March

A somewhat sacrilegious thing happened in March...Simon got his first Ash Wednesday cross. And darn it that was so cute Mommy could not resist taking a picture of it before he rubbed it off. 

 Simon worked really hard on being cute in March and taking terrible naps.

And on rolling and wiggling. In the picture below, he started out on the blanket on his back. Ended up off the blanket and even the blanket had moved significantly.

And he's worked those sitting muscles with the help of the Bumbo and Felicity.

The older two girls have been visiting a local art studio a few times a month to just be creative and begin to learn some techniques and materials. It has been a lot of fun for them.

March was also Spring Break and Sarah and her brother Michael going to a Journey concert.

This was fun like Sarah hadn't had in A WHILE. Dress up in your 80's garb, crimp your hair, dance til you drop. So great. The best part was Mass on Sunday. A parishioner told Sarah after Mass, "I was at the Journey concert Friday and thought, 'Wow those people up there are really getting into it.' And then I got on Facebook and said, 'That was SARAH!'" 80's Sarah, you really know how to party.

March meant Simon and Aunt Sue meeting.

Mostly, March was a difficult month because we said goodbye to our lovely Mema.

It was the most bittersweet goodbye. We were able to be with her hours before she passed to tell her we love her and say the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The last thing she ate was the Eucharist. It's odd to say, but hers is the kind of passing from this life into eternity that we can only pray to experience. There's no doubt she is resting peacefully in heaven with her Buddy, Pepa. In fact, we ask our St. Mema to pray for us often. But even knowing this, it's always hard to say goodbye, isn't it? We're just going to miss her for the rest of our lives. There's a hole that she filled so perfectly in this family that nobody else can fill. It's a silence where her stories used to be told and her anxious murmurs were whispered and her "OUCH" echoed if one of the kids stepped on her toes as they wandered the pew. Each holiday and family gathering and 8 AM Sunday Mass has that Mema-empty-spot and makes us happy for her and sad for us.

March was a missing-my-Mema Tim who took extra time to cuddle a moment longer with his four kids. Loving on your kiddos always helps!