Lucy Sweetness

I am so long overdue with just a sweet Lucy post.  Indulge me in my photo dump!  She is almost 17 months, busy, chatty and just getting into mischief. 

 

 

On of the Nicest Birthdays I have had in a Long Time!

Lent birthdays are never easy.  Lent birthdays on a Friday are even harder.  Add to that a husband leaving with the oldest and it makes it just another day.  This year, I decided to change it up.  I have discovered a clothing company that does online and home parties.  I LOVE these clothes!  They are modest, cute, and comfy, and have opened up the world of leggings, which, yes, aren't technically pants, but oh, so soft!  The company is called LuLaRoe, and they are known for their unique prints.  I decided to have a home party with some friends to see if they would share the love and fun with me. 

3 racks of clothes: shop and bring home!  I was absolutely thrilled with how many ladies came, and stayed late. 

 My friend Carol made special birthday drinks, and we all socialized until almost midnight. 

I also had a sweet friend (on the left) make my favorite cake for me!  It was DELICIOUS, and one that I would never make just for me. 

Happy 36th to me!  I couldn't believe how many ladies came, enjoyed themselves and even came bearing gifts!  I am so grateful for them all, and I think I may make it a tradition to do this again!  (Should I admit that I will be going to another party in a week? :) 

Emma and I wore our goodies on Sunday.  I loved that even Emma can share in the fun, and be modest and ladylike.

James just wanted to be with everyone, so this is where I found him at the end of the party.  I just feel so blessed! 

Lent and it's sputtering start in our home

 Lent started the week after we had a week off of school and sputtered through the following week.  It was a tough start, as it always is, here, but it began perfectly for my William.  He made his first Confession on Tuesday, February 9.  So excited for May and his First Communion!

 Ash Wednesday was the next day, and James very grudgingly got ashes placed on his head, and Lucy was just totally unsure about the whole thing.  (Yes, I am one of the distracted mommies in church who takes a selfie in Mass).  I found that my ashes stayed quite long this year, just like my mom's used to do.  I never understood how she did that.  I still don't know the secret. 

We have been doing stations of the Cross at home, and we have been trying to get the kids more focused on them.  I have wanted to make the little votive candle holders with the stations on them, but I haven't been able to get my act together enough to prepare for that.  So I tried to just put out some little candles, just to see how the kids would do with the candles.  (It's hard to tell, but there are 14 candles)  I really wanted the mood of the candles, but the kids needed to read the station book, so we didn't manage it as much as I'd like.  But the snuffing and the flip chart are a great tool to get them involved.  We used the stations booklet from my sister Jenn's blog.  I need to make a better copy so we all can have one, and William had a box with props for each station.  All in all, except for the occasional fights over who's turn it was to snuff, and how hard it is to share the books, I think it went okay.

 Our favorite Father Juan had a holy hour for children (I called it for kids, and Patrick was indignant. "I'm not a kid" so I clarified.  "Kids and pre-teens.") and I just love the joy and love of Jesus that he reflects in all that he does, and the sweetness of the time with Jesus.  My favorite was the 3x we days, "Jesus, I want to be a saint." 

I have not put out the beans, as I forgot, but there are still 4 (!!) more weeks of Lent left.  Our newest priest, Father Noah, came to our home the weekend before Lent.  I hope he had a nice time, and I think James hugged him a total of 10 times while he was here.  Father was an eagle scout and we hope he will keep up in spending time with our scouts.  We played a version of Clue, and I don't think the noise of our family of 5 kids was too much, as he is coming from a family of 8 kids!

 

Pinewood Derby, Wolf Scout William

After a week at home from school due to the snowstorm, we gathered all the families in the Knight's hall for the annual Pinewood Derby!  James put a car in this year again, and the two boys did very well.