Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

I am still Fill-in-Fuzzy at my sister's blog.  Come visit me to hear the latest, and leave a comment for my sister.  

My Patrick is an Altar Boy!

 First time he served with our Pastor, who also was the one who gave him his First Communion.  

On the Feast of The Immaculate Conception (a snow day for my school kids)  these cousins served together!  Someday we will get all the cousins together on the altar.

Family Photo Shoot

A very big "Thank you!" to our wonderful photographer, and member of our parish: Erica Chambers!

I am over at my sister's blog giving updates on her.  All went well!

Prayers for My Sister Jenn

On Thursday, December 12, my sister Jenn is going to have open heart surgery.  We are praying for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.  She is in Cleveland, Ohio for her surgery, and has been there since Sunday, doing lots of tests and preparation.  The doctors have said that it is probably a congenital defect, and not genetic, and the surgery is not something out of the ordinary or super "unique" - though I would say that my sister is quite unique!

We know that God has been in charge of every step of the way for this surgery, including the date.  December 12 is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Her original date was supposed to be January, but when another patient was not able to get funding in time, this date opened.  It fits in very well with what we have been feeling, and the words of Our Lady are perfect during this time:

“Listen and let it penetrate your heart…do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?” (Our Lady’s words to her servant Juan Diego.)

This very special sister is the oldest in our family, and my Godmother.  I know that all will be well, but I have to admit that I am feeling very emotional.  She is so far away, and just want to be there, to be with her.  If you could lift up a little prayer that all goes well, it would be very appreciated.  Thank you!

  

It's December!!

 Make your house fair as you are able!

Trim the hearth and set the table!

 And make Speculaas cookies!

 The only way to make them is with lots of cooling racks, courtesy of Pampered Chef, and Bing's White Christmas album.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In between replacing the sink and faucet, we had the annual Thanksgiving luncheon at the kids' school.  There was a record number of 900 RSVP's to the lunch!  That was parents, kids, siblings, and grandparents.

 The lunch is always delicious, and because we have 3 kids at the school, we stay for quite a long time (3 different lunches! We only eat once, though).  James enjoys the videos on my cell phone to pass the time, and to keep him in his seat.

 William had his first luncheon at the school with his grandparents!

 I don't have any camera proof, but the big kids were there too.  I did take pictures, but I think it decided it wasn't going to let me use them.  Maybe it's trying to tell me it needs to be retired, and I need a better camera.  ;)

 On our Thanksgiving day, we had a joyful time with all of our family!  We had family from Nebraska (Emma was in heaven because they have 5 girls!!) and almost all the family from here.  32!

 My pinterest inspired centerpiece.  I tried not to get too crazy.

 And, if you can believe it, we had seats for every.single.person.  At a table!  There were the middle kids, super fun.

 The little kids (and a grown up too).

 The grown-ups (somebody made me sit there because it was my house or something.  I would have been happy sitting with the...

 Big kids!! 

 And, here is the view from above.  I am super excited!  We are so blessed with my house being so flexible, and when we had celebrations here last year, we had no idea that it could be this great!

 The funniest part of the night was the number of superheros that were in my house.

 Every time I turned around, there was someone else in costume!

Tommy was the absolute best, because he made the turkey!  I didn't even have to try!  He is like his dad who always cooks for the big feasts.  Can you believe how lucky I am to have married someone this handsome, AND cooks?!

And, in case you were wondering, it was absolutely AWESOME doing dishes in my new sink!  I didn't even mind!

Do you know the best time to do a little DIY?

Why, the week of Thanksgiving, of course!  The same week you are having 32 family members at your house for said holiday!

 I went under the sink after Patrick had done the dishes, and found everything all wet!  We were pretty sure it was the faucet, so Tommy got underneath and started to remove it.  It was not an easy task, as it was extremely rusty and it was all stuck.  So, guess what?  I got an early Christmas present!  

 See the big hole?  I got a new SINK!!!!  Standard size sinks are 8 inches.  Did you know that?  Did you know that in my "gourmet kitchen" with double ovens and tons of cabinets, we had a 6 inch sink?!  No wonder everything would get super wet!

So, a trip or two (or three) to Lowe's, a Jamaican salesman who teased me about the sink choice: (Tommy wanted one big sink, I liked the double) "Women, they like their options", a little elbow grease, a few new pipes, 

 a really good looking plumber,

And the help of someone who can fit under the disposal and has small fingers, and boom!  We have a new sink that is 9 inches!!!!!!

ISN'T IT JUST GORGEOUS!!!!!  I love it!  Best gift EVER!!!  Isn't my husband the best??