Under Construction :: A LEGO Cathedral
The conceptual drawings of our possible new church inspired Ranger to start building a new cathedral of his own, expanding on the ideas from the boys’ previous Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart, using random LEGO pieces from their ever growing collection, just in case our pastor wanted some additional ideas. 😉
Here are some of the LEGO sets used for this project so far:
The Battle of Helm’s Deep and Urak-hai Army
“Saint Statues” from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Game
Long White Candles – railing from Creator Lighthouse
Classic Style Limousine from the Palace Cinema and Camper Van
Demolition Service Truck (and porta potty for construction site)
Reading Aloud at the Rink
“Hey, your little brother is so cool!” said one of the other high school hockey players to our two high schoolers just before their practice, “Yeah, he was reading to us!”
Free Christmas Story :: The Little Lamb’s Wish
I have been meaning to share this link since before Christmas, but fell behind here on the blog as usual… Better late than never, right? Anyway, for a limited time Regina Martyrum Productions is offering a FREE DOWNLOAD of The Little Lamb’s Wish with coupon code NATIVITY15.
A bored little lamb on a wintery hillside, with nothing to do but graze. While other sheep are content munching on grass all day, Little Lamb is growing impatient with his day-in, day-out hum-drum existence. He longs for adventure, for something special to happen. When his mother suggests that he wish very hard, Little Lamb sets about wishing with all his might.
Then one day, crowds of travelers appear on the road, heading to nearby Bethlehem. When Little Lamb spots a weary man with a beautiful Lady on a donkey, he feels certain his wish for something special is about to come true. Never again will his life be the same.
Celebrating Epiphany
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life with Like Mother, Like Daughter. ~
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| On the twelfth day of Christmas… {Making plans for our annual “Twelve Days of Christmas Dinner Party” which we’ll have on the traditional feast of Epiphany this year, if I can manage to pull it together and get to the grocery store tonight… Yesterday and today were just too packed with school, work, activities, and appointments to spend any extra time in the kitchen!} #Christmas2015 #twelvedaysofchristmas #stilladjustingtothisseasonoffamilylife #itmightbejustacrowncakethisyear |
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| The 12 Days of Christmas: The Story Behind a Favorite Christmas Song |
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| I decided to keep it simple this year and set aside our usual Twelve Days of Christmas dinner party/plans until next year, but we did bake a batch of cupcakes late last night! #CatholicCuisine #twelvedaysofchristmas #eggnogcupcakes #eggnogandrumfrosting |
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| Happy Epiphany! This year’s King Cake is just a ring/crown of Eggnog & Rum Cupcakes, but I did tuck a chocolate coin into three of them, one to represent each of the three gifts brought by the Magi to the baby Jesus. #Catholic #epiphanyofthelord #catholiccuisine #whowillfindthecoin |
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| Our middle all found the coins this year and received little gifts. Bud insisted that it needed to be “the FOUR LITTLE ones!” pointing to “one, two, three, and FOUR!” being his cute little four-year-old self! |
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| He noticed the stack of books I left on the kitchen island and pulled over a barstool to sit down and read ❤️ |
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| I should have known he would insist on “the cupcake with the GOLDEN RINGS!!!” and start singing for us once again! |
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| Finally getting back to our history books and we finished the last few chapters of our current read aloud this afternoon… Perfect timing for the final chapter titled “Christmas, A.D. 800” about the crowning of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor! |
Gingerbread Houses on New Year’s Eve
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| “I want mine to look like Mommy’s!!!” – Bud |
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| We added roof tiles, using the cookies from the Dancing Deer Gingerbread House Cookie Kit we were given for Christmas, along with some other decorations (including a porch light like on Rose’s house) and he was happy. |
Gingerbread House Cookies
Mary, the Holy Mother of God
My parents weren’t the only ones who were given a new statue this year! Along with a few other thoughtful gifts (pearl earrings, a couple books, a new game, and some “Enjoy Life” chocolate!) my husband gave me a lovely statue of Our Lady of Fatima, complete with crystal eyes and a metal, jeweled crown! This is just like the statue (plus a little extra lipstick, which made me laugh since most of mine had just been stolen) that my Grandparents gave to my parents on their first wedding anniversary when I was just a couple months old. I loved that statue while I was growing up and have always wanted one similar for our family! She looks so much bigger in our home than she does over at my parents, but I’m sure we will find the perfect place for her soon. Isn’t she beautiful?!
A Statue of the Holy Family for Dad and Mom
Even though many of my siblings were not able to travel home for Christmas this year – it ended up just being three of my brothers and I out of the twelve of us, unlike last year when nine of us were together – I was still able to coordinate a special gift to give our parents when everyone came over on Christmas Eve! It was so much fun to plan and visit with all my brothers and sisters, currently spread out from Hawaii all the way to Australia, in a private group message on Facebook. It’s been way too long since we’ve all been together!
A Few Pictures From Instagram & Car Seat Update
December 23, 2015: Our bank wasn’t sure what to think of the grocery “shopping spree” I went on last night to Costco, Natural Grocers, and finally Trader Joe’s. It took me 30 minutes (9-9:30pm, they close at 9) on the phone with the fraud department to verify that it really was me using the temporary debit card (my only payment option at the moment) which I was issued on Monday, after my purse was stolen Saturday night. The employees at TJ’s were so kind, patient, and understanding. Then, as I was about to walk out the door, they tucked a bright and cheerful bouquet of flowers into my basket as a little gift! #ilovetraderjoes
We are still working on getting everything straightened out. It’s been such a mess. I kept way too much in that purse… We were finally able to pick up the car from the glass shop on Christmas Eve and I ended up having a little meltdown after cutting my hand on some glass. They said they “shop vac’d” what they could and I needed to clean up the rest… I took it to the dealership where I purchased it this past summer and they were so great. The service department pulled some of their detail guys off their current work projects and had them use compressed air to clean up some of the glass and they also pressure washed all the mats. I’ll need to schedule an appt with a body shop to get the rest of the glass out of the door – you can hear it every time it gets shut. Sean worked on it some more yesterday (finding even more glass!) and installed our new carseats for the little ones. I’m still working on a detailed list for the insurance claim, but we’re getting there!
December 26, 2015: I received such thoughtful gifts this year, including a few to replace some of the items that were in my purse when it was stolen last weekend… New makeup from my brother & sister-in-law, new pearl earrings from my husband, and a gorgeous new chapel veil from Robin Nest Lane!
A Little Request for Prayers & Car Seat Advice…
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| A picture from Bud’s 4th Birthday Saturday night, posted to Instagram on Sunday: Note to self: Next time DO NOT leave purse in car during high school hockey game, especially after getting paid for the month… Added to wish list: New drivers license, bank account, credit cards, replace shattered car window, new car seats, purse, wallet, chapel veils, favorite rosary, makeup, sunglasses, camera lens, and so much more… #workingondetachment #tryingnottoletitstealmyjoy |
In addition to some last minute Christmas shopping (a little hard to do with all my credit cards cancelled… Thankfully most of it was completed before Advent while I was putting together the list of Christmas Gift Ideas!), writing Christmas Cards (might not happen now this year, at least not before Christmas), and mailing gifts to the rest of our Godchildren, there was so much I was hoping to blog about – two fun birthdays, more on the O Antiphons (the treats and chocolates have been a hit!), last minute Christmas preparations, and that post about the books on the boys’ bookshelf that I started last year (you can find the girls books here) – but it is going to have to wait for now…
One of the next things I need to do, now that we have access to our bank funds again, is purchase new car seats for our two youngest who just turned six and four this past week. It’s been over four years since we have even looked at carseats and I was hoping some of you might have some suggestions/recommendations for us. The two carseats we have now were both gifts: a Britax (I’m not sure if it’s the Roundabout or the Marathon and (I think) a pink Graco 3-in-1, both older versions of course. I’m going to vacuum off the glass and look a little closer for the model numbers in the morning.
My question… If you had to go buy two new carseats with insurance to help cover the cost (they will pay the replacement value on new versions of the brands/models we have, we pay our deductibles and any excess if I choose different versions on all the items that were stolen) what would you choose? I’m so tired right now and would love some help deciding if anyone has a favorite to suggest. Thank you in advance!
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