Candles and a Comfy Manger

For today, here are just a couple details of our 12 days of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Love, Us.

Costume Christmas: Take 2

Last year we inadvertantly began a wonderful new tradition for Christmas day.

Each kiddo was gifted one present from Oma: a costume!

Voila!

An entire day of fun literally wrapped in a single package.

Year two of the tradition was definitely a success once again.

Meet this year's Christmas kids:

Medieval Maiden Thérèse

Groot David

Bumblebee Patrick

Elena of Avalor Alida

Optimus Prime Romeo

Captain America Gio

Shimmer Evangeline

Love, Us.

Merry Christmas!

Love, Us.

As We Wait for the King

I dare say that we have had a very wonderful Advent around here this year.

With only hours to go, here is what we are filling our time with.

The sun has actually shown it's face for hours of each day for a few days now.

That means that there has been great opportunities for t-shirt sword fights in the backyard!

(Thanks, Aunt T, for new swords that aren't 90% tape!)

We have also had some great story times with Aunt Hayli and Uncle Adam.

A current favorite sing-along is The Little Drummer Boy.

Oh, and Romeo has been fitting in as much godparent snuggle time as physically possible!

We are so excited for Christmas!

Love, Us.

David Turns 9!

We have the wonderful month and a half every year where it is easy to remember our kids' ages.

From November 1 to December 21 it was simple: 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10! 

And then David ruined it all. 

Just kidding. He is such a great kid!

It was a fun day with friends and delicious food.

It included a battle scene in the garage...

...and the kiddos trying to get an Oreo from their forehead to their mouth.

And, of course, we had ice cream with friends!

And cake with cousins!

Happy Birthday, David!

Love, Us.

Twas the Days Before Christmas...

...and at the Librandi house:

We fit in one last mom time while gathering last-minute birthday gifts for David.

We sported our super ghetto ugly Christmas sweaters at the office Christmas party.

Yes...you are looking at regular sweaters with Christmas stuffed animals pinned on their fronts.

And we kept waiting patiently (at times) for the Big Day!

We are so excited!

Love, Us.

Warming Their Little Hind Ends

It is winter here, although it would seem more like spring in Minnesota.

But, it is cold enough to need to turn on the heat in the mornings.

That means that the floor vents are quickly claimed by little butts needing a warming.

David actually does most of his schooling while squatting on one of the heaters.

They are just one of life's small pleasures here at our place.

Love, Us.

A Regular Saturday

For today, here are some of the basics of a regular Saturday here at Castellum Librandi.

The day starts with a bit of a relaxed waking time, 

followed by a workout in the yard or the garage with dad.

Recently, Patrick has joined the rank of PT kids.

At some point in the morning or early afternoon we pray our family Rosary.

Currently, due to dad's weekday working hours, 

this is now our only full-family and only-us rosary of the week.

On weekdays the kids and I pray ours while Joe is at work. 

He completes his during bedtime routines.

On Sundays, we get to Mass early and pray the rosary with the congregation.

As a final Saturday detail, dad is getting pretty regular at finding a space of time 

(here, obviously, right before pizza night/bed time) 

to have an educational lesson with the kiddos.

This can be any topic. 

This past Saturday the topic was gun knowledge and safety.

Love, Us.

Our Gaudete Sunday

Sorry I missed a couple days.

Here are a few details from our Gaudete Sunday here in Washington.

First off...a new Gaudete Sunday tradition to add to the books!

Everyone but EV got their new Christmas hairdo.

It seemed like good timing.

Their heads were looking like mops, and we still have at least a week to fix any mistakes!

Also, our manger is getting a bit more comfy, 

but we still have a way to go before it is fit for a King!

Love, Us.

Evangeline's Favorite Grocery Cart Perch

Evangeline prefers a very unique position while I get groceries. 

I think she feels like she is flying.

What a goof!

Love, Us.

Lighting the House on the Feast of Saint Lucy

This was our second year of using the Feast of Saint Lucy as our day to "Light the House"!

The kiddos (read Thérèse with the minimal help of a boy here and there)

did it all for me as I did errands yesterday.

The stockings and both of the trees are now ready and waiting for the big day!

Last year Evangeline woke from her nap to find a very "scary" tree inside.

This year she seemed to think the tree was a welcome addition.

Thanks, Lucy, for adding some more joyous anticipation to our Advent!

Love, Us

Our New Belgian Cookie Tradition

I've really enjoyed scheduling out our Advent traditions this year.

Our most recent "scheduled activity" was making our Belgian cookies.

It is our new 2nd Sunday of Advent event!

A big thank you for the huge help of my little elf, T!

Success! Now, we just have to wait 2+ weeks to enjoy the yumminess.

Wow...Advent is hard.

Love, Us

Washington Winter Birding Exploits

The kids and I have been enjoying the simplicity and ease of birding recently.

We invested in a hummingbird and suet feeder, and put them both on our back porch

where we can watch them all day.

The hummingbirds have never been shy.

The ones around here that we see are Anna's Hummingbirds.

In fact, I think that one of the reasons why it took so long for other birds to find the suet feeder 

(at least thee months) was due to a hummingbird patrolling "his area".

They finally found it this week, though! 

We were so excited!

Here is are our most common friend, the Black-Capped Chickadee

And here is a newcomer that I still need to identify.

Any help?
Ha! Thank you to the bird-identifying Facebook Page!
This is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler!

Love, Us.

Pizza Night: A Long-Standing Tradition

Today is a quick documentation of what our Saturday nights 

have looked like around here for at least 7 years.

It is pretty simple, but it is definitely our dearest weekly family tradition.

Pizza Night!

It consists of: Homemade pizza

Basically just cheesy bread for the kids

"Supreme" daddy pizza for dad and Evangeline

Kid wine: juice + a can of Sprite

And, most importantly, a family movie with the kiddos in PJ's.

Yes - when it is just us, the boys get into PJ's by simply taking off their outer clothing!

Oh...and a very important detail:

We always make enough pizza so that mom doesn't even have 

to think about providing lunch the following day!

Love, Us.