A whole lot of sibling LOVE

You know when you go on a vacation with a .......l...o...n...g....... drive and how the kids ask every two minutes that question that drives every parent *W*I*L*D* --- "are we there yet?".  Well, having a new baby with older siblings is somewhat similar.  I bet you can't even guess that question, although completely wonderful and sweet, but asked a zillion times definitely can start to make your head spin --- "can I hold the baby?" -OR- "is it my turn yet?".  Yeah, we've been playing LOTS of baby hot potato around here and what a beautiful blessing it is that our new little guy has ALL these brothers and sisters who love and adore him so much!!  

~~Rose and baby~~

~~Pookey and baby~~

~~Max and baby~~

~~Ariel and baby~~

~~Melody and baby~~

~~Mario and baby~~

~~Fone and baby~~ 

~~All 8 of them~~

Isn't 8 great?!?!

++Thank you, God, for these eight beautiful, wonderful blessings you have sent to us!!++

Pat-a-cake and Rose's first singing debut

Our sweet Rose sings ALL day long, probably because most of sing for fun throughout the day as well.  I say "for fun" because we lift up our voices to share our joy and silliness with each other.  Only a couple of us have been blessed with natural talent with singing - meaning Melody and Ariel (who love to sing in our children's choir at church and have very pretty voices).  The rest of us just sing for fun and to remind our wonderful God this is the gift He gave us and we'll use it whether those around us like it or not.

So back to da baby, she sings "ABC's", "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (or as she says "Baa Baa Sheep Sheep"), "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Twinkle Twinkle", "Wheels on the Bus" and many more and any combination of these songs as well.  That is the cutest when she is so into her singing, she forgot what song she was singing and just adds a new one to it.

Just the other day she was taught Pat-A-Cake and loves doing this new song and clapping game with her brothers and sisters and momma and daddy.  Here she is having some fun with Max....

And, because she is a super shy girl when around anyone but her siblings and parents and very rarely shares her singing love and talent with others, I caught her on tape singing her most favorite of songs to share with all of you, but mostly to never forget this adorable baby girl whom we love so much....

++Thank you, God, for the gift of music, and the love of it you have blessed our family with!!++

What does a day #2 look like??

I shared on our first day post how the little guys were up and ready to go for the day.  Well, much to my surprise, the four big kids were up and going and working like little busy bees before I was awake and out of the shower.  Guess they realized this year was not going to be "so bad" and that one of the best things about homeschooling is that the harder you work, the sooner you will be done and have more free time for the rest of the day!!

++Thank you, God, for surprise mornings like this and for the good kids you have blessed us with!!++

Best homemade slip-n-slide EVER - 2014

In June, we were blessed to have spent time with all the special dads in our life for Father's Day weekend.  One of the traditions we have on Neil's side of the family is the Annual Father's Day slip-n-slide.  Neil's dad uses his day to set up and run the slip-n-slide all to provide hours of fun for the grandkids he adores.  It is such a special day for everyone...

How to construct it???  It's easy peasy....   My father-in-law stacks three 4" tiles and binds them, shapes them to create a pool at the bottom (kind of like a big U) and then puts mulch bags on it as a cushion.  On top of all that, a big tarp is laid out and bound down to keep it from moving. Bags of mulch are placed on the sides of the actual slide (big black sheeting) to prevent kids from flying off the slide as they go down.  And the biggest secret of all - baby wash and a hose spraying water.  This provides MANY hours of great fun!

More pics of the fun, slipping and sliding....

++Thank you, God, for fathers, fun outdoors, and the best homemade slip-n-slide ever!!!!++

Mom-ism post #4

My fourth Mom-ism post coming your way....

***   #1   ***

Before the school year ended, I was already looking into camps and classes to get the kids signed up for so that they could continue their school in a fun way outside of the home.  So far, with it being only mid-July, the kids have done two weeks of VBS, Fone and Mario did a Camping/Survival camp, and now this week, the three big kids are taking part in an art camp at our local library!  I prayed for God to open the doors to some sort of art enrichment for the kids and by golly, not only does He provide it, He made it super easy....  just a few minutes away at our local library, fully grant funded (meaning FREE) and they spend 3 hours learning techniques and style in such a great environment every day this week!  And to top that off, they have two of their cousins joining them in the camp all week. It has been a fun busy summer so far with lots of running, but having big kids makes the loading and unloading and transitions more smooth than they ever have.  And my littlest kids have enjoyed getting more mommy-time with their bigger siblings being away, not to mention, they have been such troopers being trucked around from place to place.  (The above pic is just a sampling of what the kids have been making.  After tomorrow, I am hoping to post more details and pictures of what they created)

***   #2   ***

I had to take sweet Melody to the eye doctor yesterday to have her eyes checked.  She has been threatened the last few appointments that she *may* need glasses soon.  Well this appointment was very clear, that she was indeed near-sighted.  Poor thing, we went to pick out glasses at the optical center right after her appointment - with her very blurry dialated eyes - and she couldn't even hardly see the glasses.  So, even though the rest of my crew was at grandma's and it was super convenient to get glasses ordered right then and there, I told her we would come back.  So, Neil and I worked some things out today and squeezed in a time today where I could take her back - with normal eyes - and she was able to look at the sizes and styles and colors and picked out the perfect pair.

***   #3   ***

With a busy day of art camp, play time with some cousins, picking out eyeglasses, we decided to just have a night at home.... our favorite pizza for dinner, playing and running around outside, baths/showers for everyone, and soon our family prayers to end this perfect day.  These times at home are so wonderfully beautiful and peace-filled.  Our kids love each other, love playing with each other and we truly enjoy just the grace-filled simple moments of being at *home*.

++Thank you, God, for the gift of being a mommy and all these 

grace-filled "mommy moments" that you sent my way!!++

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Please stop on by Catholic Mom's Cafe by clicking the image below and share what God has been doing in your life as a momma this week...

"Put the poor baby to bed!!"

Last week our sweet Rose only got one nap in on a busy day of running around.  Some come dinner time, she was exhausted.  Neil took this video of her, as she fell asleep in her high chair while flexing her little bottom (she does this ALL the time - it is so silly!).  It's cute to see her doze off and then catch herself.  

++Thank you, God, for our sweet little Rose, who brings so much joy and laughter into our house.++

A trip to celebrate...

...Ariel's First Holy Communion!!!  

Ariel received Jesus in her First Holy Communion back in December.  And, like we did for the oldest three, we took her out on a little trip away for a couple nights to celebrate the new life of Jesus in her and to also give her that special one-on-one time (although little Rose was a tag-a-long since she is not quite ready to leave Mom and Dad at night).  We were able to split the rest of the kids up and they stayed the night at both sets of grandparents (thanks, Mom/Dad and Jean/Ken!!!).  And, Neil and I, and Ariel and Rose headed down for St. Louis....


The first night, we only had a couple hours, so we took Ariel out to an arcade for a little fun with playing games and winning prizes....

 Goodness - that girl can jump, huh??  

The next day, we spent almost the whole day at the St. Louis Science Center , back to the hotel for some swimming, and then a little shopping at the Galleria mall...

 Ariel was a tad nervous (see above) about the Dinosaur Exhibit, but after she found out that it was not scary, real-looking dinosaurs but playing with the robots instead, she was happy as a clam (see the last last dinosaur pictures and her goofey pose below....)

And for the last day, we spent the first part visiting Our Lady of Snows Shrine and then driving home.  The shrine is such a special place and we went to Mass, spent time at the playground, visiting the devotional areas and eating lunch there as well.  I have to add - their lunch buffet of salad/soup is *the* best buffet of that type!!!  Eight homemade soups and a huge salad bar!!!  If you ever visit the Shrine, do not forget to eat there too!!!

 Isn't there just something so precious with a baby in a bonnet, not to mention her adorable smile!!

 Gotta love that smile!!!

++Thank you, God, for the gift of the Eucharist and for sending your Son to live in Ariel so beautifully and brightly, and for the one-on-one time you gave us with her in this special trip++