Marianna's 1st Communion

April 28th, the much anticipated 1st Communion Day!

Preparations included a banner to hang in church.

Gift from Mom and Dad

Therese thought this skirt would be great for the party after Mass.

Even a kitty scratch to the upper lip couldn't mar her excitement!

She comes up a little short with her own age group.

With Fr. Gregory and Fr. Jerry

Papa Joe and Jillian, her godparents

Opening gifts with Grandma Lois

Gift from Great Uncle Bob came all the way from California!

A perfect fit!

Special thank you to all those, near and far, who helped make 

this day extra special.

Saying Good-bye to January

January has been long and cold. 

 We've had to make our fun in the house for the most part.

School work is a must.

Lego's keep winter manageable.

A new batch of helpers in the kitchen.

Our new night time friends keep the air from getting too dry.

Matthew found a few more fun games at 5 Below.

Franny's winter hair from a short lived jaunt outside.

Last but not least, Caitlin sent this the other night.

I think her caption was something like:

They love each other so much!

When the Young Man Turned 12

Strange Happenings and Everyday Life

I have no idea what he has in his mouth but someone snapped a picture so we must blog it!

Francis wanted a ride at the mall.  This is as good as he got.

Lots of game playing through the sub zero temps.

A little baking helps to heat the house, too.

A cut and paste project from FranMan's new preschool book.

A family gift from Tim and Caitlin.  It was beautiful when it was finished but really challenging to put together.  Thinking of giving it back for them to try next Christmas!

Kid walking backwards on treadmill.

No explanation necessary.

Anniversary gift from the kids living at home.  Also, great solution to keeping track of which glass is mine.  Just need one for every kid in the family.  (dan has a matching glass but couldn't find it for the picture)

The last hurrah for our Christmas tree.

(Matthew's idea)

The Last of Christmas

Can you tell that I finally found an efficient way to add pictures to the blog?

This is the last of the Christmas catch up... I promise!

This year we put everyone to work.

Tim is cutting ham.  Joe mashing potatoes.

Well, maybe not everyone was working.

Just waiting on the food.

Taking a picture of the guy taking a picture...

and the other side of the table.

Christmas morning before Mass

Not too great at the selfie thing

Oh, this one melts my heart!

Franny pulling the big bro in his new wagon.

 Matthew scores against the persistent Stephen

in a very tiny table hockey duo.

And th- th- that's all, folks!