giving thanks

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.
- St. Ambrose

Happy Thanksgiving!

captured moment

I finally got those Christmas cards finished up and sent out.  I am so grateful to Sara for taking our family photos again-- they turned out amazing.

I do have to share the Christmas card photo that almost made the cut.

Sorry Grandma, I'll try to censor Nicholas next time.

October Daybook

Taking stock....

Making...  Lists.  grocery lists.  library lists.  starting some Christmas lists.

Cooking... Freezer to slow-cooker meals.  Nicholas is almost 10-months old and I still feel like I am in survival mode, especially in the kitchen.

Drinking... Sparkling water, my new favorite!  And still getting by with a little help from my iced caffeine drinks.

Reading...  All non-fiction books right now:  Your School of Love, Getting Things Done, and A Picture Perfect Childhood.  Might need to add something "fun" to this list!

Wanting...  To feel a little more rested.  A night out with my hubby.

Looking... forward to this weekend.  We are taking the boys to the zoo!

Wasting... Tissues!  The two youngest boys have clothes.  And All. The. Snot.

Playing... with my camera.  I would love to learn to use it.  I have a hard time reading instructions, especially when it comes to technology.  I am adding "photography class" to my bucket list.

Praying... for upcoming elections, respect-life month, ministries and some dear friends and family.

Enjoying...  Read-alouds with Dominic.  He listens to every word, and it STICKS.  It is fascinating, wonderful and very special all at once.

Waiting... For a child to wake up and need me.

Liking... Cooler nights, under 80 degrees.

Wondering... What to do about a couple of homeschool curriculum issues.

Loving...  Being alone right now (until somebody wakes up).  Introversion at its best!

Hoping... That I will make it through Gabriel's "terrifying three's".

Marveling...  At how fast my babies grow.  Always.

Smelling...  A fresh breeze from outside.

Wearing...  Jeans, tee, no makeup.

Following... My to-do list!

Noticing...  That I still have a lot of toys to put away tonight.

Knowing... That somehow, everything will get done.

Thinking... About my day tomorrow.  About a couple of decisions I have to make.

Bookmarking...  Picture books (always!), potential Christmas presents.

Feeling...  Tired, but grateful.

light as a witness

Being that this is our first Christmas in a house, we were very excited about our trip to Target to purchase outdoor Christmas lights.  

Michael has had some practice from putting up Christmas lights for his parents for the past few years, and he did an amazing job. 

The boys took a little break from helping their daddy to say "cheese!".  We have so much to smile about these days.

Ta-da!  The finished product... Now we just had to wait for the sun to set.

This is our fourth or fifth year ordering our live Christmas wreath from the Norbertine Sisters.  They do an amazing job!

I had goosebumps on this first night when we turned on our lights, allowing our home to stand as a symbol of our waiting for Christ, the Light of the World.

It's beginning to look a lot like Advent

We are enjoying our Advent book basket tradition and have started our first family Jesse Tree.  The Jesse tree uses ornaments with symbols that represent the story of the genealogy of Jesus.  

We have been adding one ornament for each day of Advent, which will lead us through the Old Testament to the birth of Jesus on Christmas day.  

Our nativity set is out, waiting for Baby Jesus to arrive.

We light one candle on our wreath for each Sunday of Advent.

We are so blessed to have five stockings to hang up this year.  I am overjoyed with our growing family.  It is especially fun to be anticipating the birth of our Lord AND the birth of our family's new baby!

  

The kids are also enjoying their Little People advent calendar and nativity set.  These are such great tools to get little ones involved in the liturgical season!

family photo gallery

how do you like to display your family photos?

house blessing

This weekend was very special because Fr. Jerome blessed our new home.  Our families and some dear friends joined us for this memorable occasion.

We are so grateful to God for our house, and we want Him to always be at the center of our family and home.  

Dominic was fascinated by the tradition.  He has been blessing his toys and sprinkling water all over the house for the past three days.  And (once again), here he is in costume:

We have a little plant on the side of our yard that isn't doing very well.  It was Dominic's idea to ask Fr. Jerome to make an extra special blessing over this plant, to bring it back to life.  These sweet moments definitely remind me why our children are closest to Jesus!

landscaping... check!

With two active little boys in the house, you can imagine how even a small backyard can be a dream come true (for all of us).  Needless to say, we are thrilled about our newly-finished outdoor play space!

Perhaps we will add a sandbox for Easter morning???

knock, knock...

We are home!

I have been so busy unpacking and settling in that I've hardly sat down at the computer in the past couple of weeks.  I have been rediscovering the art of "homemaking".  

Our house is absolutely PERFECT.  I hardly leave home these days.  

We have space to PLAY!  And I am kind of obsessed with my new floors.

Thank you for all of your prayers on this bumpy journey.   We LOVE our home!

pinch me, i might be dreaming!

2.5 weeks and counting.  

Yeah, you would be dancing too!