Easter at Ma and Pa's House

Easter baskets and candy from Ma and Pa, inside Easter egg hunt due to the rain, and finally some outdoor fun when there was a pause in the storms. R took the time to draw a lovely picture in between all the fun. I think she did remarkably well for a three-year old. She even included the teeth and fingers. She was so proud of her creation.

Easter Morning Celebrations

Bright and early (before 6am!), I heard the older five kids getting into their Easter baskets. They were all so delighted with what the "Easter Bunny" had brought them. I laid there in bed listening to them shouting things like, "Wow, look what I got!", "A Holy Heroes T-shirt!!!", "Cool, a chocolate bunny!", and "Look at all those jelly beans!".

I couldn't stand it any longer. I knew I had to get up and share in their Easter joy (as well as, be the candy police!). The song, "Arise, Come Sing in the Morning!" kept running through my head anyway. I knew there was no way I'd be going back to sleep. So I made my way to the kitchen, saw what they were getting into, and proceeded to make pancakes and sausage for breakfast. After all, it was Easter. Why not make this morning even more special with a large breakfast?

The kids dressed up with their baskets before heading off to Easter Sunday Mass. E had already lost his tie at this point.

Our usual Easter pictures of each of the kids in front of a bush at Church. Hubby and I had M take a picture of us together because it was also our 12th wedding anniversary that day. (Wow, who would have thought that 12 years into our marriage we'd have six beautiful children and one on the way?)

April MIM Meeting

The day was just beautiful for our April MIM meeting. The kids had a great time picking dandelions and little wild flowers in the grass for Mary.

After class, two of the girls posed with Sr. Magdalene (Miss Donna) who is a third order Franciscan tertiary.

Two Peas in a Pod Baby Shower

A friend of mine taught me a little about fondont this past Thursday, so that I could attempt to make a three dimensional cake topper to fit our baby shower theme. I wanted it to match the invitations as best as I could to tie in the theme. Here are the pictures of the cake topper in progress.

Aunt Susan with the sign I made based on the invitation.

The finished cake and cupcakes with Aunt Susan.

The diaper cake my mom and I made to carry out the theme.

The three pregnant mommas at the baby shower. My cousin, my sister, and I are all due between July 7 and August 18th.

Lots of gifts and double of everything.

I'm Stuck in the Mud!

R has been getting into situations that defy logic and belief since she was about 18 months old. She is definitely the most miscievous child, to date (though E is starting to catch up to her). R's most recent incident was getting stuck in the middle of the garden.

Dear hubby had just tilled the garden in expectations of planting. Shortly after finishing, it rained rather steadily. When the rain subsided, it was high time that the kids go outside and burn off some energy. R took this as an invitation to explore the mud pit that would normally be the garden.

Five to ten minutes after going outside, I heard a blood curdling scream of "I'm stuck!" T came running to get me and disclosed the facts of the situation. Sure enough, I went to check the validity of these outrageous claims of R being stuck knee deep in the middle of the garden.

To my horror, she was truly stuck in the middle. I reluctantly rolled up my pant legs, waded in the calf deep mud, and attempted to free R. As I pulled her up, her boots were left behind. The suction was so great that I nearly fell over into the mud, myself, trying to free them. When I did manage to get them unstuck, the outside and inside were caked with an inch thick layer of mud. Her socks were beyond saving. I guess I need to add this little incident to the LONG list of mischievous anecdotes in her baby book.

(These photos were taken my M as she and the other kids watched and laughed. I didn't think it was so funny!)

Praying the Stations of the Cross with the Bishop

Our home school group was honored to help lead the Stations of the Cross with the bishop. We gathered at a Catholic cemetery on a Lenten Friday, and walked alongside the bishop as we all meditated on the mysteries of Christ's passion. M, T, and C each helped to lead one of the stations. It was so encouraging to see a shepherd of the Church leading such a humble gathering of the faithful. Everyone did a great job and the bishop was very complimentary to the homeschooling families.

Spring Has Sprung!

The girls made these cute spring flowers out of handprints and a small paper plate. They had a lot of fun putting them together. It was a very tedious process, for some of them, tracing 10-15 handprints and cutting them all out. I think some of them learned a little bit about perseverance from this activity. I was very proud of the end product. They did a great job!

Everyday Happenings at the Copper Corral

I've promised myself that we are going to take more pictures of the "normal" stuff. So, I've tried to take more pictures of the everyday, and even run-of-the-mill activities that don't usually seem to warrant a photo.

The kids received a Japanese fighting fish as a present from their uncle Brian a year ago on St. Isidore's feast day. We decided to have an impromptu party at snack time on his feast day this year. We brought Mathias Isidore to the table, sang to him, and had some of our "sweet treat" corn muffins (They have coconut, butterscotch chips, and marshmallows in them). We also splurged and had some sweet tea. It was a nice little snack break for the kids.

Another snack the kids like is "bugs on a log", which is just peanut butter on celery with raisins on top. E really dug into his!

That same day we attacked Mt. Laundry and I thought it was so cute the E was leaning up against it. I just had to capture the moment. Our laundry is always an ongoing battle that I will never win, but this time it had really gotten out of control and this picture proves it. (Maybe I shouldn't be posting this picture; it will ruin my chances of ever winning the "super mom" trophy. lol.)

We had a park trip for recess and P.E. the other day. The kids were so happy that the weather had finally turned much warmer and they were itching to get out and play. I just couldn't say no to a trip to the park on such a sunny day. I didn't realize how much I needed the break until we were there. Inspite of the break, we still got all of our work done for the day. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Northern Visit with Family

While we were attending show up North, we visited with some of the cousins. The first few photos are of cousin Michael with E, B with cousin Annie, and all the grandkids, thus far in my family.

This last photo was taken after eating dinner with Aunt Anna and her kids after we played at the park. The kids had a blast with all their cousins and it was a nice weekend trip.