Found two more sleepy kiddo pics

Stephen took my camera to Haiti, so I'm filling in with older pictures that strike my fancy.  I am on a mission to buy white shoes for Therese today.  In a zealous cleaning frenzy last year, I must have thrown out our hand-me-down shoe supply.  So Therese will be getting new shoes and we'll see if they stick around long enough for Marianna to use (that would be 6 years from now!). 

Andrew...

playing Waltz #2.

At least we know they made it there!

Check out Debbi's blog Hands for Haiti for the first picture of the group in Port-au-Prince.

The Adventure Begins!

Dropped our guys safely at the airport yesterday afternoon at about 4:45.  Hit rush hour traffic so I was glad I had begged asked Timothy to come along.  The trip home was stop and go for the 1st hour.  Joseph called at 7:30 PM to say they were in Chicago and everything was going fine.  Stephen was already complaining about his travel companions and claiming he was going to fatten up at the Dunkin Donuts they had discovered at O'hare.  Typical.  From the pictures Joseph emailed from his phone,  I'm guessing the night got a little long.

Killing time at 11PM

Stephen's fun



12:30AM

The "hat" is a deflated soccer ball

11 hrs in the airport....1 hour of sleep

They flew out of O'hare at 7:10 this morning and should be in Ft. Lauderdale around 11AM (EST).  There they will meet up with the group from MI and (if everything goes according to plan)  finally reach Port au Prince at 2:40 this afternoon.  I'll keep you posted if I hear anything else from them, although they will lose cell phone service and Internet access once they reach Haiti.  Debbi is the exception.  She is in the "know" when it comes to these things and will post on the Hands for Haiti blog as soon as she can.

The One That Got Away

Dan had some of the kids on the dock fishing last weekend.  Just after Clare came up from taking this picture,  Therese caught 2 sunfish.  Missed getting a picture of it, so you'll have to

take my word for it!

Marianna was soaking up some sun....

and goofing around.

I am literally making my kids go outside every time they complain that they are bored.  Soccer, not interested.  Biking, done that.  Instead, the other night they decided to have relay races across the field.  Except for Marianna and Gabriel,  they aren't into group activities just yet.

What's springtime without a pair of mud boots?

Break time!

It's the simple things in life...

I can't believe that I haven't told you about this one small detail in my life.  I have a car!  My very own car to drive whenever I feel like it.   Isn't that ridiculous?  I'm gloating about a vehicle. 

Isn't she a beauty?  Small enough to weave in and out of traffic but still able to hold vast quantities of groceries at the same time.  Did I mention that this car is CLEAN and smells like fresh laundry (thanks to Dan's vent sticks from work, of course).  Most important...this car is quiet and I don't have to worry that I won't make it back home when I make a run to town.

Alas,  I do worry that this small luxury will be short lived.  After all,  I can still remember when this was supposed to be my car....

After which came this dream vehicle....

Then along comes some responsible teenager who happens to have found employment and desperately needs transportation.  Just like that the dream is over and I am relegated to the beasty 15 passenger van which sucks gas likes there's no tomorrow and makes me feel guilty every time I start it up.  They assure me this time will be different.  They gallantly tell me I deserve a nice vehicle of my own.  I figure the least I can do is gloat....just a little....while I still have my own car.

PS....forgot to mention Stephen asked to borrow MY CAR last night.  Of all the nerve!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

We planted a few seeds yesterday.  Just hardy stuff like carrots, lettuce and radishes (especially for you, Grandpa).  Hope you have an extra special day!

The ice came off the lake this week.  Of course that starts the favorite question.  "Why can't we go swimming?"  Umm....because it's only March.  I think that's a perfectly good reason.  Don't you?  Well, they don't and so begins the daily begging.

Introducing...Chef Timothy

This picture is for all you people who know the real, non-cooking Timothy...not this imposter, posing as my second oldest son.  I knew I would have to provide proof that he was actually making his own lunch.  Notice the guy, who thinks that heating cheese dip from a can is a culinary experience, is actually using the stove!  Granted, if you look closely, you can see he's using Velveeta, also.   Blech!

While I was gone...

Last Saturday Grandma Arlene came to help corral the troops.  Dan and Joseph peeled potatoes at church for a Knights of Columbus dinner that was held on Sunday.  Tim and Stephen spend every third Sat. at the Cathedral getting ready for CNOP and Clare and I were on our

Mother/Daughter retreat. 

Grandma always takes everyone for a walk to visit Jim's animals.  Matthew decided to take the camera and so here's what I found for pictures.

Favorite pony, Robbie

Matthew does a nice job with photography, so good that he managed to get these geese in Jim's pond.

Notice the open water

We have to keep reminding ourselves that it's March.  Crazy weather!

Big Girl!

Seeing is believing...

After posting the photo of Gabriel sleeping on the arm of the couch, we started reminiscing about some other unusual places that we've found little people catching a catnap.  Did a little research and found this sweet gem...

Poor pooped little guy!

This would be a three-year-old Johnny.  I know there is at least one more of him and Timothy says there's one of Therese that I will have to unearth in the next few days.  Wow...to be a kid again!

Here's Timmer's imitation of Grandpa Jerry.  Didn't get an "after" picture but let's just say the volleyball court is ready for some action!

Washed windows last week.  Love the view...hate standing on the countertop to clean the glass!

Here's the latest news from around our house:

Joseph's car is back on the road! Lest you think that all these repairs are out of the ordinary.  Here's a picture from about 3 years ago (back in our Geo Metro days). Who really needs a lot of automotive tools when trees are readily available?

Aside from working on his car,  Joseph also received some great news this past week.  He will be entering St. Thomas next Fall as a sophomore.  Woohoo!

We took advantage of the last cloudy day to get a quick photo shoot for Timothy's graduation.  Everyone seems to think the result was pretty good. I told him I'd only charge him $150 since he was such a good sport about the whole thing.

Stephen has just completed his first week on the job.  Thanks to the kind management, we had Chicken Noodle Soup last night.  I can see all kinds of special benefits to working at a snack bar.  Hopefully, this will extend to some long-term employment and I won't have to cook as often.

Clare and I are getting ready to head out the door for a Mother/Daughter Retreat this weekend.  She's all packed and ready to go.  I should be too but I'm just not quite as organized as she is.  We also managed to get her into the High School Summer Camp at Schoenstatt.  All the camp weeks filled up and she was on a waiting list with 30 other girls.  Not very good odds, I'm afraid.  The high school camp was the best option, in the end.

Matthew and Andrew did a quick experiment to go with their chapter on Jupiter this week.  It's supposed to show a movement like a hurricane.  Did you know the red spot on Jupiter is bigger than the entire Earth?

 

They also wanted to show off this cool find... it's a chalk rock.

Linda took Therese shopping for her veil.  Their trip included lunch and some time praying in front of Planned Parenthood.  I don't know if you can tell but the veil has roses on it....because Therese is all about roses these days.  Nothing like some special time with an awesome godmother to bring a smile to a little girl's face.

Johnny is still busy doing schoolwork everyday, even when everyone else wants to be outside.  Apparently math is very relaxing.

Gabriel has pretty much walked the entire yard pulling his favorite red wagon this past week. 

Marianna is busy exploring the great outdoors.  We have to keep a close eye on her as she flits from one fascinating discovery to another.

Just chillin' after a morning of swinging outside....

Th-th-that's all folks!

Mari Meets Mary

Marianna was busy lovin' on the Blessed Mother yesterday.  Didn't manage to catch a shot of all the kissing.  These were the best I could do.

What can I say?

By now I'm sure you realize that we're a little crazy in this family.  Just to confirm your suspicions, here's a picture that Joseph emailed to me last night from his phone. 

FYI...they were at Northern Tool...makes me wonder if we should be letting them out in public without parental supervision.  Of course, then I'd have to admit they were mine.  

Yarn Along

Obviously, I'm still working on the Fleurette jacket.  Seems like I've barely started.  I did get the ribbing done and figured out the math to cast on for the upper body.  Also discovered an extra hank downstairs in a box (good thing we've started spring cleaning!).  Because the weather is unusually warm and delicious this March, we are spending a ton of time outside soaking up the sun. I'll have to look for a less involved knitting project (Therese has been begging for a new hat...I hardly think she'll need one this Spring, though.) and pick up on the jacket in the Fall.

I'm just about finished with Redeemed (last week's read) but couldn't resist starting Parched by the same author,  Heather King.  The first book is a group of essays about her thoughts on the Catholic Church and musings about her life in general.  The second book is her journey to sobriety after something like 20 years of alcohol abuse.  Kind of unusual reading for me, I've definitely learned a lot.

Not sure if it was the lack of snow this winter or the immediate warm-up, but my garden boxes went from drowning to dry in just 2 days!  Makes me want to plant something.

Lots of playing in the woods,  drinking lemonade and SOCCER!

 Check out Ginny's blog for other Yarn Alongs.