Christmas at My Brother's

The nine grandchildren

Grammy and Paw-paw

M "vegging-out" in the chair

E with his new hat and mitten set

Uncle Eric in his Christmas red

Colts shirts Grammy painted for the boys.

Aunt Susan and Uncle Ajesh with their first twin giraffes. My sister just loves giraffes and had a stuffed giraffe growing up that she took EVERYWHERE! I just had to be the first to buy her twins a giraffe.

E and cousin Mikey hugging. Oh, so cute!

Aunt Meg and cousin Mikey

The traditional reading of the Christmas story before opening presents, then we sing "Silent Night".


Nine little kids pent up in a house at Christmas time is bound to bring on the drama. When you add sugar, presents, and sickness to the mix you get a very memorable experience that you won't soon forget. In fact, the sickness lingered with us until the following Wednesday. However, despite the obvious discomforts as a result of the get-together, the kids were overjoyed to be spending time with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. They are really enjoying all the presents they received, too. The kids love the books, clothes, key board, movies, and roller skates, just to mention a few of their favorite things. My kids are truly blessed!

However, what I think was one of the best gifts the kids gave this year was a song that they learned from a wonderful woman at church named Melanie. We stayed after daily Mass a few mornings each week learning and practicing the song she called, "Let us Adore". I am not a musician and all I know is that it is beautiful! It is sung by one child leading and the others sort of echoing or following in response. We've been able to give this special gift first to their dad and then to all of our relative on my side of the family. I hope to continue giving it to others over the Christmas Holiday, including my husband's side on Christmas Eve. I definitely am grateful to Melanie, the mother of six, teaching my six such a beautiful song. What a gift she was to us! Thank you Melanie!

"The Grandkids"

My parents currently have nine grandkids. Here is the most recent picture of all of them together at Grammy and Paw-paw's house over the 4th of July weekend.

Warm February Day and Playing Footsie

We were pleasantly surprised this past weekend with some nice weather. The kids were overjoyed to be out of the house and able to play on the swing set (in short sleeves, no less!). It was much muddier than I originally thought, but was worth the mess. The swing set was bursting at the seams with all six of the kids merrily swinging and climbing. It was a very happy sight to behold.

Little E is betting better at sitting up on his own and has recently discovered his feet or "footsies", as we call them. He was having quite the time the other night sucking on them. He was just so cute, I couldn't help but get some pictures of him. I have a feeling that these are the days I will remember when I am old. I thought I might as well share them, so you could enjoy them too.

R's B-day

R is going to be 2 tomorrow. We celebrate her birthday last night with Nana, Aunt Olivia, and her great grandparents, Ma and Pa. We ate chili for dinner, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. Though it was a rather small gathering, she had a great time being the center of attention. She wore her "Birthday Girl" hat all afternoon in anticipation of her party and kept saying "Birday". That is her version of birthday.

R decided on a monkey cake this year. I tried my best to give her what she asked for, but I made the face a little too big to put a body on the cake. Instead, I just made the face and some extra cupcakes to match. Since there were going to be four girls and one boy eating them, I only put pink bows on four of the five cupcakes. The kids thought that was so cool. I'm always amazed at how little things amuse them. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. This party was definitely low key and small, but it went very well. R had a blast and that is all that matters. Happy Birthday!

Visiting Some of the Cousins

This weekend we took our first 2 hour drive with the baby to visit some of the cousins up North. We visited first with Dear Hubby's sister and two of her three kids. The girls were all in heaven playing with their cousins' toys and playing ring-around-the-rosie. Aunt Anna finally got to see little Elias and hold him. He was charming and promptly fell asleep on her. Her sweet little boy didn't mind a bit and was happy to sit upon Dear Hubby's lap while Mommy held the baby.

After a short visit with Aunt Anna, we went to see my brother's family and their brand new baby, Michael. By brand new, I mean brand new! Michael wasn't even a full day old yet when we saw him. The kids were thrilled to see their cousins and meet their newest little cousin. Of course, my oldest son was very happy to see that he has another boy cousin. Things are starting to even out now on the boy to girl ratio. As of right now, my parents have 9 grandbabies---5 girls and 4 boys. We are so thankful that all 9 are happy and healthy.

Elias's Baptism

This Sunday Elias was baptized. Some of our family and friends were there to witness this blessed event. My brother and his very pregnant wife were Elias's godparents. I am so greatful that they were able to make it, even though their baby is due in just a few short weeks.

It was a very beautiful day for little Elias to be brought into the family of God. One of the most memorable things about having a baby baptized is the wonderful smell of the chrism oil. I couldn't help but breath a joyful sigh everytime I got a waft of it. To know that the Holy Spirit dwells so close to you in this newly baptized Christian is so mysterious. I only wish I had more time to meditate and dwell upon such awesome realities.

I am so greatful to the priest who baptized little Elias. After the ceremony he made it a point to tell us that he will be praying for Elias and for us, that we would be good and holy parents. That meant a lot to me. I can use all the extra prayers I can get, especially those of a good and holy priest.

Our Recent Family Photos

Well, here is the latest family photo. We haven't had a professional one done for quite some time. I think it may have been a little over two years ago when we had our last one. I know that it was definitely before our 22 mo. old was born. I forgot how hard it can be to get a photographer who is willing to take a picture of a large group of people.
















After the photo shoot, the photographer was nothing but complimentary about how well the kids did at listening and following directions. She was amazed at how well the kids interacted with one another and spoke politely to her. I wish some of those nay-sayers about homeschooling would hear some of the compliments we get from people like her. Who says homeschooling kids are social morons? I beg to differ and I think compliments like these prove the benefits of homeschooling your kids. I feel like our kids have learned manners from us instead of being socialized by other kids their age who often times have no concept of how to be polite.

More Pictures of Baby Elias

Here are some more pictures of Baby Elias. I've been so busy feeding and changing the baby, as well as, playing referee between the kids over who gets to hold him, that I haven't had time to upload any pictures until now. Some of these are from a week or more ago.

Elias has been such a good baby. He is very mellow and even tempered. Elias has been very patient with all of the kids, too. They are constantly wanting to hold him and he is happy to oblige them. Thank goodness he is a sound sleeper and doesn't seem to mind being jostled around.

Here is Elias with his God Mother (my sister-in-law) and God Father (my brother).

Elias with some of the visitors, Grammy and Paw Paw, Aunt Olivia and Nana, my oldest brother, Ma and Pa, and my sister.