Newborn Reality

First, please pray for a dear friend of mine who is going to have her baby on May 2nd (sharing the day with my baptism day).  He has Trisimony 18 and really needs prayers that God will be merciful and let them keep their baby for a long time.

 #12 is not due pretty soon but will be arriving pretty soon... May 14th to be exact.  Also happens to be the day I was adopted, I'm delighted to share the day.  Due to placenta previa the baby needs to arrive early by c-section so this will mean a smaller baby that we are used to.  Yeah, I'm a little anxious about it as it is very different than the other 11 babies who arrived in their own time.... late!  So I learned something new.  0-3 months is not newborn size clothing.  See picture above, that is a NB outfit over the top of a 0-3m outfit. There is actually a "newborn" size which is sized 5-8 pounds vs the 0-3 months which goes to about 12 pounds.  I discovered I only had a few items in the real NB size. After a few people gave us some NB items and I bought some irresistible items (they are sooo tiny and sooo cute) this baby now has about 25 tiny little onesies, probably an equal number of tiny little outfits in NB!

Pippin came up to me this evening and asked if we were getting a (enter gender here).  I said, "Yes."  He then asked how I knew and I said I had seen a picture that is sort of like an x-ray (my x-ray guy husband did not agree with my terminology last time this topic came up, but hey, Pippin is 7, "x-ray" is good enough). Pippin then replied, "Oh eww, you saw a picture inside you? Did you see lots of guts and stuff?!"

This is exactly why we have never used to tell our children about babies-enroute. Unfortunately the topic can't seem to be avoided these days. I believe that there are some things that are sacred, the whole world seems to think anything is public knowledge.  But the children are all very excited.

 It was 87 degrees out today.  But cooler temps are coming. Welcome to our neck of the woods it can be 4 seasons in 1 week.

Who me?!  What? What'd I do now?!

Detachment for True Attachment

I received a book I had ordered from TAN publishers called:  Consoling Thoughts on Sickness and Death compiled by Pere Huguet from the writings of St. Francis de Sales (one of my absolutely favorite saint-writers)  I have read a number of pages and it is very beautiful and can be applied in many ways to those things that make our soul sorrowful, the circumstances and difficulties and sufferings we find ourselves in.  One quote that I found quite inspiring is this:

Let us advance, then, dear souls, let us not be stayed by the enticements of the age.  There is above us a solid, a permanent good, which inebriates souls with so sweet an ambrosia, that they can scarcely know their joys, so many contentments do they possess.

Let us advance.  Something to ponder... what is holding us back from growing in deeper holiness?  Our holiness is not found expressly in how often we are able to show up for daily Mass or in our little prayerful routines... those are very good and very important, of course, but what happens when we find ourselves in circumstances that take away these little spiritually ideal practices?  What should happen is that we should find our holiness right where it should be, in the heart, where things really count.  God is going to try those who desire to live a life of holiness and His Way often is one of detachment. Will you still love Me if I ask you to detach yourself from even this?  There is no greater way to show our true love for God than through detachment of the things... and people.... of this world for there is only one True Attachment that we must desire.  So... let us advance and accept what God asks of us so that one day we may taste that sweet ambrosia.

Catching Up

Just catching up with a pile 'o pictures completely out of order.....

 My dad was out for while. I don't know why we didn't get more pictures.  But we really enjoyed the time!

 Marigold wandering off...

 Can we get a little more "cheese" in that smile?  All set for Easter.

 We had a wild ice storm last week. I really only knew how icy it really was because I was up in the night... as usual.  I think for the first century in Heaven I will be sleeping.  So, please... don't wake me up.

 But the ice was definitely beautiful.

 We are trying to figure out which flamingo the chicks look like....!

 If I recall correctly this was the Sunday that Marigold and I stayed home from Mass because I was sick.

 The daffodils are out!!! LOVE those!

 Marigold seems to have a crop of curls that grows on her left side and the right side is rather straight.  Interesting.

 She also seems to be able to find some rather uncanny places to fall asleep... but we do let sleeping babies lie!

 We dyed eggs on Easter since I had a couple sick kids which made us home-bound for Easter Sunday.  It seems to me the only reason they got sick was so that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere for Easter.  As they seemed fine as the day wore on.

 Sometimes they share... sometimes they don't.

 Um... a little more attire for Mass is required.

 Easter Egg hunt.... in the snow... of course.

 A couple deer in the back 40.  Is that a saying?

 Marigold would like you all to believe she is an angelic child while singing the Rosary.  Actually, every evening she wails all through Rosary until it is over.

 Siamese raspberries?

 However, if Marigold has a temper tantrum (not that my kids have temper tantrums...!...) you will notice that curls come out on both sides of her head. We'll see what happens when the humidity hits this summer.

 This could only be one certain child...

 One grubby boy running away one not-so-grubby boy genuflecting.  I cannot possibly imagine... can you?

 Well, as I said these are vastly out of order.  The night after the ice storm we were rudely awakened at 1:15 with a terrific bang which had me peeling myself off the ceiling.  Aragorn figured the windmill crashed down (we were having a terrific wind storm).  He looked out and saw the windmill still standing but this giant thing outside the window. My first thought (remember it was 1:15am) was that an airplane was crashing through the house.  Yes, that makes alot of sense but the 1:15am imagination isn't exactly realistic.  Well, it was the trampoline up on it's side which had been blown around the side of the house and one of the poles was crashing through the window.. some 4 feet from my head.  No joke.    Oddly it didn't damage the screen and only smashed the outside piece of glass but not the second layer.

I don't know, I guess my kids thought this was art.

Hunters

We finally finished the hunter safety program (after many roadblocks in regards to timing and getting it all set up) and now I have 4 young hunters to worry about and 2 who are working on their driver's licenses.  

 The 4 attended a hunter safety field day, after completing the on-line course quite a while ago.  All 4 passed.  The funny part was when Aragorn was asked, "Are they ALL yours?!"  We'll see what happens next time he brings in the next batch of 4!  Ought to get this all completed in 3 batches! :D  

Argument of the Day

Pippin:  Mommy's beautiful
Poppy:  No, she's not.
Pippin: Yes, she is.
Poppy:  No, she's not.
Pippin:  Yes, she is.
Poppy:  NO, she's NOT! She's NICE!

Posting Comments

Due to spam comments on my blog with links to who-knows-what, I have put comments on "registered users", there are multiple options to log in for comments.... of course it's besides the point that I get about 1 comment every 6 weeks haha. But thought I'd mention it anyway.

The Two Popes

I just love this picture!  What a time we live in!

The Road to Emmaus

 O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all things, Which the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and so, to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things that were concerning him. 

And it came to pass, whilst he was at table with them, he took bread and blessed and brake and gave to them. And their eyes were opened: and they knew him. And he vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to the other: Was not our heart burning within us, whilst he spoke in the way and opened to us the scriptures? And rising up, the same hour, they went back to Jerusalem: and they found the eleven gathered together, and those that were with them, Saying: The Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way: and how they knew him in the breaking of bread.