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Happy Mother's Day!

What a blessing it is to be a mother! I continue to be amazed that God has entrusted this vocation to me. It's truly the most wonderful, fun, challenging, difficult, amazing thing I've ever done.  Ray and Adam are such wonderful gifts and I can't imagine my life without them.

I thank God today for:

- My children, Adam and Ray.

- My beautiful mom, Loretta.

- My mother-in-law, Elizabeth.

- My grandmothers in heaven, Verna and Mary Jo.

- Jon, my awesome partner in this parenting vocation.

- All of the amazing moms with whom I share the daily journey of motherhood, especially my sisters and sisters-in-law and friends.

- The privilege of being a godparent! God bless my godchildren:  Shannon, Cassandra, Lucy, Noah, and soon-to-be-born Cecilia. And bless their wonderful parents too!

- The grace that gets me through each day of motherhood.

- All that I am learning along the way with my children.

- The little things that I get to discover and explore with my boys --- storybooks, worms, racecars, mud... something different every day.

I pray today for:

-All mothers. May we accept God's grace that helps us as we love, teach, and care for our children every day. May we embrace the challenges with courage and patience. May we treasure the little moments of joy each day and be truly present to our children.

-All pregnant women, especially my friend Michelle who is preparing for delivery tomorrow.

-All who mourn the loss of their mothers.

-All women who long to become mothers.

May God bless all women in a special way today. May we accept our vocations and situations with humility. May we follow the example of our Blessed Mother as we grow in faith and love. Amen.

I love you Mom! Thanks for being a great mom to me and for teaching me how to be a mom to my boys.

I received this quote via email yesterday and then on a prayer card at church this morning:

The Mother

By Cardinal Joszef Mindszenty

The most important person on earth is a mother.

She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.

She need not.

She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral--

a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body . . .

The angels have not been blessed with such a grace.

They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven.

Only a human mother can.

Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature;

God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation . . .

What on God's good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!



Wild Week of Field Trips and Fun

We're in the home stretch for this school year and there are a lot of field trips and fun opportunities for learning away from home. This week we had a great time taking part in several activities. However, our energy level and behavior has definitely been affected. (Of course the CONSTANT NEVER-ENDING RAIN is definitely a factor in that as well.)  This week we've got another field trip on Monday. (Our co-op planned them for every Monday in May.) After that, though, we'll be buckling down to our regular schedule at home. There is still work to be done before we wrap things up for the summer.

Here's a glimpse of what the past week included for us:

Sunday - Adam's Birthday! Lots of hoopla!

Monday - Field Trip to Bookmark Horse Farm. We really enjoyed learning about horses.

Adam and his friend Ryan had a great time picking big bouquets of dandelions for their moms.

This barn cat sure got a lot of attention.... was probably SO GLAD when we left

Tuesday - Fairly normal school day. Pottery class at the recreation center in the late afternoon.

Wednesday - We got to study at THE Ohio State University! We had a wonderful time exploring the huge campus. We went to a great presentation at the campus planetarium!

College prodigies!

Ray at the planetarium before the presentation

The boys were so excited when they saw this "double decker" McDonald's. Of course we had to eat lunch there.

 When we returned home on Wednesday afternoon I decided to kick off our plant study by working on starting some seeds in the kits that Pappy and Mary gave the boys for Easter. I gathered all the supplies on the screened in porch (since it was raining of course). This was a BIG mistake. Two boys. Dirt. Ten minutes. Huge mess. They lost interest quickly and I spent an hour doing the planting and cleaning up. Ugghhh...

Thursday -  I am so disappointed that I forgot my camera for this. We gathered with our Little Saints' Club for an Easter Egg Hunt that had been previously postponed because of rain. The park where we met was an absolute swamp. But we still had a great time. The sun was actually out. The children loved playing on the playground. We hid the eggs as best we could along a semi-dry path. There were plenty of treats and fun and Alleluia's. We were all just so glad it wasn't raining. Thank God for rain boots though! We came home very muddy.

Friday - Our last day of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Montessori class. We are so blessed to be part of an amazing group of families who gather for these awesome programs every Friday. We will miss this until it begins again in September.

Wow... what a busy week! I am so happy that I get to experience all these great things with the boys.

Royal Family

On the way home from soccer this morning, when I applauded Jon's bravery for fearlessly facing the geese in the parking lot of Tim Horton's, Ray declared.... "Daddy is the king! Mommy is the old woman who works for the king." What? Huh?

When asked what jobs I do for the king, Ray stated, "You clean the clothes and the dishes. You give the king a bath." Wow! (The king WISHES I would give him a bath!)

Ray then declared himself to be the jester. Adam declared himself a knight.

So, apparently we are a royal family. You can bet that I'm going to try to work my way up from "the old woman who works for the king" to "QUEEN!" If you see me wearing a tiara and acting quite royal you'll know I've succeeded.

Awesome Adventure!

Don't you just love this picture of Adam cavorting with a wolf? No, we did not banish him to the wilderness to fend for himself. However, we did send him (and his brother) away for a day with my dad and his wife Mary and Carter and Ava (the boys' cousins). Last Thursday they took a trip down I-71 and visited the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. I have never been there, but we are planning a family trip in the near future. The boys had a FANTASTIC time and the place looks amazing. Here are some highlights from the day:

TRAINS! Poor Ray ended up not feeling well for most of the day and even came home with a fever. However, he LOVED the model train displays.

I think Adam is inside a replica of a cave. He has talked a lot about the cave since the trip.

Here they are (my dad and his four grandkids) with a friend and her daughter (who are from the Cincy area).

Brrr.... inside a glacier exhibit.

Wild children riding wolves!

Water play

They told me the children's area is fantastic! I've heard lots about a giant treehouse as well.

Thanks Dad and Mary for taking the boys on this awesome adventure... and especially for the extra TLC that Ray required. I really enjoyed my day off and the boys loved it and learned a lot!

Adam's Birthday Celebration

As I mentioned, Adam turned five on Sunday. I wanted to plan a big backyard carnival party and invite all of our friends. However, Adam had other plans. His assertion of his will, creativity, and interests forced me to accept the fact that I no longer have babies or little ones. They are big boys now. I am proud, but a bit sad.

Adam's demands requests for his birthday were as follows:

1. A "Mario Brothers" themed birthday party. (UGGHHH! I am REALLY resisting this whole "video game thing." We don't own a Mario game. Somehow he has just discovered and fallen in love with this character.)

2. Cake. Chocolate. With Mario on it.

3. Pickles and olives

4. Don't invite anybody except our family and Ryan (his best buddy).

5. Prize boxes

6. A pinata

7. He would make the decorations himself.

Sooo.... not exactly what I had in mind. But I love him. And it was HIS birthday. (So what if I'm the one who carried him for nine months and got cut open in order to give birth to him. Haha.) I guess I should just be happy that his requests were fairly simple and inexpensive.

Here are some highlights from the day:

 

A gift from Pappy and Mary



Opening Presents. He had a unique style.... dumping the gift bags upside down and letting everything tumble out.
And yes.... he is wearing pajamas. Sigh.
Note the homemade decorations above Jon on the wall.



A Gumball Machine from NeeNee and Carter.
I am now into rationing gum here, but if you bring a quarter to my house you can have a piece.





A very ugly (I think) but delicious cake from our favorite bakery.



Adam enjoying the birthday serenade.



Hooligans preparing to break the pinata.

 

Jon.... just before he broke the pinata.
(The streamers were Adam's idea for turning the basement into a "haunted Mario cave.")

And finally.... that wild-eyed, over-stimulated, crazy birthday look!



My sisters and I subscribe to the theory that kids tend to be BONKERS (behaviorally, developmentally) in the weeks surrounding their birthday. Adam is definitely proving this to be true! He's testing out the boundaries of being five... and spending lots of time thinking about it in time out these days. But I know he'll figure things out and settle down. I do love his exuberance and creativity. His birthday party ended up being exactly the way HE wanted it to be and I am so happy about that.

Happy Birthday to the awesome boy who will always be my baby!

FIVE!?!?!?

Happy 5th Birthday Adam!

I'm finding it hard to believe that my baby turned FIVE years old today! How could it be five years since I held him in my arms in the hospital? He is SO grown up and independent and smart and funny. He brings so much exuberance and joy to our family. I love this snuggly, creative, happy little boy. 

Even though I feel sad about not having a preschooler / 4 year old anymore, I mostly feel blessed to be his mom. I have loved five years of watching Adam grow and I'm looking forward to all that is to come. And what a great day for a birthday - Divine Mercy Sunday and the Beatification of John Paul II AND the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker! Saint Faustina, Blessed John Paul, Saint Joseph... all you holy men and women.... bless Adam on his birthday and pray for all of us as we journey toward the rewards of heaven.

This has been a very busy week.... my dad visiting and taking the boys on adventures, Ray being sick for a few days, birthday hoopla. I hope to blog a bunch this week to catch up on things. May this be a blessed week for all of us. Remember..... we're still "ALLELUIA-ING!" Let's commit to carrying on the Easter JOY for 50 full days!