Our Home Right Now

Lots of candles lit.

 

 

 

Sleeping sickies.

 

 

 

Happy 5th Day of Christmas!

Read More

Merry Christmas!

The Twenty-fifth Day of December,

 

 

  

  

 

when ages beyond number had run their course
from the creation of the world,

 

 

 

 

 when God in the beginning created heaven and earth,
and formed man in his own likeness;

 

 

  

   

 

when century upon century had passed
since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood,
as a sign of covenant and peace;

 

 

 

  

 

 

in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith,
came out of Ur of the Chaldees;

 

 

  

 

 

in the thirteenth century since the People of Israel were led by Moses
in the Exodus from Egypt;

 

 

 

 

 

around the thousandth year since David was anointed King;

 

 

 

 

 

in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel;

 

 

  

 

 

in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 in the year seven hundred and fifty-two
since the foundation of the City of Rome;

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus,
the whole world being at peace,

 

 





 

  

 

Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,
desiring to consecrate the world by his most loving presence,
was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and when nine months had passed since his conception,
was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah,
and was made man:

 

 

  

 

 

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

 

 

 

 

 

-The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
From the Roman Martyrology

Read More

Christmas Eve

We've been thoroughly enjoying Christmas Eve! Rich worked a half day. The boys and I visited the cousins and swapped godchildren gifts. Here is Abigail with her pink cat purse and princess mirror.

 

 

 

We haven't seen much of the kids who are in school this fall. So, it was really nice to catch up with Anne Marie, Lucy, and John. Everyone wanted to hold Andre!

 

 

 

Aunt Theresa made us bacon salads (a great choice for the pre-feasting madness).

 

 

 

We finished our deep cleaning at home before going to the vigil Mass at St. Patrick's. It was a great choice -- lighter crowd and an excellent choir. When we slid into our third row pew, Isaac leaned over to me wide-eyed and whispered, "This is very important!" What a nice affirmation of our parenting on Christmas Eve. This day has been full of blessings!

 

 

 

Here's our "better than nothing" family Christmas photo.

 

 

 

 

  

 

We lit all the candles after Mass and enjoyed a tapas-style dinner made up of our favorite dishes. Andre had to go to bed because he was too tired. (The people in church behind us told us that Andre was the best-behaved baby they'd ever seen. EXTRA PRESENTS FOR ANDRE!!) Isaac ate dinner with mom and dad. He was really into Christmas dinner. Look at this smile:

 

 

 

He decided to copy dad and eat his mozzarella stick with a knife and fork. He was reasonably proficient. Now he has us wondering if he's a lefty again...

 

 

 

He also put these in order. He decided the kings should be together and that Jesus should be first.

 

 

 

Rich and I exchanged gifts after the kids were in bed.

We wanted to be focused on them in the morning.

 

 

 

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means 'God is with us.'

-Matt 1:23

Read More

Sitting: Andre's Christmas Gift to Everyone

He was just sitting like this this afternoon while I was fixing the tree -- waiting for me to notice that he was hands free. He's been working on this move for a month. As you can probably tell from his expression, he was pretty proud of himself. We were too!

 



Read More

Overheard:

"You're too young to have legal title to anything.

Technically, your parents own all of your trucks.

Share with your brother."

(said to one who lays out his toys in front of his brother and then shouts, "No! No! No!" and pulls them away when the brother touches them ... and then repeats until brother cries)

Read More

Natural History

This place is a winner with the kids on cold or rainy days. We exceeded 70 degrees this morning, though the rain has brought us back down to 62 or so. Not bad for three days before Christmas! We took the boys to the Natural History Museum after Mass.

 

This temporary exhibit is a 3D animation on a theatre-sized screen, combined with a reversible camera.

Rich held one of these bad boys.

This one felt "like Play-Doh."

Content to watch.

 

Read More

More Lights!

Tonight the boys and I went to Meadowlark's Winter Walk of Lights. We were blessed with 60-degree weather and perfect skies. The boys had a wonderful time. This path was .6 miles, most of which Isaac walked. Here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac found the horse and pointed it out long before we were close to it. "Clip clop!"

 

 

Andre squealed with delight.

 

Isaac actually listened to me when I told him to put his head next to Andre's. I almost fainted.

 

Of course I also told him not to touch the lights. And this is how that went.

 

 

I really liked the leaping fish. There were also nature sounds playing in the background.

 

Isaac pointed out most of the butterflies and many of the flowers.

 

The thistles were the most realistic-looking of the displays.

 

So content.

 

The virtual snowfall was at the end. It was really pretty. I can't believe we walked under it with simply light jackets! Tomorrow, we are supposed to hit 70.

 

 

Isaac was really excited about all the "friends."

 

Read More