Happy Birthday Katherine!

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Katherine!
Happy birthday to YOU!

Twenty?! How can that be?  This year has been one of highs and lows, but you have handled them with grace and aplomb.  I am proud of you for that.  It takes courage to hold your head high and march forward when life is dishing out lemons like you own a lemonade stand!
Keep that attitude. Continue leaning on God in moments of darkness.  Know He will never let you down, despite people often doing so!

I love you!

Love,
Mom xo

You're in your element when surrounded by littles ~ 

 Max is your favorite and you - his!

Your second favorite ~ hunting Big Sky Country.

Yet again, hanging with a little ~ 

they know you're always game to help them and/or have fun with them.

Happy Birthday!

A Belated Anniversary To Us

Indeed this is belated....a year late, in fact!  Twenty-five years.  We are so blessed.
I must explain the foot picture.  As we dangled our feet into the water of one of our favorite hangouts the night prior to our kiddos' arrival, I was teasing Shannon about his pale, soft feet.
And then it dawned on me.
His feet are white and soft from spending a fair share of their time in shoes/boots working to provide a wonderful life for us.  My feet, sandal-tanned and calloused from running barefoot across sand, river beds and grass, are evidence of his love and devotion to me and his children.  I made a commitment to whisper a Hail Mary for Shannon each time I saw my Chaco-lined feet this year.

As crazy as it may seem to some, we like to spend our anniversary with our children ~ 

the product of our love :o)

The water is flippin' cold! A person needs to warm up!

A new appreciation grew for our marriage last summer.  A friend of Shannon's was dying.  He and his wife were married a couple years before Shan and I.  Their wedding was one of our first dates.  Shannon wore his best t-shirt and I was mortified.

Danny was also our excavator and his wife, Luanne, did my hair. She even did it for our wedding back when big bangs were the thing.  And big my bangs were!

As Danny was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent treatment we all became better friends. I’m not exactly sure why. My heart ached for Luanne; on some level I just wanted to help lift her burden a tiny bit. And I knew some of their earlier struggles, seeing in them a true commitment to the marriage vows that many would have walked - or rather sprinted -  away from.  Luanne mentioned those vows one evening last summer ~ how none of us really know as stand before God, family and friends and mutter those words, ‘til death do us part’ all love struck, what they truly mean, what death may look like for our spouse, or for us.  She commented on what the definition ‘in sickness and health’ was 27 years ago and how it has evolved as she lived it - embracing the intense pain of watching her best friend suffer so immensely.  We may be asked to love someone who barely recognizes us or care for the daily needs of someone who was once so vibrant, proud and independent.  

As Shannon and I stood at the altar, did we even understand what love was? Not really.  The infatuation we felt for one another was nowhere near true LOVE.  The passion of the cross was far from our minds, as certainly it was for Danny and Luanne.  While it was sorrowful to watch them, to walk alongside them, it was an immeasurable gift to me.  To witness them both pick up their cross and carry it bravely forward was an example I will always hold in my heart.   

Looking back on back on two and a half decades, all I truly know at this moment in time is I am blessed. 

Server Installation ~ Nicholas

A year late....Nickles is now an altar server.  He's the only one of my boys who I can get to crack a smile while serving; they're typically quite stoic.  

Serving at the Cathedral is quite serious business and one needs to be focused.  That said, Nickles is my one son I get a bit concerned will light Monsignor's vestments afire.....or his hair...neither of which would be good.  We'd have to change churches, perhaps moving to another state.  

Despite my concerns and often wandering thoughts as I watch four of my boys serve Mass so reverently, it fills my heart with joy.  

I pray each of them is drawn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.  

Happy 14th Birthday Annika!

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Annika!
Happy birthday to YOU!


Fourteen years old! You are growing to be a beautiful young lady.  Smashed between five boys, you're perfecting the art of being a lady, yet keeping up with the guys.  Standing in a corner one evening at a charity dinner, I was watching you serve meals, coffee, water, moving amongst the really tight tables so gracefully, smiling at each person.  I was so proud of you.  My baby girl....all grown up!
Okay, not quite, but almost! 

Your joy is infectious.  Hold onto that, even when life may seem a little dumpy.  And always remember that your joy is only complete in Him Who created you!

I love you!

Love,
Mom xo

Sometimes you stay behind to ski with Momma, 

but more often than not you're in the midst of your brothers and their friends.  

Contemplating God's creation or your next move in a snowball fight....

Just hanging with one of our little friends ~ we're blessed to have some younger 'sisters' around.

Chilling ~

You love the littles ~

Cherries ~ Cherries ~ Cherries

When we were kids we picked cherries a couple times.  Mom canned cherries every summer it seemed.  At least I remember eating them during many long winter months.  I recall Gabe, Matt and I sneaking jars out to the barn and gobbling them up while sitting on top of the haystacks.  We were starved for sweets....or so we thought!  Shannon always commented on the copious amounts of bread and jam our family consumed, "Yeah, you guys had it pretty rough.  You NEVER had anything sweet.  How much jam did your mom go through in any given year?"  That said, the cherries were another sweet that we didn't really factor in because they didn't fall into the processed-sugar-from-a-bag category.   

I've wanted to head up to the Flathead and pick cherries for a couple years and finally got it done this summer.  I had imagined green lawns and white pickets fences (always white picket fences!) with lush trees scattered throughout.  The powdery, grey dirt surrounding the trees was not what I expected.  But the trees were certainly lush and the cherries were profuse.  I informed the guy we'd probably pick 30 pounds.  That seemed like a reasonable quantity, without buying myself too much work.  

We left the orchard with 90 pounds in boxes and who knows how many in our stomachs. Thankfully, there wasn't a weigh-in/weigh-out of each picker.  We picnicked on the shore of the nearby lake and swam afterwards.  My friend who tagged along with us got a taste of the craziness that is our life.  It was somewhat funny as I pulled over on the side of the highway for multiple discipline sessions on the trip up and and back. A kid can only sit angelically in the car for so long I guess! 

Like 10 minutes.  

Nickles was, yet again, my faithful kitchen helper.  I told him we were canning sunshine for grey winter days.  Now we have 50 quarts of cherries, errr I mean sunshine, sitting on our pantry shelves.  Whenever we pull a jar out, he's all about the sunshine he packed for a dreary day!

Peeking through the branches ~ 

The fruits of our labor.

Never mind. 

There was no labor involved.  We were pretty much done in 15 minutes!

Happy 9th Birthday Nicholas!

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Nicholas!
Happy birthday to YOU!

Where do I even begin?  You light up my life....when I'm not pulling out my hair!  Actually, even then you do.  When I found out we were expecting you all those years ago, Grandma D had just passed away.  Daddy and I felt you were a bit of a gift from her.  Despite your struggle to be good, you have such a big heart.  And even when you're naughty, I have to hide my smiles because, well, just because. 

Nickles, your perpetual smile, even when you're knee deep in trouble, warms the whole house.
Keep smiling, keep bringing joy to others, keep encouraging those around you...you do that so well! 

I love you!

Love,
Mom  xo

Always a thumbs-up, you're ready for any adventure.

You were awesome this day...an entire hike with bare feet.

If only I were as confident...you combed your hair, donned an outfit (damn the hole in your pants) and wanted your picture taken.  

You had the entire photo mentally composed, down to where and how you wanted to pose.  

In a pool full of rather unrecognizable bodies, all I need to scan for is a thumbs-up and a smile!

You are always treated rather special by your godparents on your feast day!

Boo ya! Now you are 9!

Happy 11th Birthday Dominic!

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Dominic!
Happy birthday to YOU!


Ahhhh ~ it seems like yesterday that I was in labor with you.  There was a lot going on that year, but you were MY biggest event!  My favorite memory, and I know I've told you this many-a-time, but the day after you were born was Sunday.  Following Mass, Aunt Rose and Uncle Steve, along with all their kiddos, came to the hospital to see you...beautiful little you.  All their boys were so big.  As you were handed around the room, I was struck by how tiny your body was compared to how big they all were.  I pray that you grow to be a fantastic young men as they have all grown to be.

Dom, I treasure your hugs and how you're just there many a time when I need a "Thank you" or an "I love you" or a "You're the best."  Keep doing the 'Next right thing' each day.

I love you!

Love,
Mom  xo

If I've published this on your birthday previously, sorry, bud.  

It's still one of my favorites.

You've always been in the thick of whatever the big kids were doing.  

While they may not be included in this shot, they were all there and you were prepping 

to do a flip or imitate something they had just done!

Always an adventure, helping Daddy with some animal retrieval!

You and Dad camped together for a few days, hunting and fishing...

and watching movies and cooking and eating junk food and shooting the breeze.....

You're quite proficient in the kitchen.  

And the once a year that we pull out the deep fryer brings your creativity to life. 

You fried donuts, french fries, apples and pretty much everything else that seemed like it may work.

After swimming in some frigid water ~ attempting to warm up for another dip.

So it would have been a nice picture.

When you and Tristen are together, I rarely see you.

And stretching your wings to peddle down the hill to fish is right up your alley....

biking, fishing, best friend/cousin.

Now you are 11!!!