Safe and Sound…
What a busy weekend!!! It is so nice to be back home again, safe and sound. I just love arriving home again after a trip… It makes me realize just how much I really do like being home, and being with my kids! I missed them SO MUCH!!It is also nice to be able to get back online! 😉 I have a lot of catching up to do… There are over 325 new blog posts in my Google Reader — a good indication that I may need to scale back in this area! I also have many emails to respond to… I’m Sorry! I will try and get back to you all soon. In addition, I was so excited to see the new posts over at Catholic Cuisine–their have been some GREAT suggestions and ideas!
Anyways, the Northwest Catholic Family Education Conference was wonderful, and totally worth the long drive. The talks were very inspiring. I loved browsing through–and spending too much money on!–all the wonderful supplies that the vendors had on display. My hour long private consultation with Laura Berquist was perfect, and just what I have been needing! I also got to see a dear friend, and meet a couple others that I have gotten to know through blogging! And, I got to visit some relatives that live in the Seattle area! It was such fun!
I even came home to a clean house!!! My hubby cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed and mopped the floors, put away laundry, cleaned the kids rooms, and did the dishes! I am so impressed and thankful! He did say that our girls are like a couple Tasmanian devils. I could have told him that!
However, I don’t have even one picture to share with you! Can you believe it? I still can’t! Friday morning, my car was broken into, the driver side rear window was shattered, and my cameras (my Canon Digital Rebel and my Canon 35mm Rebel), among other things, were stolen!
I was so disappointed, but, it really could have been much worse. Thank you all for your prayers for my safe travels, I am sure they helped!
I did hesitate when I was parking the car at the hotel. The parking lot was full and my only option was at the end of a row, in the corner of the parking lot… Then, since we were only going to be there over night, I didn’t bring everything into the hotel. I almost went back down late that night to get my cameras, but I didn’t — I was too scared!! I’m actually glad that I didn’t, since I don’t know what time the bad guys (as my kids are calling them) were there… I wouldn’t have wanted to run into them, especially since they stole a loaded gun from a car near mine as well! (That poor old man also had his GPS and a small statue of Mary stolen!)
Thankfully, I had just downloaded my pictures to the computer from my memory cards, right before I left, so I only lost a couple pictures! And, even though I am slightly too attached to my cameras, they are replaceable. I’m just bummed that our deductible (for the items stolen) is $1000! sniff…sniff…
Well… I have lots to do today. I need to contact the police officer with an itemized list, and call the insurance company back, unpack, and get the kids schooling. Hopefully sometime later today I can get back online and catch up with you all!
Garden of the Good Shepherd ~ Week 7
Well, I haven’t quite been able to finish my plans for this coming week. However, I will be gone till Sunday night, and so I thought I would post what I have just in case anyone is using these plans.
The theme for week 7 of The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar to Count the Fifty Days of Easter
The Water : Read Revelation 7:13-17
- Hubby is taking the kids to the river after Mass!
The Deer : Read Psalm 42:1-5
- Play the Deer and Hunter Game
- Make Deer Cup Cakes
Deer Theme Treat Cup Cakes
- Prepare your favorite cup cake recipe
- Prepare or buy frosting/ icing and color it brown with food coloring
Decorate:
- Antlers: break pretzels in half for two antlers and insert on either side of the cup cake
- Nose: Half a maraschino cherry
- Eyes: Small Hershey kisses or other small candy (M&M’s for eyes.
The Lion : Read Daniel 6:14-23
- Make Lion Cupcakes or Cake
- Make a Lion Puppet Craft
- Use stickers to create a Daniel in the Lion’s Den Picture
- Daniel in the Lions Den Coloring Page
The Beehive : Read Judges 14:5-9
- Have a Spelling Bee! 😉
- Make Beehive Cupcakes
- Read Berlioz the Bear
and color this picture
The Peacock : Read 1 Kings 10:21-25
- Make a Peacock Craft
The Pelican : Read Genesis 1:20-23
(to be updated after I get home… any ideas??)
The Phoenix : Read Job 29:14-20
(to be updated after I get home… any ideas??)
Happy May Day!!
April Shower of Photos :: Day 30
As I mentioned earlier, today I went shopping for clothing!! I really should have been home packing–but, oh well! We had fun… All six of us!
Now, since I had all 5 kids with me, I bought more than I should have, and now I need to decide just which I should keep and which should go back… Maybe you can help me decide!
For those of you that don’t know me personally, I generally wear skirts all the time. Occasionally when I am home or exercising, you will see me in sweats… But I don’t wear jeans or slacks. This was a Lenten sacrifice I did a few years back, for a special intention, after reading this
Anyhow, lately I have been feeling slightly frumpy, and nothing has been fitting right… It was time for a trip to my favorite (when I’m not pregnant!) store!
Whenever I am on a mission to find something, I usually strike out. However, today was my lucky day! I found a whole bunch of darling outfits that fit, and to top it off, I even convinced the sales lady to dig out an additional 30% off coupon for me to use! Gotta love it!! (Follow Dave Ramsey’s advice, and ALWAYS ASK for a discount!! You will be amazed at the discounts you will receive!)
Alright, here is what I came home with.
Outfit 1:
White Wrap Front V-Neck with 3/4 sleeves
White Tank for under shirt
Light Blue and White skirt ~ Size 8
Isn’t it cute??
Outfit 2:
White Cardigan (the sleeves hit my elbow.)
(use tank from above under, or other white tank)
SUPER CUTE Green Skirt IN A SIZE 6 (It MUST be labeled wrong!)
This was my favorite skirt… And not just because of the size!
Outfit 3:
Antique Brown Linen Pintuck Skirt ~ Size 8
White Tee
This one actually doesn’t look that cute in the photo, but my hubby really liked it.
Outfit 4:
Black Wrap Front V-Neck with 3/4 sleeves
(white tank from above for under)
Denim Skirt (Size 10??)
I thought this was cute, but my hubby doesn’t like the skirt. I think this will be the one I take back, but it is really comfortable…
I also got the white cardigan above in the light blue too. I just love the cardigan. It came in Black and Brown too, but the white and blue will be great for Spring and Summer!
So– what do you think? Which should I keep?
Sorry to end the Shower of Photos with clothes… But I didn’t have a chance to take any fun pictures today! Hope you all had a wonderful day!! Good night!
WoW ~ Week 9
Well… Up until yesterday I was doing good. Yesterday morning I was down 1.5 pounds… However, it looks like that big Italian dinner ruined it. The pasta was just too yummy! So, this morning I was only down a half a pound. I wasn’t even able to lose the whole pound I gained next week. You would think that between eating healthy, and nursing a baby, it would be easier to lose weight! Oh well. I did have my blood drawn this morning, to be tested for allergies. I am very curious to see my results!!! I also really need to focus on exercising more–as in EVERY DAY! That was how I finally lost the weight the last time. There is just so much I would rather be doing… Like blogging for example! 😉
This weeks summary:
- Week five progress: -0.5 pound
- Total lost in WoW: -4.5 pounds
Goals for this week:
- Make healthy food choices while traveling.
- Exercise for 30 minutes on both Monday and Tuesday.
On a positive note… Those 4.5 pounds have made a difference!!! While we were in town this morning for Captain’s Auditory Processing class we went to the mall. I wanted to see if I could find a new shirt. (You should have seen the looks on the employees faces when I wheeled the jogging stroller carrying 3 kids through the door, with 2 more hanging off the sides!) I ended up trying on a ton of cute clothes and found a few cute new tops, as well as a few new skirts!!! It is so nice to have real clothes fit again!! The strange thing is, my size is all over the place… Of the 4 skirts I brought home, one is a size 10 (which I am taking back since hubby doesn’t like it), two are size 8, and one is a size 6 (it’s my favorite!!!). All the same brand too! Isn’t that weird? I’ll have to take a couple pictures for you to see! 🙂
Anyhow, head over to Regina’s to see everyone else’s results.
Defending the Unborn
Not only did my little sister win first place on her last poem,
she has just written another amazing poem:
I couldn’t make it halfway through without crying.
God has given her such a gift with words, I am so glad she is using that gift to defend the unborn.
April Shower of Photos :: Day 29
I just love it when I walk out to the living room to find things like this:
They were reading a couple of Spanish dictionary’s just for fun!
This shot is blurry, but I just thought it was so cute:
“Mom!! STOP taking pictures of us!!!!”
Oh alright! They are ready for the April Shower of Photos to be over…
Just one more day!
The Feast of St. Catherine of Siena
Today is the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena. Be sure to visit Catholic Cuisine for a couple suggestions for celebrating this feast. I will be making Pasta Santa Caterina for my family, and Meredith shared a wonderful recipe for St. Catherine’s Peace Bread! In fact, you could even make Lily Sandwiches for lunch or a snack, since the lily is one of the symbols associated with St. Catherine. I hope you have a very blessed day!
“O inestimable charity! Even as You, true God and true Man, gave Yourself entirely to us, so also You left Yourself entirely for us, to be our food, so that during our earthly pilgrimage we would not faint with weariness, but would be strengthened by You, our celestial Bread. O man, what has your God left you? He has left you Himself, wholly God and wholly Man, concealed under the whiteness of bread. O fire of love! Was it not enough for You to have created us to Your image and likeness, and to have recreated us in grace through the Blood of Your Son, without giving Yourself wholly to us as our Food, O God, Divine Essence? What impelled You to do this? Your charity alone. It was not enough for You to send Your Word to us for our redemption; neither were You content to give Him us as our Food, but in the excess of Your love for Your creature, You gave to man the whole Divine essence . . .” ~ St. Catherine of Siena
April Shower of Photos :: Day 28
So, I just spent the last hour trying to upload the one video/photo that I took today. It still isn’t working, and I need to get to bed. Oh well… Since, I am so close to finishing the April Shower of Photos, and I don’t want to miss a day, here are a few photos that were taken 2 years ago.
In 2006, we drove back to Nebraska for my brother-in-laws ordination. On the 36 hours straight in the car with 4 kids drive home, we stopped by Mount Rushmore for lunch!! It was so cool! The boys still talk about it.
I might try to upload the video again tomorrow… But for now, good night!
Busy… Busy…
It is going to be SUCH a busy week! I can’t remember ever going anywhere and leaving hubby with almost all the kids, so I have a lot to do to prepare! I am really looking forward to everything but packing it, especially since I have never been to a Homeschool Conference before. I can’t wait!
Anyhow — my mind is too tired to post much of anything, but here is a fun quiz I just saw over at Amy’s blog. I didn’t realize I had changed so much since 1998!
You’ve Changed 80% in 10 Years |
 Compared to who you were ten years ago, you’ve changed a great deal. In fact, you’re probably in a completely different phase of your life – and very happy about it! |
While I was there, I thought I would try this one out too:
| You Belong in 1951 |
 You’re fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! |
Oooohh! I miss our drive in — we use to go when I was a teenager. It was always such fun!
If you have a second to waste play along, I’d love to hear how much you have changed, and what year you belong in! See you soon!
Happy Birthday!
make your Birthday happiness complete!! 😉
Happy BirthdayRegina!!!!
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