7

Dear B-Rad aka Nanny McB,

Happy 7th Birthday!!! Your Daddy and I love you so much.

You are growing into such a beautiful and kind young lady.

Last year at this time I never knew that I was carrying your best friend in my belly. As soon as Baby MC was born, we were all smitten, but you especially were. You love her so much and she loves you just as much. You care for her so lovingly and make her laugh at all the right times.

You took a ballet class and learned a fan dance!

I never knew that summers in our new hometown could be so fun, and you had such an exciting summer. You learned how to swim in our neighborhood pool, and you even jumped off the diving board! I knew the high dive was next on your list and you conquered that, too. You were even brave enough to join the mini swim team. I was so proud of you, and continue to be. You even had fun learning to play tennis. But the best part was meeting a kindred spirit in your new friend, K.

You were a soccer star in the fall, long legs running fast and scoring goals in every game you played.

You bless us with your beautiful voice as you sing the hymns you learn in the children's choir at our Parish.

You are smart and are such a good reader and writer and turning into quite the mathematician as well. You keep me on my schedule, even when I don't want to! You know what time and day things are supposed to happen. You are the Calendar Queen.

You are still feisty, messy, and funny. You make the silliest faces, and are quick with a joke. I don't know where you get it from.

Although you are tall and lean, you still love your candy, and I can get you to do most any chore with the prize of a stick of gum.

You are a very important part of this Party of Nine. Today is YOUR day, and you know it. You are glowing in it. As it should be. Many Blessings to you today and forever. We love you.

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas 2010: Thank you for being part of our Village

This Week's Small Change

Simplicity Parenting has encouraged us today to stick with our small changes we've made last week, even if our plans have been thwarted by holiday festivities!

They, then, challenge us for this week's small change: What can you tweak about how you are handling the sibling rivalry or your own frustrations that send you into a mommy meltdown?

Can you strive to put...

"Before you say something, ask yourself these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?" (Simplicity Parenting, p. 192)

...into practice this week?

For this challenge, I will sit down with my kids and talk about thinking before talking and acting. I would like to put these 3 questions in a vicinity where everyone can see it and ponder it often.

Luckily, my kids DO get along fairly well. Most likely because we homeschool and we are in each other's company for large periods of time daily. They work things out themselves and if not, I swoop in and try to help out as evenly as possible. Then we diffuse the situation with an apology and a hug.

I would like them to speak more kindly to each other, so hopefully we will be successful in working on this challenge this week!

I could always use a reminder to speak kinder, too!

Multitude Monday

(photo taken 12/09)

"Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you."~~ St. Jerome (from today's Think from Small Steps for Catholic Moms)

Today I am joining in with Ann over at A Holy Experience and hundreds of others who have also began their own 1000 Gift Lists. Care to join me? These are in no particular order...

81. Jesus is Born!!!... 82. toys for good little boys and girls... 83. leftovers... 84. a whole week of husband home!!!... 85. Just Dance 2... 86. Fresh Sugar Lemon...Perfume!(thanks, Hon)... 87. sleeping in on a cold winter's morn... 88. 12 whole days of Christmas!... 89. a good tired... 90. another birthday prep... 91. Christmas Eve traditions... 92. Christmas Day Mass... 93. spending Christmas Day with husband's family... 94. the snow storm that blew us back home... 95. Sunday Mass celebrating the Feast day of the Holy Family... 96. Safe travels... 97. Aunty, Uncle, and cousins that beckon us to play and continue the celebration... 98. our bed... 99. my sister, who keeps reserving a beautiful hotel room in hopes that the snow goes away and we can make it east... 100. we are able to make another reservation at Great Wolf Lodge!!!...

Wordless Wednesday

This Week's Small Change

Oh how easy it is for me to fall back into old habits. It is also easy to justify these old habits.

I started off strong in the beginning of September, with making my daily schedule and my kids schedule. But that schedule has become non-existent.

I know the last week of Advent and the first week of Christmas is not the time to start anything drastic! But when reading the simplicity parenting blog this morning, and getting some re-inforcement last night, I decided to make a small change (big change?) this morning. I decided to get up early again. So, I got up and exercised, showered, and prayed (before any of the kids got up). And now I am getting ready to make breakfast with Joz for my crew. What a great way to start my day. Father L says that the first minute after you wake up is the hardest minute of your day and that you should jump out of bed like it's on fire.

Simplicity Parenting challenges us:

There are 4 layers of simplicity: environment, rhythm, scheduling, and filtering. Kim Payne addresses each simplicity layer in detail in his book.

When you think about simplifying your home environment or creating a needed, predictable daily/weekly routine, or cutting back on the schedule to include more downtime, or limiting media…what are you most interested or inspired to tackle right now?

Choose the layer and think about one small thing that could be tweaked to bring more ease, comfort, or connection for your family this week.

So my small change this week and for the coming weeks is to get up early. I'll start with that. Care to join me?

One Thousand Gifts

St. Therese, you understood well what it was to work hard in a thousand little ways and still be unappreciated. Help me to keep giving and stop worrying about how my efforts are judged. Don't let me waste time explaining myself. Let me turn my attention, instead, to God - remembering that everything I do, I do for the glory of God. (from today's Pray from Small Steps for Catholic Moms)

Today I am joining in with Ann over at A Holy Experience and hundreds of others who have also began their own 1000 Gift Lists. Care to join me? These are in no particular order...

71. there are 4 more days until Christmas Eve... 72. generous friends and family...73. adjusting sleep schedules to make babies (and parents, and siblings) happier...74. my shy guy getting a little less shy... 75. a free day... 76. grandparents who enjoy spending time with their grandkids... 77. a good Confession... 78. the safe trip to husband's workplace... 79. a good magazine to read... 80. lighting the 4th candle...

Sacred Heart Preschool Nativity

Wordless Wednesday

H is for Herb Twopence and St. Helen

We are traveling along the Alphabet Path with Seany (5) and Ev (3) and anyone else who would like to join in! H is for Herb Twopence and St. Helen!

Art: H is for HAIR in Gilbert Stuart's George Washington.

(The boys copied George Washington's hair using markers)

We read Have you Pennies? I have Many! while listening to this CD! We read about St. Helen in An Alphabet of Catholic Saints.

H is for Honeybee

The Honey Makers

Honey in a Hive

The Bee Tree

The boys colored the Honeybee Coloring Page and the Honeybee Anatomy Worksheet thanks to Jessica over at Shower of Roses!

Author Study: H is for Michael Hague

The Book of Fairy Poetry

The Book of Dragons

Michael Hague's favorite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

The Wind in the Willows

Childhood Favorites

The High Hills

Hush Little Baby; a folk lullaby

H is for Hedgehog!