For Today: Patrick and Puddles

Even though we live in the desert, Patrick has found out that he can find puddles where sprinklers have been turned on for the first time this year and are overwatering. And, in the desert, where there are puddles, there is mud! Now, I know that the mess he made is absolutely NOTHING compared to a MN rain puddle (or manure puddle), but it is the best he could do here, and he was very proud of himself. 

Love, Us.

For Today: David in One of His Elements

Among other things, David is very "at home" with a pile of picture books, a pile of puzzles, super hero paraphernalia, play weaponry, and these…

This little boy's perfect bliss!

Love, Us.

For Today: My Littlest Cleaner

I've found a new and wonderful way to keep Patrick entertained when I just don't have the ability to give him my full attention: have him pretend to clean! He is almost always excited when I simply give him a dry wash cloth and ask him to "wash". He goes around the house polishing furniture and is very content. He also enjoys this "game"… he even adds appropriate sound effects! Enjoy!

Love, Us.

Blast from the Past: Kids and Kows

With March quickly coming to a close, I was looking back on my pictures to make sure not much has been missed. I realized that way back on one of the first days of March the kids and I went on a field trip to "Kids and Kows". I know, growing up in the midwest on a farm, it is pretty sad that my kids need to go to such an outing in order to encounter livestock, but that is just how it is! We had a good time and I'm happy to say that I think my kids were much less ignorant than most about agriculture.

Love, Us.

For Today: Patrick's Genuflection

I remembered a couple weeks ago that it was at about this age that Thérèse taught David how to genuflect while we were living in Georgia. So, one day when we were in a church I asked Patrick to genuflect with me. He did it perfectly without hesitation! He is a great little mimicker! After that occasion, we prayed the Stations of the Cross a few times here in the house, so now whenever he sees an image of Jesus he points to it, says his version of "Jesus" and genuflects! 

Here he is showing off his new skill!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Vocation Story

First of all, Happy Feast of the Annunciation! Hope you are finding some big way to celebrate! 

Here is a peak at our breakfast celebration… yum!!!

Now, a story for you about the above gentleman:

This morning at Mass the homily was about vocation and how Mary accepted hers from God. After it finished, David leaned over to me and asked me what vocations were. I said it was what he would decide to do when he grew up, whether he would be a priest, a Little Brother, or a dad.
He thought momentarily and then very seriously responded with this:

"Mom, I don't want to be a priest or a Little Brother or a dad when I grow up.
When I grow up I want to be a…(pause for thought)…a... (obviously having trouble thinking of the right word and then a look of excitement when he thought of the proper term)…an altar server!"

Yeah - pretty much the best!

Love, Us. 

For Today: T and P

For your viewing enjoyment, another set of buddies I snagged a picture of the other day. 

It is also a good example of Patrick's "rosy cheeks" that people are often commenting on.

Also, Joe finished the Bataan! Needless to say, walking (or moving in general) is not his favorite thing to do today.

Love, Us.

For Today: T's Last Poem as a Kindergartener

Well, we are winding our school year down, and here is our last memorized poem: Kindness to Animals. Enjoy!

Joe is doing the Bataan Memorial Death March today. Hopefully he'll be able to stand and kneel and Mass tonight!

Love, Us.

For Today: Buddies in a Box

I've learned that if you happen to have a day where you know you can't go anywhere and the kids will be stuck in the house entertaining themselves for most of the day, it is always a grand idea to find a large box. Much fun will be had and, usually, very little mess is made! Well, the kids and I came upon this wonderful box a few days ago while our car was in the shop (it is great having neighbors who have a Costco membership!). The kids had an awesome day with their spaceship/bus/baby crib/tank/battle station/car/house/box!

Love, Us.

For Today: Our St. Patrick's Day

For birthdays and feast days around our house the person of honor gets to pick the menu. So, on Monday Patrick was the chooser. Although his words are limited, we all knew what he wanted. When it comes to scrambled eggs, or really eggs of any sort, he is pretty much a vacuum. Therefore, our lunch on Monday was cheesy scrambled eggs with veggies. No, we didn't make them green, but the green peppers added a bit of Irish charm to them. ALL of us loved them and had seconds! Good choice, Patrick!

Love, Us.

For Today: T's First Birthday Party

Thérèse was a bit excited and nervous when we were driving to Mass yesterday morning. She knew that the daily Mass crowd had a habit of singing "Happy Birthday" to people, and she wasn't super excited about "everybody looking at me". Well, I knew that she had a lot more to be excited about.

I've found out over the years that people (especially grandmas) who go to daily Mass usually get really attached to any children that attend. Well, Thérèse had innocently informed one lady that her birthday was coming up, and as a result an entire party had been planned… unknown to T! 

So, they DID sing to her at the end of Mass, but that was just the beginning. Out in the foyer was a frosting-covered cake with strawberry filling (note: this is pre-breakfast, AKA - every kid's dream!), punch, and presents! T was very surprised and a bit overwhelmed by the love and generosity (as you can tell by her shy demeanor in some of these pictures). 

Wow! What a start to a 6th birthday!

Here are some members of the "Party-Planning Committee".

Love, Us.

Thérèse is 6!

Wow! Our eldest is 6! Yikes… she is almost rational!

For you this morning, a little preview of today's festivities.

I would be greatly amiss if I did not thank Nancy for creating 90% of my decor! 

Who says wedding decorations are never used twice?

Oh, I am SOOOO excited to give her this (and the other half of the present)!

*****************************************************************

UPDATE!

Ok - for those of you who just couldn't wait to see Little Sister Thérèse with Little Sister Aana…

Love, Us.

Today: Our Little Buddy's Feast Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

I realized how little green is in my family's wardrobe when we had to put rain jackets on two of the kids in order to get any significant amount of green on their bodies before Mass. Our Irish-born priest appreciated it, though!

So, for our buddy's special day today, I wanted to tell you about my favorite moment every day with him. He goes down for a nap in mid-morning, but I wake him up less than an hour later so that he will still take a good nap in the afternoon with his siblings. That wake-up time is the best! He wakes up just a bit, gives a good stretch while I pick him up, and then I get a good snuggle for at least a few moments before he notices the fun that he can have with T and D. It is great!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Gift for the Royalty in the House

If you don't know yet, our Thérèse is a gift-giver extraordinaire. She is always working on a project for someone. A few days ago, with the help of David, the project was this: 

A Banner of Love, complete with a Star Wars picture for dad and this portrait of Joe and I:

Yeah… we get the best presents ever!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Mini Milestone (For More Than One of Us)

Patrick did something for the first time a few days ago, and he did it quite well. He ate cereal and milk from a bowl. Up until now we had only been brave enough to handle the mess of dry cereal and milk in a sippy. Combining the ingredients in a bowl and giving him a spoon to try and maneuver said food to his mouth was a big leap of faith for us. I'm not saying that it was without any mess, but Patrick did well enough that we have been willing to repeat it since. Congrats to the little man (and us, his brave parents)!

Love, Us.

For Today: Daddy Story Time

I noticed that it has been a bit since I have had a picture on here of actual people. So, for today I thought I would fit in as many people in one picture as I could. This picture from over the weekend fit the bill.

Everybody loves Daddy Story Time - especially when it includes a book on Han Solo!

Love, Us.

For Today: Our Stations

I don't know if it was my time in the monastery, but I LOVE the Stations of the Cross and I've always wanted my homes to have a set somewhere. However, I've had a hard time picturing how I would do this without it being too elaborate and space-consuming. But, I had an epiphany last week after I found a set of stations that both Joe and I liked. Our library is surrounded by seven bookcases… and there are 14 stations. Now, couldn't I use that to our advantage? Well, I did! 

After simple printing, laminating, taping onto book ends, and finding 14 small candle holders and candles that were used at our wedding reception… voila! We have a simple, beautiful, and space-saving set of stations in our home! And in perfect time for Lent!

Love, Us.

For Today: Our Crown of Thorns

We made a salt dough crown of thorns this year again. They kiddos did a very nice job making it, and they put in a LOT of thorns… they better get those good deeds and sacrifices flowing to rid that crown of its thorns by Easter!

Love, Us.

A Picture for Today: A Librandi Daily Lenten Tradition

Good morning! I'm sharing today a couple simple things the big kids and I do every morning of Lent. Yesterday I shared some of the things that the kids are giving up for Lent. Well, we type their offerings up in a formal document, of sorts, including a prayer for grace and perseverance. We pray that prayer every morning and also add a sticker to the appropriate day on our "40 Days of Lent" calendar. We use the one found at the CatholicIcing blog. Sorry, I don't know how to properly link to them… but they have some great stuff!

Anyways, those are just a couple simple things that we add to our routine to remind us daily of the season of grace that we are in.

Love, Us.

For Today: Things Given Up For Lent

The big kids around here have made their decisions and the sacrificed toys have been gathered and placed within sight, but out of reach. I must say, I think they made some good, tough decisions. T gave up much of her baby doll stuff. D gave up some of his favorite weapons, all of his super hero figurines, and one of his favorite costumes. Sundays are going to be SO MUCH FUN around here!

Love, Us.

For Today: A Final Moment from our Fat Tuesday

Looking back, we had quite a fun Fat Tuesday around here. It included extra play time with things that would not be accessible during Lent, extra treats, and even chocolate milk and cereal for LUNCH! The crowning event, however, was ice cream with toppings before bedtime. Yum!

Luckily, Patrick was distracted and didn't beg for any. I didn't want to deal with a sugared-up one-year-old at night.
The four-year-old was enough of a battle!

Love, Us.

Today: Ash Wednesday

These will soon be ashes…

Blessings on your Lenten journey.

Love, Us.

For Today: David, the Working Man

Have a job to be done? Here's your man!

Love, Us.

Pictures for Today: Let's Go Fly a Kite!

It was REALLY windy here yesterday. So, David finally got to try out the kite that we got free off the curb several months ago. It was, in fact, a bit too windy… the kite didn't last very long. We had a blast, though, and are now determined to make ourselves a more durable, El Paso wind-proof, kite!

Love, Us.

For Today: Buddies

As you may or may not know, I am a horrible nick-namer. Literally, I think I am the most obnoxious mom ever when it comes to nick-names. And the funny thing is that I started out my mothering being very against all nick-names. Oh well! My poor kids will just never know their real names. 

However, my son David (that is his real name, mind you) has decided to just stick with one name for Patrick, and I love that it is what he always calls him. To David, Patrick is "Buddy". And they really are just that… Buddies!

Love, Us.