New Trick #1

I guess I'll be adding kitchen towels, rags, & bibs to the list of laundry items that I ask Andrew & Rebecca fold. What have I got to lose?

Birth of a Giraffe

From a half-inflated balloon, old newspapers, flour, & water became this...

which was painted & joined by toilet paper rolls, a paper towel roll, an Easter egg, pipe cleaners (from our Space Invaders gear), & googly eyes from a garage sale to become this...
then glued together to become a giraffe! Andrew & Becca did most of the work while I just did the directing. Didn't it turn out so cute? We decided it would be a perfect way to celebrate our cousin "baby" Jonathan's 2nd birthday at the farm.

It was a big hit!

The candy & fruit snacks inside were also winners. Nice. ; )

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jonathan!

We love you very much!

It's my prerogative

Lil Miss Rebecca has been amusing herself quite a bit lately. I love this picture from vacation of her just kicking carefree in the water. Pure joy! (Thanks, Lisa.)

***

The other night as Darren was putting her to bed, she walked right over to hop in. Then she said to herself,

"No, I wanted to twirl!"

She galloped back to the doorway, put her hands in the air, & twirled all the way to her bed before plopping down in it with a smile.

Yum

I want to gobble HER up. ; )

Mind the gap

In preparation for her first time at the big pool we decided to improvise in the back yard. Teresa enjoyed her first go at swimming with the big kids... she loved the water but preferred to be out crawling about in it getting into EVERYTHING. Why they invented "swim diapers"

Andrew loves the splashpark slide! We had a fun morning with friends from our parish.

Post-swimming swinging

Great Expectations

Andrew with cousin Julia

Andrew: "When Daddy went to school first he studied electricity or something like that, but he didn't like it so much. Then he learned all about animals & he got to cut up a shark! When I go to college I want to be... can you go to school to learn how to be a robber?"

First Fruits

We've had 4 red ripe Roma tomatoes from our garden already! They were small but tasty. Now we are just waiting on green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, & pear tomatoes. I think two of our plants have already gone caput, though. Crazy bunnies. Suggestions for what I can plant now in their place?

Is asparagus an option? The kids have been NUTS for it lately. We find ourselves making them wait to have thirds until they finish the other less-loved foods on their plates... like french fries & hot dogs. :P

Eagle buddies

Independence

Happy Independence Day!

Andrew with cousin Alaina

Enjoying her 4th of July viddles

Green Grandpa gave us quite the hayrack ride. Teresa was loving it! Andrew & Rebecca had fun, but mostly just enjoyed the bag of chips on board.

This was Andrew's first year doing anything more than snaps on his own, so he was super pumped. This airplane was a pretty cool way to start off his adventure. I tell ya, put a punk in his hand & he feels like a 20 year old!

Rebecca eventually warmed up...to snaps. At first she was afraid to even look when we threw them! She must have some tainted memories from last year. :P

We had a great time at Uncle Ron's on the 3rd. Then we celebrated with some college friends on the 4th & overall had a very enjoyable (injury-free!) weekend.

God bless America!

If you are on a feed-reader, there are a bunch more goofy pics of the kids in my new header to enjoy. It's almost impossible to get them all sitting still, looking the same direction, & smiling these days... but I love a challenge!

A Powerful Weapon

"There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family than the daily recitation of the Rosary."
-Pope Pius XII

As I fall in & out of feeling peace & joy in my everyday interactions, I realize it is often correlated to falling in & out of praying my Rosary. Have you ever noticed that?

"No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they'll give up the sin or they'll give up the Rosary."
-Bishop Hugh Doyle

Mary is such a powerful intercessor to Her Son & a source of consolation in daily struggles. My sister sent me a link to this excellent little video about why the Rosary is such a powerful weapon for peace. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DksaSqloTa0

"The Rosary is the compendium of the entire Gospel."
-Pope Pius XII

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us!

Fill in the blank

Sacked out on the way to Jackson's Baptism. Comfy?

Andrew: Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day!

Me: You, too! Do you remember what country we celebrate independence from?

Andrew: Hmm. No.

Me: We fought to be our own country apart from Great...

Rebecca: Grandma!

Zoorific!

I finally did it. We had nothing on our calendar & Teresa still naps in the carseat if necessary, so we headed out to the zoo. Not that we've never gone before, it's just I usually feel like we have to rush; rush for lunch, rush for naps, rush for the next event.

We just walked & talked & had a marvelous time enjoying each animal or play area for as long as they fancied. I love how they never have an "agenda" for the day/hour/minute. I want to be more like that everyday. It was lovely!

Let's Build an Ark

Andrew enjoyed vacation Bible School last week at our parish. The theme was Noah's Ark & each day they worked at constructing another part of the ark. Cute. Not exactly an avenue for substantial spiritual growth, but cute. :P He missed two days due to a bad cold that I didn't want him to pass on, but we made it for the last day. They all painted their faces like different animals, sang some songs from the week, & ended with a hot dog lunch from the KC's. I think his favorite part was just seeing all of his preschool buddies again.

Here's a video of him singing one of the catchier songs from the week. We've been especially enjoying & PRACTICING the last line.

The Littlest Princess

Dressed up in all the princess gear she owns...

her violent reaction to all things princess has finally waned.

Rebecca: Wow, Mom! What a handsome day!
***
Rebecca: Look! (pointing to the moon in the daytime sky) It's a piece of the sun!

Neece

To my big sister,

who has taught me the value

of a smile, a note, a laugh, a hug

I hope your day is filled with as much joy as you so generously give to others.

We love you!

Happy Birthday, Denise!

New Life

We are blest to welcome Logan & Jackson into the family of God!
The (now) Big Kids