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| Saint Anne Statue |
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Have you seen Sarah’s twins yet?!?
They were born on July 18th and cute, cute, CUTE!!! And there are more pictures here!
Congratulations Sarah, to you and your whole family!
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July 18th was a very special day, also marking the 25th Anniversary of the Fraternity of St. Peter! You can read a little about the FSSP (and my husband’s family!) in this article by Trent Beattie at National Catholic Register.
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Blogging each day this week has been HARD! With swimming lessons every day (Mon-Thurs) this week and next, on top of a few other appointments, if it wasn’t for Jen’s challenge I don’t think I would have posted anything more than the birthday pictures! It’s been nice though, and I’ve sure enjoyed popping in more frequently.
The swimming lessons themselves are such an incredible blessing for which I am so thankful!
They also make for very quiet afternoons, after hours at the pool for seven lessons!
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It’s hard to believe that it has been four years since our big bedroom switcheroo! Rose was on her way so we moved the boys to the old schoolroom (which had previously been our master bedroom, back when our home was only 1,000 sq feet!), the two big girls went to the boys old room, Snuggles nursery became my school room, and the old girls’ bedroom became Rose’s bedroom and the new nursery once she arrived.
Since then the kids have grown and we’ve added another little man to the mix. It’s also hard to believe that my “baby” isn’t really a baby any more… and this is officially my longest gap between pregnancies! It is also the first time (as of last week!) that I haven’t been pregnant or nursing (other than for the few months following my miscarriage) in nearly 14 YEARS!
Anyways, since I just gave you all a tour of the boys’ bedroom, I thought about posting new pictures of the girls’ bedroom, but it really hasn’t changed much since 2009 so I am going to wait until the new bunk bed arrives and then share pictures of all the upcoming changes. (Hopefully they will include a new curtain rod for this room!) Update: I went ahead and include a few pictures anyways… 🙂
Since Rose already refuses to sleep in her toddler bed most nights, and has claimed Twinkle Toes bed (the bed on the right) as her own, we will move her into that bed when the big girls move back across the hall and into their new bunk.
We considered having all three girls share one room, and give Snuggles and Bud one of the rooms, but after trying to merge all of their clothing/toys/etc, it was just too much stuff for one of these smaller rooms. Plus, we really like the idea of keeping the boys at the other end of the hall (and having them share the laundry room bathroom) and the girls down at this end.
So, our plan for now is to take apart one of the twin beds for now and replace it with the toddler bed and changing table/dresser for Bud. Our long term plan is to eventually move Bud (and possibly Snuggles, unless we have another baby boy by then) to the school room. We are hoping by then we will be able to build a detached garage with a schoolroom/storage area on one end. But this should work well for the time being, and I won’t need to lose my office the kids’ school room!
I’ve already started moving the little ones’ clothing to the girls “closet” and the girls’ clothing over to the other room. (We don’t have real closets in these “bonus rooms” but we did install organizers along one wall of each room.)
The tall white dresser was one we were given last year which I had painted white! Isn’t it pretty? I think it is going to match the new bunk bed nicely. I’d still love to figure out a way to “hide” all the clothing/closets…
Up until our yard sale we also had a wooden hutch in this room, with the table and chairs in the center. Now all the books are on the closet shelves (in the other room) for the time being.
The bedrooms aren’t usually this clean and decluttered, I’ve just been working a little bit each evening this week getting everything moved from one room to the other. In the process I did box up all the Little People and Kitchen Toys into two big plastic tubs for now. Those tubs, along with others filled with clothing, baby blankets, and other items, are all in my living room, where the old entertainment center use to be until they can be moved to the attic and/or I can find a place for them in the house.
I still have a lot to do, to get these rooms functioning as well as the boys’ bedroom, but it’s a start and I am excited about the changes… Now we just have to wait for those beds to arrive in a couple more weeks!
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Speaking of our little toddler, we finally cut his hair again this week! I had cut it for the first time on January 1st and this time his Daddy cut it for him. Considering that he would not hold still, even with the help of the lollipop, it didn’t turn out too badly.
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“Giggle Giggle” was one of Bud’s first words and he still makes us giggle every time he starts saying it! I finally captured a few videos to share with you all. This first one was taken right after swimming lessons and dinner, and right before his bath and hair cut, so please ignore his dirty face and messy hair and just focus on all the cuteness! 😉
This one was taken yesterday morning at the pool before his swimming lesson.
This one was from last night, when I was putting him to bed. He has gone from one of our most challenging babies to easiest toddlers! When I tell him it’s time for bed he lets me pick him up, put him in his crib, snuggles up with his pillow pet and quiltie and goes to sleep!
And here is one last video, from last month, that I ran across while uploading the others. This little boy of ours is fearless – which is also why he has had so many bumps, bruises, and even stitches, and why I am nervous to leave him in his crib much longer… I’m sure he could climb right out if he thought to try!
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I am praying for my husband and I, and for all married couples, on this feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne!
Prayer of Married Persons to St. Joachim and St. Anne
O models of pious and virtuous married persons, St. Joachim and St. Anne! Through the wondrous blessing with which God rejoiced you when He chose you as the parents of the ever blessed Virgin, the mother of our Savior, obtain for us, we beseech you, the grace to desire nothing but virtue and piety; that, in fidelity and love, we may share each other’s joys and sorrows, and together with our children lead such a life as to insure our entrance into the kingdom of heaven! Amen.
For additional Quick Takes visit Conversion Diary.
You know what's going to happen after a post like this, right? 🙂 I mean, about 9 months from now? 😉
Your closet organizers are fabulous!
LOL!!! So true!
I was thinking the EXACT same thing!!!
Everything always looks so pretty, Jessica.
"Aww don't be superstitious :)" – at least that is what my mom texted me on July 10th when I sent her a message telling her that our newest soon-to-be goddaughter had been born (!!!) and "the only thing that makes me nervous is that with each godchild comes another pregnancy… I have been pregnant nine times and have nine godchildren. This makes ten." That was on Day 31 of my cycle – which ended up lasting 37 days. Five pregnancy tests later I am back to Day 10. Whew! I guess God agrees that we need a little space at the moment.. at least another month anyways! 😉
Funny about the godchildren and pregnancy! Jessica…have you thought about making one of the smaller bedrooms a Children's clothes closet? Then you could just have the children's beds and some personal effects/toys in the bedrooms and the clothes would be "hidden" …because they wouldn't be in there.I just think the children would have such fond memories growing up sleeping in the same rooms ( all boys together, all girls together) and as for putting clothes away…how much easier would that be! All the children's clothes would go to the same "closet". Something to think about!
so organized and pretty. impressive post for doing one daily for a week.
Oh my goodness, Fr. Gordon (James) is your brother-in-law! He was our priest for several years and we loved him so much!! We were sorry he went to a different parish, but I'm sure they love him, too. Fr. Terrence Gordon has been to our parish a couple times, too. How neat! You have a WONDERFUL family! And I love your blog, too! It's giving me lots of ideas. Thank you!
Just adorable videos! Amazing how he is completely unfazed as he flies down the slide! I like Karla's idea!
We have been praying and hoping for a new baby (included in the St. Ann Novena). Its so wonderful to see a mom like you who is generous and completely open to new life! Perhaps you could remember us in prayers and we will pray for a new addition for you! God bless!