More about our fine, feathered friends...

The ducks have made their home in our garage for the time being.  This box is perfect for keeping them IN and Marianna OUT.

With a little help from Dad,  Marianna is learning to be GENTLE.  Most of the time she tries to kiss them...yuck.  I have a a really hard time with that but Dan just thinks it's funny.

Andrew tells this duck to "Follow Papa!" and waddle, waddle, off they go.

I'm not sure who's more entertaining, the ducks....or the kids!

Just a little elbow grease...

The little people decided to beautify this part of our yard.  It was last year's poison ivy patch but after some serious sessions with RoundUp, this was what was left.

Then came a bit of landscaping and they were able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

Nothing like a mini-fire and some marshmallows to round out the day!

Typical!

Timothy:  Gabers, are you gonna play piano or guitar when you get older?
Gabriel:  I'm gonna play video games.

Reliving the Ten Commandments

 Ever since last week when we watched it as a family, our younger bunch has been reenacting parts of the Ten Commandments. (As if the movie isn't long enough all by itself.)

So without further adieu...may I introduce Joshua, Miriam and Moses (except Gabriel doesn't say Moses, he calls himself Lois...sorry Grandma).

Got ducks?

We Do!

We are only keeping two of these little duckies.  Let me repeat...we are only keeping two. 

Grocery day!

Everytime I go grocery shopping we have a little issue...all of the milk is stuck so far back in the trunk that we practically  have to climb inside to reach it. Today the little boys solved

 the problem for me...

                 Such good little helpers... and Marianna was so proud to carry things to the house...

But then she got a little confused and refused to leave the oatmeal in the house AND gave me the grumpy look when I tried to help her out...

Keep your hands off the oatmeal.

The usual update

Here's what's new around our house:

Joseph has been working at the local co-op for the past two weeks.  Supposed to be part time but last week he worked 12 hours a day.  Don't see much of him but he really likes the work and there will be great joy around here when he gets his first paycheck.  He's calling in all his previous loans to younger brothers trying to stay afloat until the end of the week!

Timothy has taken over Stephen's farm job.  He works 2 days a week moving eggs and he's still hanging on to the pizza job for now.  Also finished his application for the Tech college.  I had to break down and get his high school transcript completed.  I'm such a procrastinator about these things.

Getting a little wild while washing dishes.

Stephen finally managed to make it to soccer practice for his summer travel team.  The coach is a former professional player for the Premier league in England.  Nothing to sneeze at, according to Stephen.  Good thing his job at the Prep school is slowing down because life is all about soccer now.

Clare is adjusting to life with a headgear.  What a good girl!  She wears it 12 hours a day (sometimes longer)  and suffers through all of her brothers' loving comments about looking like something out of Star Wars.  It's a bummer to actually have to pay for such torture.

Grandpa Dave's congas really need to find their way back home.

The middle and little boys have been helping me clean closets this past week.  Therese's 1st Communion Day brought us hand-me-downs from three different sources... a sure sign it was time to reorganize.  Everyone is excited about their "new" stuff as clothing gets shifted down to the next younger brother. I took a picture of the results because I know this kind of organization won't last long.

Next week: the girls' closet!

Miss Marianna is into repeating everything we say.  Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds.  My favorite is still "OK".  When we ask if she wants to play outside, she runs to find her shoes and yells, "OK".

We're all about recycling around here.

Recycled Project

Dan promised the little people that they could raise ducks this summer.  (Let me reiterate, I raise children...not animals...although sometimes I wonder if there's much difference around here.) Pets are considered everybody else's responsibility in this family. So they helped him take apart the old chicken coop and built this lovely, moveable duck pen.

Which also happens to come in handy for keeping track of our littlest person!

The kitchen help...

I had quite a few helpers preparing for last weekend's festivities.

Andrew got a little wild with the peeler at one point in time.

Did I mention that our dishwasher died? 

These dish washers were not being very HELPFUL!



After the work was finished, we had time to play in the garage.

Marianna discovered the pool table....

and here are her adoring fans!

1st Communion Day!

Happy, happy girl!

Required photo with Mom and Dad

Don't forget godparents, too.

In a large family, it's expected that you might have to
share your special day with a sibling like,
maybe an 18yo brother!

Brothers and cousins and friends...oh my!

Extra special gifts.....thank you, Joe K.

Congratulations Therese Catherine! 

Your excitement has been contagious

 as we prepared for this very special day together. 

Love,  Mom and Dad

Spring is in the air!

 Sometimes I forget about this plum tree at the end of our driveway.  Yesterday I went to get the mail and was surprised to see all the beautiful blossoms.  I love Spring!

Chubby Toes!

Marianna got an early birthday gift from

Grandma Lois. 

Therese had to try them on her.  Just look at those

sweet baby toes!

Yarn Along

I skipped a couple of Yarn Along's because I had nothing to show for my recent knitting time.  I realized part way through the fleurette project that I was reading the pattern incorrectly so a whole lot of ripping and recounting has been going on. I didn't bother with a picture because it looks about the same as the last time I posted it.

In my desire for a faster project, I started this scarf...

It's the first time I've ever knit with sock yarn.  Don't remember how it ended up in my stash.  Not the softest yarn in the world but I like the way it looks.  Wasn't as fast as I thought it would be either.  The pattern refused to stick in my head and it's only a 2 row repeat.  Ugh! After some major ripping out sessions, I am starting to see progress.

In a sudden turn of mad woman knitting frenzy, I did get this little shrug finished last week for Marianna to wear on Easter. (Started Palm Sunday; finished Good Friday!)

The original pattern is a full length sweater but I didn't have the time or patience (probably not enough yarn either!) so made a few modifications. I can't say enough about Baby Bunny yarn.  It is just so soft and sweet.  Kind of reminds me of the little girl who this was made for! I hope she will get some use out of it this summer, too.

As for reading material, I have been SLOWLY working my way through the Moviegoer by Walker Percy.  I thought his writing was similar to Flannery O'Connor's and her stories fascinate me, so I jumped into this novel with anticipation.  This post has helped me get a grasp of the author's life.  Now I'm hoping to get more out of the storyline.   Maybe I'll have a better opinion of it by next week.

Happy Yarn Along with Ginny!

Project of the Week

Dan and Joseph have collaborated on a trailer.  Joe did the sandblasting.  Dan did the welding and over the weekend primed it.  Eventually, it will become an ice fishing house (or so they tell me!).

Since he decided to paint outside, they were finally able to take down the plastic chamber in the garage and start cleaning things up for 1st Communion this coming weekend.

Remember this?

Forgot how roomy the place was.

Crazy kids!

Happy Easter!

Here's our weekend in pictures...

Whole lotta dippin' going on.

Artist in residence

Easter Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

Less than thrilled with celery for snack

Did someone say, "egg hunt"?

It was c-c-c-cold, by the lake!

Then some of us topped the day off with a nap!

Poor Stephen is still recovering from Haiti.
(Speaking of which, how long is Haiti's revenge supposed to
last?  Extremely thankful we have more than one bathroom!)