Beginning 2019

January has been said to the be the most depressing month of all the year: after Christmas, long holidays, furlough, cold weather, etc.

Oh, did you catch that?  Yep.  My husband was furloughed from work for 5 weeks.  The longest government (partial) shutdown in history.  It began on December 22, right before Christmas, and the same time that our family had another piece of news.  I shall start at the beginning.

(Yes, readers, I know I am very behind in my posts.  My brother mentioned that it was time to update my blog, and with the many snow days we have had, I decided I would give it a try.)

Christmas Eve we decided to go to an early vigil Mass.  4:15 to be exact.  Emma sang with my Mom, and I was super proud of her poise and joy in singing for God.  Our family brought up the gifts and Lucy was able to hold a ciborium and did it SO well!

Because Daddy was furloughed (ahem, or shall we say, my freak out of spending too much at a sit down meal with my parents and other family), we decided to pick up an easy dinner and go home, on a route that we don't normally take.  We are in our van and just down the road a bit, and we have to stop completely, because there is a man in the road. Whatever he is doing, he never sees us, and keeps doing whatever is so important.  As we wait with our hazards on, we feel a big bump/crash.  Lucy and Emma start crying immediately, and it takes me a moment to realize we have been rear-ended. With ALL of my children in the car.  All the boys in the back seat, and please Lord let us all be safe.  

We got creamed.  Called family nearby, who came to get the kids out of the car (Emma was leading the rosary as we waited for the police and my sweet brother-in-law and nephew to come and help) and took us home as Tommy and his dad, who arrived later, came to help.  No injuries at the scene meant no ambulance would come, thankfully.

We came home, made a quick taco dinner, and decided to go to the ER to make sure we are all okay.  I was so pleased to be told that we had a wonderful family and that we are all okay.  Tommy tried to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" on the phone between check ups to make it feel like Christmas Eve.  

Tommy's car has enough seats to fit all of us, very close together, and we found out the van was a total loss.  We only had that Odessey for a short time (this was my most favorite van ever!), and thankfully both insurances helped us during the furlough with 2 paychecks not coming. (We won't talk about the fact that it may happen again...)

The family was able to get through this month of craziness, and Tommy stayed home re-organizing, purging and keeping busy.  The Lord provided for us greatly during those 5 weeks.  Tommy has been driving his Dad's Duallie (truck with big hips).  We hope to get a new car when the tax rebates come through.  Saint Anthony will help us find a new set of wheels.

Tommy went back to work this week, in the middle of judging science fairs at both schools, a polar vortex and snow storms. Lucy asked for Daddy every day.  The kids never got tired of seeing Daddy at pick up and drop off, and he started to get into the groove of the routine.  I miss the help (I hate driving), and the perspective he has on life.  As he told me, sometimes he doesn't realize things are a stress until I tell him it is stressful.  He just sees it, solves it, and moves on.  So, when I say I stress enough for both of us, it's not far from the truth.  LOL

Christmas Season 2017

Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year! 

Our vacation was a calm, family-filled time, and just what our home and my heart needed. 

Christmas Eve brought Tommy's brother Dan and his family to celebrate with us.  It was just starting to get bitterly cold, and Tommy still braved the weather and grilled some amazing steaks.

 

We played games, and enjoyed lots of silliness.

 

My kids complain because Christmas Eve is Sooooo loooong, so the kids all shared in their excitement, and the day went so much faster. 

 

These photo booth props were a hit this season.  Don't be too surprised if you see them again.

 

The good news is I was up on my wrapping ahead of time, and was able to get to bed at a reasonable hour.  The only problem is I forgot to tell the kids that they need to wait for us to go downstairs.  We knew we were going to get up early and do Mass on Christmas morning (our parish had 6 Masses, just on Christmas Eve!  It's just too crowded, and I love the feel of beginning our most special day with Mass) but 5:15 is a bit much.  He organized all the gifts, and I really tried not to be too grumpy that the culprit woke up the smaller kids.

 

 

I am ESPECIALLY proud and excited that all of my stockings are finished!  Everyone has a name, and I have the honor of saying I made them!  I need to figure out how to hang them better so you can see the names, but I am just tickled that I finally can say they are all up!

 

This Christmas I think we went a little overboard with gifts, but I will say the best part of this year was William.  His excitement over each gift, (giving, receiving, watching another open) was priceless.  He was all about the joy, and had so much happiness to share that day.  I took a lot of photos on Christmas, and most of them have that boy in his striped shirt with a face about this excited in each one.

 

 

 

Next stop was my sister Jenn's house for dinner.  My parents and a family friend joined us for the day. It was the calmest day we have had in a VERY long time.  And just perfect. 

 

Happy Birthday, dear Jesus!

 

 

2 days later we visited with the Reynolds side.  Grab bag, and family visiting from out of town is always special.

 

 

Tommy is thoroughly enjoying his new grab bag find.

 

As are the big kids.

 

Prayers of thankfulness and praise for a great vacation, and we are looking forward to 2018! 

Merry Christmas 2016!

Our first Christmas at home.  No running around to different houses, carting presents back and forth, making appetizers and desserts, and just staying home.  Lovely thought, except when it comes with the stomach bug.  4 of the 7 of us were sick, and 3 on Christmas Eve.  It was unusual for us, but the joys of Christmas were wonderful. 

 

 

No family photo this year, maybe we will do it for New Year's.  But I have to admit that it was lovely to be home.  Merry Christmas to our sweet bloggers who are still coming to visit, even though it has been way to long since I blogged.  I am grateful for this community, and the joys and support that comes from this little corner. 

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.