Second Honeymoon

Dear Hubby and I were able to take advantage of a very last minute cruise deal while Grammy and Paw-paw agreed to watch all six of the kids. It was very relaxing and I am so glad Dear Hubby and I were able to spend some quality adult time together. (This was back in October, and I am just now posting these pictures!)

We haven't done anything like this since our honeymoon. It was also our first time to take a cruise. I've never been so pampered in my life! I would highly recommend the experience to anyone who is in need of a vacation.

I am so thankful that God allowed us to do this. It was such a necessary and special break before the hussel and bussel of the holiday season. I'll never forget it; I'll always treasure this amazing time with dear hubby.

Father's Day

Dear hubby did some of his favorite things on Father's Day. We shot guns and ate at Tumbleweed with the kids. The kids also gave him a couple of work shirts and a hand-made card. Does it get any better than that?

Dear Hubby's Birthday

Dear Hubby celebrated his birthday this month and the kids and I made him a very simple chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream icing. (It was much more delicious than it looks.) They had fun putting the sprinkles on top. Oops! I guess those pictures reveal his true age. Oh well, he has aged like a fine wine and not a lump of cheese, so I guess he won't mind that the whole world knows he is now 37. I love you, honey! Happy Birthday.

Skiing with Daddy or Applied Physics Class

Dear Hubby took the oldest two kids skiing on Monday with our home school group. This was the first time they had been skiing. Even though they didn't take the skiing class at the slopes, they did just fine. Dear Hubby taught them all they needed to know. By the end of the day, M and T were loving it and doing very well. When I asked them if they wanted to do it again sometime, they immediately answered, "Definitely! YES!" Dear hubby even had a good time, saying it was better than some skiing he'd done in the past at much bigger slopes.

Some people may frown upon the use of a Monday to go skiing instead of doing written work. However, I think it is very important that the kids experience physics in motion. I also think that this was a great experience to teach them perseverance and some important life lessons.

Dear hubby was constantly pushing them out of their comfort zone and challenging them to try a little bigger slope or more advanced run. I think they now understand just how hard it is to ski. We will more than likely be watching some of the upcoming winter Olympics. I hope now that they will be able to see how much effort goes into mastering a skill like skiing, ice skating, etc.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. Apparently, dear hubby thought I had charged the camera battery and I thought he had charged the camera battery. Oh, well, at least we got this picture to prove that they actually did it.

Dear Hubby and I Go Camping...Alone!

While the kids were on vacation at Grammy and Paw-paw's, Dear Hubby and I accomplished many things around the house and also had some fun. After working hard all week on laundry, dishes, the garden, resurfacing the driveway, and de-cluttering, we took a small vacation and went camping...just the two of us. We hadn't been camping alone since we were first married, which was ten years ago. We decided to go to a federal campground that is about 40 minutes away called Tipsaw. It is a small campground with a lake which is near two other small lakes.

The following pictures were of an old homestead at one of the neighboring lakes called Indian Lake. The house has been restored and is really neat to walk through. The story behind the old house was very interesting, but also very sad. The couple had a total of 10 children, but 2 of them died as young children. I know that was very common back then, but it was still sad to read about the struggles that this family underwent. I kept thinking how much the kids would have loved to see this place. So I took plenty of pictures and we'll probably take the kids there later this year or maybe next spring.

After looking at the house, we took a walk to the cemetery and saw many wild hares along the way. A mother and her baby let us get about five feet away from them before they decide we might be dangerous. I took lots of pictures of the bunny because I knew the kids would love to see how close we got to them.

I was surprised at how extremely quiet it was. There were very few other people camping that weekend and without the kids around, well, let's just say it was rather silent. Hubby and I actually got to read and not be interrupted. I do have to admit that I felt a little odd driving around in a fifteen passenger van with only hubby and I in it. Though I am glad Dear Hubby and I got to go camping, it just isn't the same without the kids...but it sure was a lot easier to pack for two than it is for seven! I didn't miss the packing or the unpacking, that is for sure!

Easter at Ma and Pa's House

Dear Hubby's grandparents are nick-named Ma and Pa. We went to their house for Easter lunch and to visit with the family. The kids had another Easter egg hunt with their Aunt Olivia and some of their Daddy's cousins. Everyone had a very good time, ate lots of candy, and slept very well that night after so much excitement.

Interesting Start to the New Year...

We started off the new year a little differently than planned. My dear husband cut his thumb on a Leatherman (multi-tool pliers that is part pocket knife). Because my mother-in-law and her parents were able to watch the kids, we went to the hospital alone to get my dear husband stitched up. After 2 1/2 hrs of waiting we finally left the emergency room. The E.R. doctor put 6-7 stitches in the thumb and gave him an anti-biotic. In the picture he is sleeping on the couch after the whole ordeal. It amazes me sometimes how quickly he can fall asleep and in what appears to me to be a rather awkward position. And yes, that is one of the kids' stuffed animals he is using for a pillow. Happy New Year!

Prayers to Padre Pio...

This is probably not going to come as a shock to many, but I've been praying to St. Padre Pio that he intercede for us. My secret desire (or probably not so secret), and that of our only son, is to have another boy.

The Catholic book club I belong to at our neighboring parish just read about St. Padre Pio earlier this month. Reading about his fascinating life and then watching two movies about him, makes me love him and admire him even more. What an amazing Saint, and within our own century! I started to feel that I should pray for his intercession on this matter. I started praying toward the beginning of December for the intention that my husband would be willing to have another child. I tried desperately not to pressure my husband and resolved that I would not say another word about the subject until he brought it up.

Suddenly, while driving to our relatives house about a week ago my husband announced that he was willing to try. I didn't even know what he meant at first, but then he explained that our son had spoken to him earlier that morning about wanting to have a little brother and being sick of all the girls around. I guess that was the little whisper (or should I say whimper) that my dear husband needed to hear in order to have a change of heart. I believe it was St. Padre Pio's intercession that also touched my husband's heart. It had been about nine days since I started my prayers for the intention of his heart to change.

Now I need to be praying that we have a boy, so my son will have a brother. The prayers of children are very powerful, that is why I am going to have my children pray for this intention as well. If you would, please, join your prayers with ours that through St. Padre Pio's intercession we will have a little boy this time next year. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity in praying for our intentions. God's Will be done, not mine, though. Like I told my son, if it is God's Will that you only have sisters, he knows what you NEED far better than I.

ST. PADRE PIO, PRAY FOR US!