A Little Love

 

For St. Valentine's Day TJ surprised me by leaving work early, picking the kids up from school, taking them to the grocery store and buying all the fixings to make a delicious meal!  I told him that was the perfect gift.  He knows me well!

 

 

Tuna steak, asparagus, risotto, and crusty bread.  He even made sure to bring home a super chocolaty chocolate cake.  Again, he knows me well!

 

 

We all got out on the trampoline after dinner.  I'm telling you jumping for a bit is a great workout!  They LOVE it when I get on with them.  Probably because I can do some serious double bouncing.  They fly up in the air squealing!

I did something different this year.  When they got home from school I had a St. Valentine Day Healthy Heart Challenge.  They each got a sheet and had to see how many sit ups, push ups, squat jumps, jumping rope, and jumping jacks they could do in one minute.  I laminated them, so they could write their score on them with a dry erase marker.  It was super fun, and we all did it together.  George wrote down something like 62 push ups in one minute...

 

Sylvia Kateri

My sisters first daughter!  What a sweet little girl! 

 

 

 

 



How Will You Love ME Today?

And here we are again, the beginning of Lent.  This year I felt like I was starting Lent already behind.  It snuck up so quickly on me this year.  The night before Ash Wednesday I found myself saying "now what am giving up? What are we doing as a family?" 

There are so many areas of my life right now that could use some attention.  Lent is most definitely the time for that. I should be more patient with my children,  more self-less, be spending more time with Jesus in prayer, through scripture and just being present with Him in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

I felt so overwhelmed actually, of all the ways I should be growing in holiness this year that I couldn't decide WHAT to focus on.  The day after lent began, I stopped in the Pink Sisters to spend a moment with Jesus after my early morning run.  As I was kneeling there it struck me.  I heard in my head the words, "How will you love ME today Kristi?"

And that was it.  I felt a sense of peace, of what I should be focusing on this Lent.  By picturing Jesus asking me those words every day, every moment really, then I will be taking care of all the areas I should be working on in my life.

Loving Jesus today might look like patiently putting George and Evie to bed instead of losing my temper with them when it takes longer than I'd like.  It could be helping one of them with something instead of sitting down at the computer. It could be kneeling down at my kneeler to read the bible BEFORE going out to run or have coffee in the morning.  Waking up fifteen minutes EARLIER than my normal early rising to pray. 

 

I love making our Lenten Calender each year.  It helps having a visual for counting the 40 days of Lent.  The kids count the item for that day then put in the number they counted in coins into their rice bowl.  We also pray a special Lenten prayer every morning (or try to!) and offer each day for a specific intention.

 

 I had to laugh this morning.  We had a snow day yesterday due to the blizzard that threatened the Midwest.  I wasn't expecting a snow day today....long story short, we got up, dressed, ate breakfast, studied spelling words, bundled up, and TJ drove them to school.  As they left the house I spent a moment praying, hearing the question How will you love ME today Kristi?  Just then the three kids who just left for school, came walking back into the house.  School had been cancelled, don't know how I missed that.   A quick shift in gears as I was preparing for two little ones all day, instead of all five being home!!  God was going to show me how I could love Him today, for sure!  Patience, in dressing little people in snow clothes fifty times today! 

 

Life

 

 My little Pete turned ONE.  I have been storing up all the sweet little things that he does lately in my heart, trying to hang on to all of it. 

The way he crawls using only his arms as he slides across the kitchen floor. 

 How he grabs a hold of my pant leg with one hand while I'm standing in the kitchen, sticks his thumb in his mouth, and lays his head down on my foot.  Code for, "mom I'm tired, stop doing the dishes and put me to bed." 

How he scratches the back of his knee with his foot the second I take off his feet jammies.

How he takes his hand and pushes my chin the other direction while nursing, as if he doesn't want me to watch.

The fact that there is one single curl resting on the back of his neck.  I love it.  None of our other children have ever had curls.

And my favorite is that he says as clear as day "Oh Yeah" for everything.  As him anything and he responds, "Oh Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This year I had the itch to take down all winter/Christmas decorations even before Epiphany.  I was hoping to help Spring along I guess!

 

 My good friend was nearing the end of her pregnancy with her sixth child.  A group of us met for coffee and to shower her with gifts!  I got to make blueberry scones for everyone.  I love celebrating life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The first really nice day we had in January TJ and Craig helped set up each others trampolines!  Kids were thrilled!!!

 

 

 

 

 

For my birthday we went out to lunch at one of our favorites.  While we were eating it started snowing these huge beautiful snowflakes!  TJ and the kids gave me a beautiful necklace and earrings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found this drawing in Annie's journal that we write to each other.  Notice Joseph flying in heaven! 

 

 

Made these little mini cupcakes for a friend who was hosting a baby shower.  Hands down this is the best cake/ cupcake recipe ever.  Lots of lemon....

New Years Eve is Always Fun

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 2013!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something New

A friend of mine told me that she had ordered her groceries on line from a locally owned grocery store.  Groceries delivered to her door and for a measly five dollar delivery charge.

Oh joy!

I had to give it a try.  Now let me tell you that I really enjoy my early morning solo shopping trips each week.   The key word being SOLO.  Ever since Annie was a baby I started going to the grocery store EARLY while everyone slept soundly at home,

so as not to take a toddler and a baby to the store.  People would ask me why and how I get up so early to go grocery shopping.  If you have kids, then you probably understand.  I'm a good multi- tasker, but keeping kids from licking the cart, scanning the shelves for the lowest priced item, while pushing a humongous load of food was just not my thing.  So began my early weekly shopping.  I'm gone and home sometimes before anyone is awake.  The store is empty for the most part and I can zip through there no problem.  However, I wanted to give ordering groceries on line a try.  Sitting at my computer and clicking the items that I want instead of walking down isles seemed like fun!

It all went smoothly except for the flour.  Apparently I didn't look at the size of the flour when I clicked on it...mini size!  The kids and I all started laughing when I pulled this single serving size flour out of the sack! 

 

Thomas said, "maybe this store is for single people!"

Goofy Girl

When I went in to check on Evelyn last night before going to bed, I found her jammies in a heap on the floor and she was sound asleep wearing a swim suit and sandles.  It's the middle of January and don't live where it is warm year round.  Evelyn.

It's Possible...

to run outside on the snow and ice because of these babies!  A friend of mine found these at Super Saver Grocery Store of all places.  You hook them onto the bottom of your shoe and I'm telling you, there is absolutely NO sliding around.  Those little metal spikes grab onto the ice and keep my feet in place.  After the first snow we got, I tried running before I had these.  It was ridiculous.  I slid all over the place and it's a miracle I didn't fall.  So the first time I ran with these on, it was kind of creepy.  My mind was looking down at the slick, snow packed, icy road so I thought I had to slow down and tip toe so as not to fall.  Not so.

 

I signed up to run the Half-Marathon this spring.  This race has become so popular in the last few years that I knew if I wanted to get in, I'd have to sign up pretty early.  It opened at 12am on Dec. 21st, and I happened to be up and on the computer so I signed up at 12:40am.  I'm so glad that I did because it ended up filling up by 3:30 THAT day!   I am excited to train for this though.  The last time I ran it was in 2000 with TJ!  It's always fun to have something to look forward to.  This year TJ will get to drive the kids around and cheer me on! 

 

 

 Winter is definitely here.  We had our first big snow a few weeks ago and the kids got a snow day!  I remember as a kid when it would snow and I would go to bed with the hope of school being cancelled the next day.  Such fun! 

We are back into the snow gear...pants, coats, gloves, hats. boots, neck warmers, socks sprawled out all over our entry way.  Which is really hard to believe.  It feels like just yesterday that we were in the middle of summer and the 100 degree temps.

 

 

 

When I got back from a run this morning I was walking up the steps and noticed the snow balls all ready to go.  Must be a war scheduled for today....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have really great neighbors.  They have a girl who is ten and twin boys that are eight.  Perfect ages for playing with my children.  They LOVE to play with them especially outside.   On the snow day they played outside together and then had lunch with us.  George had gotten these face stickers as a gift from school.  They had so much fun with them! 

 

 

 

 

 Lately we've been watching a cooking show on Netflix called Take Home Chef.  It's awesome.  It's about Curtis Stone who is a chef and he walks into a grocery store, finds a woman who is shopping and then asks her if he can help her shop, go back to her home, help her make a gourmet meal for her husband and family.  It's a surprise for the husband and he comes home to a camera crew in his house and a gourmet meal on his table.  We LOVE it!  It's inspired us to try some new meals as well.  I found crab legs on sale at the store and picked some up, knowing how much Thomas would especially love them!  Poor George wouldn't even eat dinner in the dinning room because he was afraid of them.  Yes, he was afraid of the crab legs.

 

 

 

 

Our friend Calvin was here visiting for a week over New Years.  He had just gotten married so we were able to meet his new wife.  We had the best time with them.  It's always fun to catch up with friends we don't see often.  One night we ate dinner about six and then stayed at the table until midnight playing games and talking.  Jenga and this one are our favorites.  We do these cards at the dinner table quite often.  There are all kinds of them.  We have a set about different birds too.   

(That would be Calvin's head that George is poking at!)  They were such good sports with our children and really made an impression on them.  Between Calvin's Navy stories and the fact that Nadine, Calvin's wife is from Canada, they were very interesting to our children!! We will miss hanging out with them.