Blue Skies Ahead!

We awoke yesterday morning to this ~ why does a snowy day in May not inspire one to bake cookies and boil cinnamon sticks on the stove and cuddle up on the couch and just stay at home?  In November this is my idea of a fantastic day.  In May, I want to head for the border....the southern border that is! 




My boys were equally gloomy.  They arrived in my bedroom with their chins quivering. Their plans for the day had been completely ruined.  Fishing was out of the question, as was building a new fort/hunting blind so they could shoot at rockchucks with their newly acquired bows. (Don't worry, any animal is perfectly safe with my boys on the business end of a weapon.)

The day was salvaged when Daddy brought home a new poker set and taught the kids the finer points of bluffing.  For the record, Eric is a horrid bluffer....hopefully he will get better before he actually plays with money or he will have to perfect the virtue of detachment! 

Today definitely is looking up.  I can already hear the wheels turning in Eric & Joshie's brains.  What are they going to do with such a wonderful day???  Especially since they are a day behind on their summer vacation plans!  Look out rockchucks.....

Happy Birthday Katherine!

You're so special, oh so special, God gave you to us ~
It's no wonder that we love you so!

The day you were born my room was filled with flowers...not your average florist's flowers in perfect little arrangements, but gigantic bouquets of lilacs and sprigs of apple blossoms.  And it rained ~ we opened the hospital windows to let the smell of it all in.  With all the flowers and the smell of fresh rain everything was perfect!  You still  are not the average girl, not the "average florist flowers" but someone special, that fragrant bouquet of lilacs ~ always beautifying the room you are in. 

Love, Mom

Revelations

No, not in the biblical sense ~ in the 7-year-old sense.  We were gathered eating dinner, and in a quiet moment Joshie announced very matter-of-factly, "When worms are tied in knots they do come apart."  Oh, the days when we had that much time on our hands! 

One blessing of having all these children running around is we are priveleged to witness these revelations, see the beauty of our world through young eyes, discover something new every day.  From 14 years down to 1 year there is new light shed on some subject continually.  Nicholas now only drinks from a cup without a lid, he has discovered that he is a big boy (at least he thinks he is) ....but life without his bottle is intolerable....well for Mom and Dad anyway! 

Pride ~

Kath and Michaela had a piano recital at a local church last night ~ and the entire family went.  Often Shannon and I will take turns attending the kiddos' events.  Sometimes when the whole crew is somewhere that we are supposed to be quiet and respectful I am a nervous wreck.  Other times they are all being so cherubic I should know something is bound to happen soon.  But I sit there, blissfully unaware.  We were all lined up in our pew last night and I couldn't help but think how perfect my kids are...my girls played perfectly...the boys were listening perfectly to the other students, even Dominic was quiet, kneeling perfectly with his head in his head in his hands.  "Oh, there is hope, he knows we are in church and he is kneeling down.  I am so blessed, my family is so perfect!"  Then, he raised his head.  He hadn't been piously kneeling there, he had been drawing on his face with a pen he'd discovered. 
Relating the story later to Shannon he mentioned that possibly, just possibly, when I am beginning to feel an overabundance of pride I should begin praying......hard! 

They did play beautifully, they practiced ALL the time and we are proud of them....in a good way.

And this one ~ his fingers are flying....baby genius, that's what he is.





"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

This quote from Mary Oliver is the question that has been playing over and over in my mind this past week.  I turned 37 Sunday and every unaccomplished goal is staring me straight in the face.  My brother and I have been talking about temperament lately and I have come to realize that a lot of the negative traits of my secondary temperament have usurped the positive traits of my primary temperament.  When I told him how mad this made me what do you think his remark was???  "Good, does it motivate you?"  Good grief...he could have been more gentle!  But the fact is, it did motivate me and will spur me to live life to the fullest. 

Oh, oh, where are more dandelions???

So, what AM I going to do with this one wild and precious life that has been given to me...a pure gift?  I can't waste it and in many ways it can seem that it is being wasted.  Some of the more superficial things that I plan on doing this year is complete a triathlon....hike in Glacier with my kiddos....visit a special friend at least once a week....enjoy an evening out with one of my cherubs every week (even if it is only the grocery store ~ there's always DQ to stop by and make the trip special)...add an extra Mass during the week, even if it is by myself....and a few others that will remain near to my heart, or as Shannon would say, "Hold 'em close to the vest."  Well, now that it's written down, they have to be accomplished! 

All last week the forecast was for rain on the weekend so when we awoke to blue skies and sunshine I KNEW it was just for me. The sunshine and green grass after so many months of snow and brown mud was tonic for the soul! My sis and her family were generous enough to spend the day with us and Shannon made sure the whole universe revolved around me...not that I am entirely comfortable with that!  The rain came and drenched us later but all was good...that clean, beautiful smell that only comes after the rain.  As we drove home I felt renewed.  What an awesome beginning to a new year, not feeling a year older, but feeling blessed with a precious gift. 

My favorite surprise gift....a new lilac bush...and it's ready to bloom!

 Nothing better than Daddy's hand holding little chubby fingers....and baby sucking on shotshells?!?

This kid is always requesting lures for gifts ~ a necessity due to the fact that when he casts the lure is as good as gone.  



Brotherly love

Need I say more?  My boys typically get along pretty well, but there are times when competition between them, testosterone, whatever, just does not allow for a peaceful day.  Those days I feel like pulling my hair out...and possibly theirs~:o)  Then they do something to totally redeem themselves!  Today was one of those days.  It is the end of our homeschool year, the natives are restless, they want to be outside all the time as it seems to have finally ceased snowing in our part of the mountains.  My second, who has an uncanny knack to get in trouble just when I need a job done, did just that.  Hence, he was outside digging a hole (exactly where he wanted to be anyway ~ it worked all around) for a new tree.  I was inside brewing on how I was going to get my children to be more respectful of one another, to love one another always.  When I checked up on him, this is what I witnessed....



It filled this mama's heart right up to the top!  One would never know who was being punished...they all pitched rin. Maybe they are listening to what they are told, maybe they do know how to treat one another ~ they just need more time, like all of us.

Beginnings.....

Beginnings.....

I used to love to write letters to my Grandma.  As I wrote, the hair-pulling, mundane moments of the day took a different shape.  The moments became hilarious; life wouldn't seem so tedious as I sealed the envelope, pasted a stamp and dropped it into the mail.  It did help that she laughed and remembered the stories later, but sitting back and looking at the day through a different lens was wonderful medicine!  This is my attempt at writing again the little happenings of the day.  ~Allison