Monday, January 25, 2016

Snowstorm, Blizzard, Snowzilla - Whatever you called it, there is a LOT of snow!

Greetings!  Winter has finally come to Northern Virginia. 

All at once.

All in one day.

All outside our windows.

Snowstorm Jonas came and dropped snow on us from Friday afternoon to Saturday night.  We received over 2 feet of snow here!  We are on snow day numero 3, with one more (at the very least) tomorrow.  Yep, lots of togetherness.  Lots of shoveling, and movies, video games, science fair, and food.  Oh man.  So much food. 



I am so grateful for my strong husband, who went out to shovel numerous times without a complaint.  He was rewarded in his duties when our generous neighbor used his snow blower to clear the snow the plow had put at the end of the driveway, and then helped us finish the driveway!  I gave that sweet man some cookies!  It didn't seem like enough!

Our little area doesn't see snow this often, and not EVER this much so fast.  We were told to stay home.  Just stay home.  My husband went out in the beginning of the storm, before it got bad, and I texted him to make sure he was okay.  He was taking his time, and I worry, you know.  It's my job.

This was his response.


Yeah, he's a keeper. 

So, here a few more obligatory snow pictures!







Lucy didn't go out in the snow.  She put everything on, went on the deck and promptly fell down and cried.  So, this is all we got.  The boots were too much!


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

What We Are Doing Wednesday

Christmas is away, midterms for Patrick are over, and school is almost back in the groove again.  I am grateful!  Some mornings, I was dropping off kids at 3 different times, at 3 different places.  I am glad to be back in the sort of routine that we were in.  I haven't done an update on our home and who is doing what, so today is a What are we Doing Wednesday.
 

Lucy is just so cute.  She walks all over the house, making a mess, learning words, and just being as sweet as possible.  She says lots of words, including one that sounds awfully like "Stinky" when I ask her if she is!  She has a different relationship with each child, and usually will only go to Emma from my arms.  I love the sweet voice she has, and the love and excitement she has each day.  It is truly a light in the day to be with her!  Some days, Tommy will take her to his workout class with him, just so the people there can enjoy her too!  I would love for her to say "Mommy" at least once, but I do LOVE the "Daddy!" when she hears the garage open, and he comes in the door.  If you make kissing noises, she will lean her head in so you can kiss her.  She blows kisses, says "Jesus" and waves "Da-die!"  Her words are "HI!", "Uh-oh" "this?" "eeese!" We are trying to get her to sign "more" and "all done" but we can only get the "more." 

Right before Thanksgiving, James began an atrium class, level 1.  I was so thrilled that he is able to enjoy this at his age.  This is such a calm, beautiful environment and I know that he would really benefit from doing something away from mommy, bringing him closer to Jesus, and learning.  He has just blossomed in his writing skills, and loves to write, draw, and is constantly asking me, "Mommy, how do you spell....?"  He has already brought home some projects home, using scissors and glue! 

William is going to receive his first Reconciliation very soon!  I am hoping we are going to enjoy the fruits of another person receiving graces!  He is a Wolf Scout this year, and may even get to go to Camp this summer with other cub scouts.  He is definitely growing up, in attitude and perspective.  I know if I can point his passion in the right direction, he will go towards Heaven and Jesus always.  He has to want to do it, and I am still learning how to help him stay on track.

Emma had a birthday over the vacation, and had some sweet girls over to do nails (have you heard of Jamberry??) and cake.  It was small, as we had 2 girls unable to come, and I am not the most exciting game planner.  Each girl had a very sweet gift for my girl, geared towards her love of reading, chap stick, drawing, and writing.  It was very sweet!  She is part of the Squire Roses, Schola and battle of the books at school.  She is tall, and no, not taller than me.  She has started borrowing my scarves, and even wanted to copy an outfit I was wearing!  I know there will come a time when she does NOT want to do that, but it tickled me. 


Patrick is doing incredible at school.  He just finished up a Sea Perch competition for Junior High and his group came in 10th overall.  Super proud of him!  Sea Perch is an underwater robot that the boys build and work on together.  He just finished his first set of Mid Terms at school, and though I freaked out each day, I think he probably did very well.  I always stressed about those, but that is not in his nature.  Part of the joys of being a mother, I guess.  I do the worrying enough for everyone.  Boy Scouts will be a big year, as he was voted in to be the Assistant senior patrol leader.  In other words, he is the guy helping the guy in charge.  It is really important that a lot of this is boy led, (though sometimes I wonder if they want to be led by the boy who forgets his sleeping bag when he goes on a camping trip!?).  He went camping this past weekend, and juuuust missed the incredibly cold temperatures we began having this week, as our countdown to some snowfall that they are measuring in FEET comes down.

 

Monday, January 4, 2016

Christmas Photos (Of course!)


It was a wonderful Christmas!  We were so blessed with plenty of family time, and relaxation. We went to early Mass on Christmas, and the kids still were smiling and happy to open gifts after taking pictures!  William still has trouble with the flash, but we got a pretty good family photo.  And, this is my Christmas morning photo dump.  Because that is what we all want to see.  The joy of each face.  And how well my crew cleans up.







Second grade gifts are some of my favorites.  I love things that the kids make at school.

Patrick loved his new jacket for school, and though the weather was quite warm, he was determined to wear it as much as possible.  Warmest Christmas I can remember, as we went out in shorts later that day!





I tried my hand at making a gift.  It's not perfect, by any means, but I think Emma will love having it on her wall.  She chose the fabric. 



This note came from Patrick, in a gift of chocolate popcorn, paid for by himself.  My children NEVER write me note like this, but especially the almost teenager!  I blubbed quite a bit when I saw this. 

I love this photo.  The aftermath, the silence, the joy.