A Year Has Passed By...

After reflecting on the past year, it has flown by with the birth of Brody. He is just shy of 12 months old. My life has been changed in many ways. Most profoundly, my friend Jenny has beat breast cancer and for this I am grateful to God. I've moved spiritually into a better place. I am faithfully trying to live in the world, but not be of the world. It may sound crazy or not so much fun to most of my fun loving friends. However, TV, magazines, reality TV, big cars, and fancy house don't do it for me. I am not better than others because I don't subscribe or watch what 98 % of Americans might do. I just have no use for it. It clogs my spiritual arteries. I feel more free and peaceful retreating from it. Don't get me wrong...I read the news and I keep updated on what is going on outside my shell. I'd rather live in this world watching the leaves fall and breathing in the air with a spirit of thankfulness and prayer. I'd rather read a good book, drink some good coffee, read the Bible, pray the rosary, watch someone's kids so they can have a break, go to the adoration chapel and just be still in quiet with the Lord, write in a journal, play with the kids, or run..yes, I said it...run. Well, I am playing some volleyball these days! There I am fully alive! Children are the greatest blessing to me and I am happy to be gifted with these little souls. I am always asked if it is tough having five children. No, not really. My life is full. I am never bored. I am always in demand and when my patience is short someone puts me back in my place to remind me how much I love and am loved. Life is Good. Abby pointed this out to me this morning. She asked if I wanted one of those shirts and I said...I don't need a shirt to live my life in a way that I know Life is Good. I have a reminder everyday: Ted and all of his little guys and girls.

Beginning Again

I thought that after you had four children that five would be a piece of cake. I guess I did not quite prepare myself for the fact that I would be taking care of a toddler boy, Teddy, and nursing a newborn. I remember back to how crazy it was trying to care for Abby 4, Allison 2, and Libby a baby. However, Allison never crayoned on walls or climbed on top of the counters to get dangerous sharp objects. She did not throw toilet paper in the toilet or pretend she was potty training....she was potty training. Can we make comparisons? Sure, but is that fair. Teddy is all fun. I am so blessed to have this beautiful little man in my life. He is sweet, lovable, and most of all he is ours. Children have a way of bringing you back to what is important, pure, good, and real. They keep you grounded amid the pressures and reality of life. Brody is loving his family. This kid is already so vocal and showing his pleasure when he is the center of it. A true youngest child already. Teddy is loving that he is the big brother and actually is quite gentle with him. He has good examples of three well four mothers.

Our lives are full of surprises! Each day we think we are doing the same thing, but we are actually having the chance to make our kids better little people. I shudder at some days and how I react to one of them. Then I say a prayer to give me patience and help make me an instrument of peace and love for them no matter how hard it is coming to me. I am constantly having breaks in what I should be doing and saying to them. I think I have finally realized that my greatest purpose in life is to change me from the inside out. I have be a better person and these children are helping me get to that goal. They just might make a saint out of me. I can only pray.

My typical day is a day of cleaning and avoiding near diasasters at every turn. I am searching for ways to have some "me" time, but here recently I have craved some time alone with Ted. So, we are going out to dinner this Friday with friends, but we will have some time alone. Although, we do something really great and that is that we talk at least three times a day on the phone. Ted is always with me and I am grateful that he is "always with me" in spirit. He may not be able to help me daily with 5 kids, but he is there emotionally and spiritually for me. I thank God for him. I count my blessings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and realize there are always room for more when people ask me,"Are you done now?". Do we welcome more children? Of course, but there is also such a thing as responsible parenthood. We live in a culture that does not respect life and one that thinks that we are control. I'd rather live our lives day by day and be at peace with the decision of choosing to live rather than get caught up in too many plans that I have no real control over anyway. I just want to live my life...the rest of it in service to my family and others. That is all I think God is calling me to do right at this moment.

Sisters

I realized that I have not posted since Teddy was 1. I am having baby #5 in a week or so. I just wanted to post a picture of the oldest two sweeties in our life: Abby and Allison. What I would not give to have a sister? I think the greatest gift we can give our children is a sibling. I feel very blessed to be able to give them this gift a few times...hope they will feel the same way someday.

Happy Birthday Teddy...You are 1!

What does Teddy like to do at 1? He loves to sweep the floor. Mommy will teach you well. You'll someday be the envy of every wife. He can actually kick a soccer ball and sometimes he gets going so fast he is dribbling. I am pumped about the possibilities here. He loves any kind of fruit. He lives for it...really. He loves his sisters attention and he knows how to get them to do everything for them. He is kind to babies and loves to hug strangers. He is precious and I love him dearly. God Bless you and keep you safe my sweet son.

Playing in the Creek

Taking advantage of a gorgeous Ash Wednesday and 70 degree weather, the girls played at my friend Brigid's home in their creek. I have so many fond memories of summer days playing in the creek and enjoying nature. I hope that we can find some fun things to do this spring as Teddy gets older and we can run about.

Merry Christmas!

It was great to see Uncle Jim and Cousin Carrie as a surprise on Christmas Eve. The girls were so excited to see their cousin Kailyn. It was nice to spend time with family on one of the most holy and special of nights of the year. There is something magical about Christmas Eve not just about the wonder and amazement in the kids eyes about Santa, but out of the darkness comes light to the world through the birth of Jesus. This Christmas Eve was bitter cold and in the coldness a peace settles in and makes things right in the world for at least one night. Why can't we feel like this the rest of the year? We can.

One of the things that I will always remember was our wedding day. My friend Kathy gave a toast and she wished for us a lifetime of Christmas mornings because she had asked how I was feeling that morning of our wedding day and I told her I felt like it was Christmas. She knew I was not talking about the presents! What I did not realize at the time was that "feeling" of love and anticipation was not going to end even though I did wake up the next morning feeling different. I was filled with the Holy Spirit and we were married-ONE and FOREVER. The sacrament of marriage confered a grace upon us and that was the holy spirit finding a dwelling place within us. So, Ted and I can relive our wedding day each day of our life if we only center ourselves with Christ together and with being open to the peace that Christ brings for us if we let Him dwell in us. This is the only way for us to keep this alive in our hearts by truly being one with Him.

Thanksgiving in Indiana

All is quiet in Coatsville, Indiana, where we had turkey day. I was a bit under the weather with a cold and then gave it to Teddy. My Mom made a fabulous meal as usual. My brother, Mike, and his new girlfriend were there so that was nice. It was nice to have my brother there for Thanksgiving, too. We tried to get our annual Thanksgiving picture which we did not do last year when I was pregnant with Teddy. That swing is getting too small for our growing family...

More Teddy Pictures for Uncle Jim

Trunk or Treat and Halloween Night

We had a "fun" witch, a bride, a mermaid, and a teddy bear. We have so much candy! I may look up ways to use it with cookies, give it to the dentist, etc.

My camera battery died after the one picture, but at least I got one!

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Teddy

He is rolling over, scooting all over on his tummy, and getting into a crawling position. Wow! This kid wants to move and he will soon. He is just four months old. I predict this one will crawl at 6 1/2 months and walk by 9 months. I don't want him to do it, but I can already see what I am in for! He is so sweet though...very, very sweet.

Hopper the Frog

The frog lasted only a mere hour. It was awfully sad when we had to bury Hopper. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the funeral and wake; however, I was informed that it was not in good taste by Grace, the neighbor girl. Grace has spent about 6 hours each Saturday with our family the past three in a row. She was with us from about 6:30 a.m. til 12. She goes to the public school, but her family goes to St. Joe's. She is sweet girl and lost her twin to a brain tumor when they were three. She has one brother who is in high school and a sister in the 5th grade. She is an awesome, fun, outdoorsy kid and my girls adore her.

Grace taught me that day about the preciousness of life. Fragile and fast at times. She has learned more about death in 8 short years than I have in 33.


Hopper was named and died shortly after. RIP, God Bless Hopper.

Allison just loves roller coasters...

As you can imagine, I was fearful of her reaction. This is a child that won't go upstairs without her sisters to get dressed or play. She does not like to be alone. She is quiet a lot of times, but she is always in the room with someone in the family. Well, she was born into the right one for sure. She thought she was going to throw up so they stopped the ride. Luckily, we were the only ones on it.

Uncle Andy Calls Fire Department

Just kidding! Uncle Andy climbed into the fire truck with the kids and they were checking it all out. It was one hot Sunday up at the Parish Picnic. We are looking forward to the next one. We bought armbands, raffle tickets, etc. We did our charitable duties for the Parish Picnic not to mention the beer consumed both Fri and Sat!

Libby Turns Three!

This year we had family over for Lib's 3rd birthday. We had BBQ and fixins! It was great food so the diet starts today. We are looking forward to Lib starting the MDO after Labor Day. She wants to go to school like her sisters. She is finally potty trained except for at night, but is staying dry more often than not. She still has difficulty with poop on the potty. Her favorite thing for her birthday was a pack of bubblegum which she calls "bugglebum". It is very endearing.

Abby started school today! Her first day of 1st grade and it went well. She is looking forward til tomorrow. You have to love the Catholic schools that have money for everything, but nice playgrounds. She told me that the 1st grade gets to play in the parking lot. Oh, fun! However, they pay parents for playground duty and cafeteria duty. I may be doing that when everyone is in school!

We have a busy start to the year of school. Soccer, Girl Scouts, Legion of Mary, and Piano lessons for Abby. We are holding off on things for the other two, but most likely they will have some swim lessons this winter and ballet/gymnastics. Teddy and I will hang out as usual. I have been working on the running thing: MWF 5:30 am 2 miles. I am getting a neighbor to come and make me accountable. Then TTH at the YMCA for some spinning classes. I hope that the hard work will pay off. I just have to watch what I am eating for a long while again. I hate dieting...HATE IT! I have 30 pounds to lose and counting....wish me luck. Then I will be back into a healthy weight.

Medjugorie

You will notice that I changed the video reel. I did not look at the others, but the one of the visionaries speaks and the priest you see at the end of the video is Fr. Rodger Fleming who is from our parish. He told us his whole conversion story and how he decided he was called to become a priest. He is very special to our family now. He has a gift for sure. When he prays with us I feel the Holy Spirit. He is a very good man and will do great things to help people come to know and love Christ.

I just happened to come across it when looking through the UTUBE videos on Medjugorie. Ted and I plan to go there someday in the near future.

We have TV!

Well, Ted and I bit the bullet and got satellite. We don't have time to watch much TV, but it sure is nice when I am nursing and the kids are not so patient with me. At least, with #4 they are old enough to help Lib do most things and they can help me. It was difficult when Abby and Ally were so little and needing things right when I had to nurse Lib. I can handle anything now!

We were without any kind of cable, satellite, etc since the end of April. We decided to cut it for the summer and see how it went. I just had it and decided to take the Direct TV new deal that was out there. I wanted to at least get basic, but we ended up with a little more for now. The kids are now not used to watching much so it is a treat. Also, we realized how much crud we were absorbing into our minds and thoughts on TV. You are what you watch. There is so much out there that is just horrific. I hate reality TV and the fact that our society is all consumed by it. I know that most people love it, but that is my opinion.

Anyway, glad to get my HGTV back for boring nursing times. The kids sometimes watch Noggin which seems to be the only channel I can keep on without worrying about content. Sadly enough, I cannot do that with Disney and other channels they say are for kids. My kid is the only 6 year old that is not in love with Hannah Montana...oh well, she has better things to do! We don't watch Sponge Bob either because he is just rude and teaches bad manners. I know they will get it from a kid so I don't need it ingrained in their heads right now.

Max the Turtle

Max was our turtle for about two days. Grandpa decided that after the begging for a dog and me not relenting that a turtle was the next best thing. John usually finds these huge turtles on the golf course so one afternoon he brought one home for us. The turtle was kept in a cardboard box overnight and it escaped and pooped all over the laundry room! I gave in because there was a terrible storm outside and the girls were worried he would get hurt. So, the turtle then was an outside pet after the laundry room incident. Then we had some fun times with Max the next day. The girls let him out for exercise and water/food breaks. We went to the neighbors for some swimming and Max came. He had a bad fall from the top of the swing set so when the girls were not paying attention...Max left for good. Thank God you are free, Dear Max.

Teddy

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Nana and Poppie's

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