Rice Rice, Baby

A nursing mama bears the burden of providing nourishment for her wee babe, which can be stressful and wrought with uncertainty.  Thankfully, today we turned over a new leaf in the life of baby G.  Cereal.  Hooray!

This is over a month later than when we usually start, but because of baby G's sensitivities, the doc said to hold off until 6 mos.  Overall, G was pretty sweet about the whole thing.  Probably because chaos was ensuing in the background--M was working on his homework, T was finishing his own dinner, J was playing football and distracting his occupied brothers, and MG was crying (in 2yo fashion).  It was a lovely backdrop for such a milestone...

First bite and she was already trying to take over!  

Big brother came to try to encourage a smile--no luck.
"You're all a part of this conspiracy," she says. :)

Of the little that went in, most came out.

If I could even get a bite in, this was the face she made.  lol

I'm hoping tomorrow will be a little more successful!
Even so, we're just excited to try something new!!

For food, wellness, and milestones achieved, thank you, dear Lord.
God bless,

Piano Fingers

We so thankful our Mimi and Gramz have passed along a love for music.  Both are extremely adept musicians--just recently Gramz sat down at our piano after twelve years away and picked up as if it had been no time.  Mimi will often serenade us by sitting down and playing for the family.  Both were in choirs throughout high school, college, and beyond.  Mimi played the violin as a child.  Gramz played the organ and piano for church.  Mimi plays in the bell choir.  Gramz majored in music and Mimi minored in it.  Hats off to our musical mothers!

Which is why it was so special for both grandmothers to be present for the boys' piano recital this past Saturday.  Mommy and Daddy were even able to sneak away from our weekend to be there too!  It was so special to walk in and surprise everyone, seeing the grandparents and all the kids together before the show.  So blessed.

Before the performance...

Looking so old and dapper!  This was his first recital.

I am so thankful for the boys' piano fingers which graced the keys and captivated the audience for a few minutes.  All the kids were fabulous and every parent there, so proud.  We were a little nervous how the performance was going to go.  During practice the night before we had some major hiccups to overcome, but they did *great* and the recital was a success.

Each child introduced himself and then listed his songs and composers.
Our usually smiley T was very serious! ;)

He played the Star Wars theme song by John Williams and Indian Dance by James Bastien.

This is M's only pic because he was hidden behind the piano the whole time due to a lot of pedal work!  He played Snowfall by Nancy Faber and Don't Want To Lose You Blues by Martha Meier.

MG and I snuck out midway through to exercise our wiggles and have a cookie! ;)

And here is a rare photo of yours truly, doing what I do best--talking! ;)
My mom caught a pic of me and baby G after the show.  You can see G is getting some hair!

God bless on a Monday,

Engaged Encounter

GG and I are zonked tonight after a fantastic, meaningful weekend speaking at a local Engaged Encounter conference.  We had fabulous couples who were hard-working and so kind.  We saw them grow together and begin to seek sacramental marriages, a hope that we believe can change the world.

I am so thankful today for the opportunity to be involved in such a ministry.

That's all until tomorrow.  We are going to try to catch up on some zzzz's... ;)
God bless,
 

Baby Shylah

I am thankful today for the awesome recovery of our friend's daughter, Shylah, after having her pancreas removed in early September.  She was in the hospital for a lengthy stay due to other complications, but was finally released mid-October, thanks be to God.

While the family is adjusting to her new dietary needs, she remains so strong and cute as a button.  Here she is enjoying an afternoon with her mama at the park.  So sweet.  What a resilient little angel girl.  We are in awe of this awesome family.

All this has happened while Sarah, mama extraordinaire endures an ongoing battle with cancer.  They are all so tough and we are so proud to call them friends!

We are so thankful for Shylah's improving health.  And continue to lift up Sarah as she proactively battles her illness.  Things are definitely looking up.

Hope you are enjoying a fabulous weekend.

Tom Turkey

I am thankful today for the blessing of being able to stay home with my kids.

I get to help out at fun fall parties, 

and help my son create funny creatures 

like this little fella.

We get to share donuts and stories together and drive home from school just the two of us.

I get to play with this sweet little lady

and listen to her ask for her picture to be taken

while mom snaps photos of pinecone turkeys.

I get to head over to M and T's school 

and drop off a load of dyed T-shirts 

for T's Native American celebration...

and then stop by to be the mystery reader for M's class.

All this goodness because I have the time at home.

Thank you, Lord.

While I miss being in the classroom with my own students,

I sure am grateful to be able to stay home with my genetic peeps.

They are very easy to love and forgive because they're mine. ;)

With gratitude,

The Slammer

Today I had an interesting trip to the county jail... !  More like, I walked by the jail on my way into the municipal court.

Yes, B-mama was a very bad girl--caught speeding!

The worst part was that I received my speeding ticket back in September on the way home from my Catholic Women's Fellowship group.  We had just had a great gathering, a Spirit-filled time of conversation and prayer.  I was rocking to my Christian music and leaving the expressway when BAM!  I was going too fast!!!  Thankfully, the officer was very nice.  He probably would have let me go, but I was fourteen over.  Oops. :)  I called on some of His Grace right away...

I could have paid the fine up front, but would have accrued a scary number of driver's license points.  The only solution was to represent at the municipal court and receive driving school as penance.  Not too shabby.  I will say, spending even an hour in the lower courts was an experience, folks.  Lots of alcohol and drug charges, underage everything, driving everything, assault everything... WOW.  I straightened my halo and thanked the heavens for my clean driving record, clean clothes, and desire for goodness.  I walked out of the building praising God for showering my life with goodness.

It reminded me that so much in my life is a gift.  I've worked hard for a lot, but I had to be taught how to maturely handle myself, make wise decisions, and take responsibility for myself and my actions.  Those lessons were gifts handed down through my parents, teachers, coaches, wise authority figures.  I am so fortunate to have had the right role models to follow.

So today, on my 8th day of thankfulness, I want to express gratitude for the blessing of all the goodness God's shown me through His angels here on earth.  May I, too, be an angel for others.  Thank you, Lord.

God bless,

Still Giving Thanks

After what started out as a crummy day (you can imagine why), joy landed on my doorstep in the form of these wonderful people:

Today I am thankful for my awesome parents, who drove up from Florida just to be with us and help us out when we needed it.  Thank you, Mom and Dad. ;)  They are always finding some way to give or love us, making us feel special and worthy of that love.  There's no question my successes in life have been in large part thanks to all of their support.  They are second-to-none.

GG and I head out on Friday for one of two annual weekends we lead through Catholic Engaged Encounter.  We are the junior speaking team and so enjoy the ministry and the chance to reach out to engaged couples.  Our talks reveal the ins and outs of our marriage with the hope of passing along some wisdom and insight as the couples prepare for their own marriages.  It is such a blessing to us to be there, but wouldn't be possible without our support people in place.  GG and I are so thankful to have two wonderful sets of parents to fall back on.  Mimi/Papa and Gramz/Pappy are our fabulous duos--we are so blessed to have you and love you all so much.  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of great parents.

We would love your prayers for a successful weekend and also for my parents who will be braving the four oldest kiddos at home.  Should be a fantastic weekend for everyone! ;)

Blessings,