Introducing...

Daphne and Donald (or Bruce, depending on who you ask).   The little's have decided that they know which sex the ducks are.  They claim you can tell by the ring around each ducks' nose!  Hope they're right or there will be a whole lot of disappointment around here.  Donald was the name chosen by the small fry but if you ask Stephen or Timothy, the duck's real name is Bruce (something to do with Weird Al).  Only time will tell which name will stick.

Joseph would never admit he's an animal-lover

Marianna still likes kissing, yuck!

Our own little garden tour

We spent the last couple of weeks cleaning out our flower beds.  Here's a few shots of our progress.  This garden is our favorite, it's right outside our kitchen window.  We like to watch the birds in the birdbath.

Our Mary garden keeps getting bigger every year.   The bench has a lovely view of the lake.

It's very shady along the woods so most of the perenials have a shorter flowering time. We usually have a few volunteer plants that just show up in the Spring. Never quite sure what we'll find....it's always an adventure!

The little people like to write messages on the slate stepping stones.  Or sometimes just the name of someone they are praying for.  The rain washes all the lettering away but there's always more chalk to start again!

This flower bed includes a chair that Grandpa Dave made, a little bird house that was on the property before we were and a bluebird house that Dan made years ago but the birds still occupy every spring.  The picture doesn't do it justice....

Last, and most certainly least, is our newest flower bed I started out of desperation last year when Dan wanted to turn the grass between the driveways up front into a parking area.   I rescued my only batch of sunny perennials and relocated them to this sad little location.  We're hoping they do better this summer.

Kind of pitiful.

I hope to post an update when the peonies are in bloom.  This is a great way to keep track of my flowers as I move them around and change things (a never ending process, I'm afraid!).

Sure signs of Spring

Yellow Lamium and Kentucky Bluebells in the garden....

and Dan prepping his favorite summer toy for some action!

Get your motor runnin'....

Ready for a ride!

Yarn Along

I've had a lot of "sitting time" in the past two weeks, so I turned it into a whole lot of knitting.  Almost finished a reversible tank from Mother Daughter Knits.  Here it is after blocking. 

I also spent a fair amount of time reading and worked my way through Style, Sex and Substance.  It was a quick read, with a lot of food for thought.  I would have photographed the book with my knitting but I've already loaned it out to a friend!  Really want to read the last essay by Barbara Nicolosi again. With a number of teenagers in our house, her particular message definitely hit home.

Well, that's it from me this week.  Short and sweet!  Happy Yarn Along to all of you!

One dark and stormy night

Didn't get a chance to post this last week.  Don't know about you, but we've had some nasty weather lately.  It's time for dinner.... the storm clouds are rolling in.....

the weather radio is screaming horrendous tales of hail and high winds headed in our direction....Grandpa's calling to make sure everyone has taken cover....where, oh where are my children?....in the basement where any sane person would be?..... uh, no....they're out in the front yard checking out this awesome snapping turtle....

the picture does not do him justice....but let's just say I didn't really care at the time....so I tell everyone to head into the house....and they obey like the good little children I know they are....and they ask if they can wait outside to show Dad when he get's home from work!  NO.... need I say more?.....NO!

Bat Baby...

and her sidekick, the laughing hyena.

Not Really a Vacation

We hit a  bump in the Road of Life recently.  At the 10 week mark in our latest pregnancy, I began a long and painful miscarriage.  After five days of trying to manage things at home, I decided to check in with my doctor and discovered the beginnings of an infection.  So last Wednesday I had surgery and spent a night in the hospital on antibiotics.  We are slowly on the mend after all the disruption and have been overwhelmed by the love and support of friends and family. 

It seemed like a less than ideal time to take a road trip, but I felt like maybe it would be a good way to start the healing process.  Our  trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help had been planned since March (or maybe even Feb.) We had already paid for hotel rooms. Dan had taken off of work and Therese had been packed 6 days in advance.  She had the little boys hyped beyond belief.  I just could not disappoint.  Home from the hospital on Thursday and headed for Green Bay on Friday, that's about the way things go around here.

Let me just say that we had stressed to the kids when we planned this trip.  This was to be a pilgrimage, not a vacation. (Hence the title of this post.) But we also tried to have a little something for everyone to look forward to.  Here's our weekend in pictures....with a few words (you know me).

Lunch at a Veteran's Memorial in WI.

Check out Marianna's face...what a hoot!

On to the hotel....

Large family...teeny, tiny elevator!

Then we split up.  Dan took the football fanatics (and Marianna) to Lambeau Field.

At this point, you may be wondering why Stephen is wearing 3D glasses. 
Umm, I'm wondering the same thing.
Seriously, not sure about that kid.

Sorry Vike's, we're officially Packer's fans now.

While Mama and the water lovers headed to the pool....

Duh!
(Therese insisted this sign was for people who can't read.)

This girl totally loved the slides.

We reunited for a pizza party in one hotel room and video gaming late into the night, in the other room.

Saturday morning we rolled out of bed and made it to the Shrine in time for Mass and a little browsing at the gift shop.  We remembered to hold all of the intentions of those we love in prayer while we were there.

Clare captured a lovely picture of the Fatima Grotto.

The site of Mary's apparition to Sr. Adele

And then the dreaded ride home...

We cheated for awhile and let Marianna have the run of the van 
to preserve every one's sanity.

"On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again"...NOT!

So glad we went....so glad we're home!

Poor man's bocce ball

The small fry decided to play bocce ball the other day.  Only one problem...we don't actually own this game.  With a little ingenuity, this was not an issue.  They rounded up all of the softballs and baseballs they could find and voila!  Bocce ball it is!

I had my doubts since all the balls were the same color.  Wouldn't that make for difficulty in identifying each persons throw?  They assured me this was no big deal and off they went.

An entire afternoon of fun...who would have guessed?

Marianna was the spoiler...she kept moving the balls to where she wanted them.  So funny!