I'm blind without my glasses

In chronological order...
Miriam met Ronald McDonald during Catholic Schools Week at the beginning of February. Even got to go to the front of the assembly with her teacher to help him do a trick.

Miriam really had no clue who he was...maybe a vague idea. But Mommy counts this as a parenting victory. Protection from fast food in all its shining glory.

We had five deer in our backyard one evening last week. We LOVE experiencing the nature in the woods in our backyard. Many evenings we can hear an owl hooting outside. Just another reminder what a blessing our new home is!

Last week was a big week for Vivian as we began the doctor appointments before entering Kindergarten. She started off at our family doctor which turned out pretty rough with the first set of shots and a topical, chemical treatment of a skin virus Mommy misdiagnosed as eczema. Parenting fail.

She had her eye doctor appointment later in the week. And what we thought would be a 30 minute appointment turned into 2 hours and 45 minutes because...

...Vivian needs glasses. Felicity was well behaved during this ordeal, like normal.

But Viv decided she did not want glasses. At all. And she wasn't trying any on and she wasn't cooperating with the eye doctor. There were no hysterical fits...just a very passive patient claiming she couldn't read ANY of the letters or identify any of the pictures. Huh. Well that's just gonna get you some eye dilation, child, so the doctor can get a better look at what's happening. (Did you know eye dilation makes kids tired and grumpy? We learned that.)

Eventually she warmed up a tiny bit to the idea of glasses when a pair with Anna from Frozen was offered.

And we picked out a backup pair because Viv is just hard on stuff.

There was also a bribe involved to maker her at least decent during the last half of the appointment...Burger King. So much for life fast-food-free.

And it turns out fast food is terrible for you, especially if you don't have a gall bladder, like Mommy.

After surviving all that, Mommy and Daddy were pretty pleased to have plans to visit the Beer Exchange in Kalamazoo again with some of Sarah's siblings. Aunt Bridget and Uncle Ryan spent the night that evening, which makes the girls giddy with happiness. They made a plan for how they would wake up Aunt Bridget and Uncle Ryan. They sang "Happy Birthday" to Aunt Bridget and said to Uncle Ryan, "Wake up, Uncle PoodlePants!" Silliest wake up calls for the silliest person they know.

So a whole day of fun with Bridget and Ryan. ALSO, let's talk about groceries. In this picture, Miriam is eating an entire container of raspberries in one sitting by herself. They say teenage boys eat a lot...but so do little girls!

That evening was more adult family time with some square dancing. The best.

The next day? More family time...a peanut butter cookoff...Bridget and Ryan won with their burgers topped with homemade peanut butter chipolte BBQ sauce.

...and baby Catherine time. These girls LOVE their baby cousin. Poor baby girl cries from being "over loved" but a few cuddles from her parents fixes it all right up. 

But don't you love Catherine's legs! Chunk-a-MONK!

No dirt for me, thanks.

Felicity did not like Ash Wednesday Mass. Primarily because someone put dirt on her.

Every morning, Felicity wakes up, drinks a cup of milk while cuddling with her Daddy...and then asks for a fancy dress. 

She likes to throw away trash...or whatever she perceives to be garbage. In fact, Miriam is missing a book from the school library and Mommy's not entirely sure Felicity didn't find it, not recognize it, and throw it away. 

When we returned to our pew, Felicity not-so-sneakily rubbed away her ash cross, then rubbed her face into Mommy's shirt, for good measure. Later she leaned over to Mommy and whispered, "United Way {where Mommy works part-time} people gonna to ask why you have the dirt cross on you face."

Because dirt on your face is the lowest of the low. But that's probably what the Church is going for when they say, "Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return." So thanks for catechizing, Felicity.

These Girls

Costco Break

Having three little girls couldn't be more fun. Really! They're old enough now to play together, young enough to say the most ridiculous things.

Matching Irish Twins

Vivian especially, with her little wheels always turning, comes up with some wild ideas.

Stories before bed with Nana

Recently she said, "Isn't it good that macaroni and candy aren't poisonous?"

Miriam, our artist and author

Yes, it is good. What would we do without those things? Probably just eat white rice forever, her other favorite food.

St. Josephine, pray for us

Today is the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a favorite saint-friend.

She was kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured. A terrible life that she did not allow to make her bitter, but instead gave her a deep love for her Savior who suffered for her. 

Such an attitude of gratitude to emulate!

A young student once asked Bakhita: "What would you do, if you were to meet your captors?" Without hesitation she responded, "If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today."

Again, her attitude makes the difference. She thanks God for her suffering because it drew her close to Him. She would "kiss their hands."  Something to recall on the days when the people in life become the crosses we're bearing. Instead of gossiping or lashing out or becoming cold, we should "kiss their hands" and thank them for letting us be of service.

Thank you, Lord, for these little crosses and big blessings that bring me closer to You.

Filling the Jars

While recently prepping some "stuff" for church, the question appeared:

In your daily life, how can you obey the command to fill the jars “to the brim”?
As you probably know this was in the context of Jesus' first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. But never before had this command been applied to us...those words spoken thousands of years ago meant for today. It's appropriate that the question doesn't ask how do I currently obey, because the status quo probably isn't the ideal. The question asks how CAN I obey, very much implying that there is a goal, a higher level of obedience to attain.

There are so many jars in life, right? So many places to put our time and energy. And how many of them have any actual worth in the consideration of eternity? Only souls, only other humans have this eternal worth. People are the jars that I should spend every moment on earth trying to fill.

So many jars, so little time. But recall Blessed Mother Teresa. She said, "If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family."

October 2013

Which is impossible at times and not because they are unlovable. Rather, I'm so bad at loving. So selfish and focused on my own agenda. When will I be able to sew next, when will I get to sit and watch Downton Abbey, when's my next vacation, why can't I do the dishes in peace, who ate the last brownie!?!?

And children are hard to raise with their personalities and general wildness. And don't forget my parenting failures (see above). Then add in all the horrible influences they'll encounter as they grow up and are exposed to more and more of the worst of the world. Right now we don't even allow the news to be on in our home. (Partly because it's all made up anyways by the reporter's agenda...but that's a topic for another day. But partly because we like them innocent.) It's daunting to consider all that's going into these jars.

March 2015

The command was to fill the jars to the brim. Nothing more. Simply put all my efforts into filling the jars as full as I possibly can. And the story gives us the promise of the outcome we can expect if we follow the command and then step back with trust that Jesus has a plan. Those servers filled the jars with water. And were serving wine-the best wine!-before the party was over.

December 2015

So I'll persevere in filling these little jars with love, lessons in virtue, and prayer. Then step back and wait for that promise to manifest itself in their lives.

Family Field Trips

We've had two special family outings in the past two weeks. First we went to see Lydia's middle school orchestra play in Fort Wayne. They are so good sometimes you forget they're so young.

Afterward we stepped "backstage" to see Lydia for a few moments before her group left. As always, the girls were THRILLED to be with her.

This weekend we attempted to go tobogganing at a nearby state park, but the line was soooo long and we actually need two more adults to be able to pull it off. Change of plans meant a stop at the nature center to check out the indoor creatures, touch a leather-back turtle, and pick up a trail map. 

In three layers of clothes, with collected walking sticks, and fortified by lots of sunshine, we took a hike. A short hike for short legs with a stop at a park and in the Inn for a snack.

Then back on the trail.

Mommy and Daddy both like to be outdoors and hope that if we take the girls along for the ride, they'll be happy campers, too.

And even when they're not...

...at least we can enjoy the view.

Felicity's Clean Teeth

Felicity had her first dental appointment a week and a half ago. First she watched her older sisters get their teeth polished. Mommy wasn't sure how the whole experience would go over. Sometimes Felicity can be very timid, but she's always working so hard to be as big as Miriam and Vivian. As she observed, Felicity whispered over and over to Mommy, "Is it my turn yet?" A GOOD SIGN!  And then she crawled up into the exam chair with a huge smile on her face.

She was an old pro within two minutes of leaning back in the chair.

Mommy had nothing to worry about and Felicity is probably the proudest owner of a blue teddy bear toothbrush in town.