a hug from Mom.

How's potty training going?

Sisters

My sister Melissa came to town this weekend with her oldest girls for the Celtic Thunder concert. Of course it was "So awesome!" They bunked at Cara's house & we all met to go wedding clothes shopping in the morning. Shopping is in general not a good time for me, but it sure was fun to be with them. I love my nieces & I love my sisters. We all connect in abundant unspoken ways that make us close even when we aren't together often. I'm so thankful to have them!

Teresa & Rebecca have gone through strong love/hate phases already. It's so sweet so see them loving on each other & so reminiscent of days past to hear their bickering! (Well, as much as a two & four year old can bicker anyway.) I know it's all part of being sisters but my prayer is that the love phases dominate. I hope our girls will continue to grow closer as they grow older like I have with my sisters. God knew I would need all four!

Thrills & chills

Rebecca's preschool took their annual field trip out to the pumpkin patch last week. It was the coldest day of the week, but that didn't stop them from having continual fun for two & a half hours! It all started with the thrill of a bus ride,

then pumpkin picking, hayrack riding,

friends smiling,

photo shooting,

window peek-throughing, & slide

after slide

after slide. This "new big bumpy gray one with the rainbow" was the biggest hit of the day.

Rebecca was a tad hesitant at first

but Teresa showed her how it was done... about 20 times in a row!

Their spider web was in a LOT better shape than the zoo's.

Bouncing pillows were brisk but fun. Teresa was jumping so much for so long that even in the 40 degree weather she started handing me clothing... mittens, then hat, then coat, then she tried to take off her socks! That's when we called it quits & headed for the morning snack.

On the way we found the Corn Bus & had a blast. Teresa did not want to leave. She tricked me three times, THREE TIMES, into thinking she was walking with us but then jetted back straight to the corn bus. She was sentenced to the evil confines of the stroller for half an hour after that!

The goats, sheep, & donkeys weren't much interested in the animal feed (& I wasn't interested in spending the 50 cents) but were going crazy for the hay. The girls were very excited to pick out a few pieces & feed them to the donkey.

There was an attempt to get all 21 MWF preschoolers to take a photo before we left. Quite the show! It felt a little odd having all this pumpkin patch fun without Andrew, but we gals had a really fun morning. It was nice to meet a lot of the other parents & see Rebecca interact with her teacher & classmates. So many sweet kids! When I heard her friend Anna ask on the way to the slide if Rebecca would like to play flying unicorns, I knew that she'd found a perfect match. :) She's so full of energy, joy, & quirks. I love watching her grow.

Falling

I am not a prolific pumpkin carver. In general I'm more of a fan of paint, but our friend Anne has generously hosted a Fall Pumpkin Party for the last two years so I had to at least give it a try. Last year I just scraped off the outside layer of the pumpkin into that funny little guy on the left. It turned out cute & I continued to rescrape it out every few days so it stayed nice for a long time. This year I went the more traditional route & carved away. Here's my feline creation! It turned out really cute & the kids loved it. Unfortunately, Halloween is still a week away & I tossed it today because it was totally moldy. We're planning on doing some more carving with the kids; anyone have tips for keeping them nice a little longer?

It was a lovely night with a fun group of ladies...some of whom I haven't more than chatted with for years. Most of us went the carving route, but Annie did some cute painting & Karen was a flourish of turkey feathers. :) I had such a nice time. Thanks for all of the good food, great laughs, & amusing conversation! Hope to see you again next year!

VI visit

We ventured out to breakfast at Village Inn, a rare adventure, to visit with Darren's great aunt Alyce & her daughter Peggy last Saturday. All of my grandparents are gone & unfortunately we don't get a chance to see Darren's grandma, Alyce's sister, as often as we would like, so she has really played a special role in our lives.
Alyce used to be at our parish (but has since moved out of town) & really took us into her heart. We so miss having her there! So, we're glad to go on early morning outings when Peggy so generously brings her for a visit. We weren't quite ready in time for Mass, but breakfast was lovely. Thanks for the visit, Alyce & Peggy!

Harvest Sausage

I spent last Friday & Saturday back home at the farm with my parents. It was so peaceful! Here's their shed all decked out for autumn. (It had more pumpkins before I filled my car!) Darren & the kids opted to stay here for simplicity's sake, so I only had to entertain ME in the car, only had to feed ME, only had to wipe MY nose, only had to put ME to bed. It was a fabulous break & when I returned, I was happy to do all those little things for THEM again. :) I took Darren's car, which only has a cassette deck, & enjoyed the opportunity to listen to some old music... random TEC mix tapes, Amy Grant, Nelson... I hadn't listened to them for so long but pretty much belted out each one at the top of my lungs. I was hoarse by the time I got to the farm!
My parents & I chatted, laughed, looked at old photos, picked pumpkins, & relaxed together. We ate this dish for dinner (that is so simple it barely needs a recipe) & then I could taste autumn, too. And it's a great way to use up a couple more from those 35 pounds of apples you picked at the orchard. ;)

HARVEST SAUSAGE
4-6 bratwurst, any flavor
1 undrained can bavarian style saurkraut
2 peeled & thinly sliced apples
2 T brown sugar
Layer them all in a casserole dish, cover, & bake at 350* for at least an hour. SOOOO yummy!

I spent almost the entire Saturday at the Birthright State Convention & met so many wonderful people! There were lots of inspiring stories, helpful hints, & necessary clarifications. I left feeling rejuvenated & excited to be a friend to the women who come to us for help. It's such a challenging & rewarding place to volunteer!

World Mission Rosary

Andrew's school prayed a Rosary for the world missions last week. They started with a procession & then went into Church for adoration. Each class wore a different color shirt to represent a different part of the world. When it was their decade, they stood & led the prayers. The two boys in front of the altar prayed on a humongous Rosary so everyone could follow along. It was pretty neat!

The Dark Side

Darth Teresa

One Last Hurrah

We had to take the chance for one last hurrah at the zoo this week before they close for the winter.

The weather was perfect, crowd was light, & moods were great.

Rebecca's favorite find... Leo!