Tuesday, December 30, 2014

12 in 2014 - The Link Up

Thank you so much for spending another year with us.  As usual, it's been crazy and wonderful and surprising.

Hey, if they ever make a chick flick about me starring Mandy Moore, they could totally call it that: Crazy Wonderful Surprise.

En-ee-weigh.  Welcome to the third annual sharing of the photos.  It's the perfect time for new readers to get your year paraphrased and for old readers to take a walk down memory lane, don't you think?


Let's photo, y'all.

Monday, December 22, 2014

This girl; That link-up

First, for your viewing enjoyment before getting to the gritty of the nitty: Mary, age 2


She is constantly putting extra things on.  Rarely is she not wearing a tutu over her regular clothes.  Often there are hats involved.  Sometimes even props (think sword, lunchbox, life jacket...).  I love her.

Now, Check me out and the only link-up I've successfully remembered to host for THREE whole years in a row. 

This is truly a feat for the record books, friends.

In 2012 we all posted 12 photos for 2012 because, well, of course.  And then in 2013 I decided to make it 13 photos because that seemed to make sense.  But then a very smart friend was like "So what, we're all going to post 63 photos in 2063?  Get your business under CONTROL woman!" 

(I'm paraphrasing here.)

Saturday, December 20, 2014

6 months

It's the first day of our Christmas break, everything has finally been moved out of the old house, our parish Christmas pageant is on the books (it's the fifth pageant in a row my kids have done with the same church and....wow.  I can't believe that that's a thing.) and I feel like I can breeeeeeeeeeeeathe again.  Aaaaaaaaaah.

Did you watch Elf with us last night?  Gosh I love that movie.

JC turned 6 months old on the 5th of December.  Maybe before he's 7 months, I should post these?  Yes.

What a love he is. You would definitely want to give him the never ending squench.


Wednesday, December 10, 2014

We were (not) on a BREAK!

It's like Instagram is my new blog or something.  See, here's the thing- back at the old house (forgive my ridiculous use of punctuation marks that may or may not belong, por favor?) we had a long stretch of countertop between the kitchen and the dining room upon which The Big Computer sat and as I walked back and forth passed it twelve thousand times a day, I could work on a blog post in little spurts and have something to share with you on a fairly regular basis.

Well.

WELL.

Saturday, December 06, 2014

Feast on this feast day!

Happy St. Nicholas day, friends!  We've always celebrated this feast day as a family, but it's become even more special to us since our own saint Nicholas started interceding on our behalf from heaven last year.

It's been a great day so far, too.  His prayers (and yours!) always make these sorts of days so filled with grace.  Chocolate and presents in the shoes, a morning of family games on the wii, putting up our outdoor Christmas decorations in the afternoon, meeting one of our new neighbors (he was really nice and it turns out his granddaughter used to sit with my Lizzy on the school bus back when she used to ride the school bus.  Don't you absolutely love that sort of thing?) and just in general really living every minute of this day in our home as a family.

Friday, December 05, 2014

A surge of the heart. A look toward heaven.

About ten years ago I was driving my Nissan Altima through the early morning rush hour streets of Southern California with my two little girls, aged 2 and 3 years old, buckled into the backseat.  As usual I was in a hurry.  As usual they started bickering.  It was probably not even that annoying but I didn't know that then.  I was stressed and exhausted and was sure that if I could just have some SILENCE then the stop and go, the rush and brake, would go away.

So I looked at them in the rear view mirror and said...well, I'm not sure what I said because I soon as I finished being angry, I looked in front of me just in time to see the bumper of the car in front of me not moving forward anymore.

Monday, December 01, 2014

3 week redux (mommy blog alert)

So you know what's weird?  I didn't know, when I was a kid living in Michigan, that it was not normal for the sun to set at 10:30 p.m. in the summer but at 4:30 p.m. in the dead of winter.  Over here on the west side of the state it's even more dramatic because we are about as far west as you can get in the eastern timezone so, you know, it's kind of like living in two totally different places every six months.

Anyway, we've entered into the dark part of the year (super appropriate for Advent and one of the things that makes celebrating the liturgical seasons feel really natural here) so instead of running back outside after dinner like they do in the summer, we're "enjoying" a lot of very, very, very noisy indoor play after dinner these days.  Very.  Noisy.
Paul is banging on those "drums," Cecilia is clacking castanets, and Mary has turned the auto-play music on on the keyboard out of frame.  The baby is banging on the floor with a rattle.  Tommy is wailing a sweet tune.  Be jealous.  Be v.v.v.v. jealous

A Traditions Home

I want to have the kind of home that kids remember.  They'll wax nostalgic to their friends, and then their spouses, about the way life felt during every holiday. Holy Day. About the special plates for those very special meals.  About the multiple nativity sets- each one in a different room.  "The Fontanini.  The wooden one.  That one made out of ceramic from Mexico..."  (I don't have them yet, but maybe I will someday).    About all  the beloved things that let them know something important is happening.

I want a home like that.  I want a house of wishes and memories and traditions.  Of familiar and homey and comfortable and intentional.
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