2016 Week 10 In Review

 The Week in Pictures: 

 I love this statue of St. Anne teaching Mary!  It is at St. Joseph's Co-Cathedral in the lower chapel where we attended the Traditional Latin Mass last Sunday.

The kids had a lot of fun with friends at the gathering after Mass. 

A couple cute pictures of Luke - He can often be found with the Cd player listening to songs, memory work and books on tape.  He also often falls asleep with a book :-)

  Movie day at the Library!  

We went up to Fairfax to visit our soon to-be new house.  We explored the library, and had a brief stop to explore the frozen river but it was a bit too slippery to get very far out on the ice.  Only 12 more days until closing day!

 Watching Veggie Tales with friends :-)

 We finished assembling our rocket, the Amazon, for CSH Science!  We still need to build the launch pad and then have a second smaller rocket to assemble. The kids are excited to launch it after we move.

 On Saturday we attended the Home Depot's kids workshop and

the kids made "wee little wagons."  William and Miriam were able to assemble theirs completely on their own and I helped Luke and Thomas who did a great job!  

 This week I painted St. Tarcisius.  I'm planning to send Saint dolls to my 1st Communion students in Green Bay.  I was teaching 2nd grade Religious Education before we moved and though I had to leave them in the middle of the year I'm praying for them and will send them some little saints for their First Communion Day April 24th.   St. Tarcisius for the boys and St. Immelda for the girls. 

Phil made a wooden Castle for William a few years ago and the children requested some knights.  I'm painting them some for Easter - each child has their special knight: Sir William the Blue Knight; Sir Luke the green Knight, Sir Thomas the Yellow Knight and Sir John the Small Knight :-)  Then there is Princess Miriam.  Now we just need to find the Castle when we move :-)

Highlights from the week:

We finished our third quarter of school this week!  The year has flown by, it's hard to believe we have only 9 weeks of schoolwork left!   We are planning to take 2 weeks off for Easter but it may end up being 3 weeks off since we'll be moving just before Holy Week, Aunt Jenny is coming to visit Easter Week and Grandma is coming the following week.  Either way we should be done by either the end of May or the first week of June. :-)

William begins his instruction at the Stern Center on Monday - I'm really excited to see how this helps him make the leap into independent reading.  He is doing well with beginning readers and loves listening to books on tape but I would so love for him to be able to read what he wants to read rather than waiting for me to help him.  I'm also eager to see the techniques they use so we can incorporate them into our home school curriculum. :-)

Laetare!  We continue to rejoice in the Lord's many blessings and pray that the penitential joy of Lent may bloom into the glorious joy of Easter in each of our hearts!  Praise the Lord, who teaches us to love truly by serving others!  Our prayers are with you, please pray for us as well!

2016 Week 9 In Review

The Week in Pictures: 

 William participated in a workshop at the Local Library called "toy hacking"  It was suppose to last 1 hour but after an hour & 15 minutes, I had to pull him away so we wouldn't be late for noon Mass.  He was enjoying it so much the time flew!

 On Friday afternoon, we had a picnic lunch in the living room.  We were supposed to eat lunch on the road to an appointment but a dead car battery changed plans for us...

 The table was set for an important visitor that evening....

 We were blessed to have Bishop Coyne and Monsignor Routhier over for dinner!!  

Phil let me know on Monday that I would get to prepare dinner for the Bishop on a Friday in Lent :-)

 On Saturday, (after a trip to Costco to purchase an emergency battery jump-starter for my peace of mind) we went to a kids carnival where we saw real live Zebu (for those Veggie Tale fans)...

 and the kids got to ride on a camel!

Highlights from the Week: 

This was the week of dinner guests!  On Tuesday night we had a young couple come for dinner that Phil met through his work with the Diocese.  It was delightful to have Simeon and Julia Lewis over for dinner.  Simeon teaches for the local Catholic High School and Julia is a Catholic therapist who is also very involved in Rachael's Vineyard and presented on this topic for the priests in our diocese. 

 Our pastor Msgr. John McDermitt stopped by on Thursday to measure some windows in the rectory (which will become his home as soon as we move out).   The kids were excited to show him their art work - they love Msgr. McDermitt and we will miss seeing him almost everyday when we move to Fairfax. He unfortunately didn't have time to stay for dinner but we sent him off with a dinner to go.  

Finally, on Friday we welcomed the pastor of the Cathedral, Msgr. Routhier and our very own Bishop Coyne into our temporary home!  Luckily, I only had a few days to worry about what to prepare for dinner since Phil let me know on Monday.  In the end I served a Veggie Lasagna, salad and fresh bread and despite some anxiety, everything went well - it was a delightful evening and we feel truly blessed.    (I did keep his reflection on humility in mind and resolved to be at peace whether things went well or not.)

Everything is going smoothly with the purchase of our home.  Our closing date is still set for March 18th and we may even be able to close on the house a few days earlier if everything falls into place. We are eagerly counting down the days when we can unpack all the boxes again!

Our days continue to pass by quickly full of joy and challenges, always striving towards serving Christ with our whole hearts and greeting each person we meet with His love.  Our prayers are with you, please continue to pray for us!

2016 Week 8 In Review

The Week in Pictures

 A surprise package arrived from Aunt Susan who lives in San Diego and the kids were so excited to open their presents. :-)

Thomas shows off his fishing game. 

William was so excited to assemble his "Tin Can Robot."

Miriam was excited to get new books from Aunt Susan!

Luke showing off his "bat ball" and new green shirt. 

 William posing in his cowboy attire just for fun. 

We took a trip to our local Burger King play place for a Saturday lunch time outing.

 William spent Saturday afternoon assembling his "tin can robot" from Aunt Susan.

 Family Monopoly Night after haircuts for the boys

Sunday morning comics

 Miriam helped make cinnamon roll bread today!

Highlights from the Week: 

The week passed quickly with a day off for President's day on Monday (Phil had the day off so we had a nice day with Dad), the monthly home school co-op on Wednesday and Atrium on Thursday.

We are continuing through the home-buying process and everything looks good - the last big hurdle is the appraisal.  Hopefully the house is worth at least what we offered. :-)  

We had to fish out a box of books from the garage for Miriam because she's reading everything in sight!  She's now read Charlotte's Web, the three Indian in the Cupboard books, The Saints in Story, several Calvin and Hobbes books  and many shorter library books - it's fun to seeing her enjoy reading so much!  

Praise the Lord for His many blessings!  Life in Vermont is not without its daily challenges but among the challenges are so many blessings and affirmations that this is where God has called our family to be and we rejoice in His plan.  Phil continues to enjoy his work at the Diocese of Burlington and we continue to meet and get to know new friends in the area.  We definitely miss our many friends and the community we had in Green Bay but we know that the sacrifices God has called us to make are efficacious in His plan so we abandon ourselves to His Will and find comfort in His Sacred Heart.  May God bless each of you and your families!  Our prayers are with you - please pray for us as well!

2016 Week 7 In Review

The Week in Pictures: 

 Working on our Catholic School House Art projects.  Thomas is making his Roman Fresco in the abstract art style..  

 Luke and William show off their tromp de l'oeil Roman Arch and Roman Fresco.

 Thomas helping to clean up the play room. 

 John turned 10 months old on Ash Wednesday. 

 Ash Wednesday at the Diocesan Offices with Dad. 

 My little knights

 Tom can write his name - sort of.  Not bad for a three year old though.  

 Tired after a busy day of homeschooling, Thomas fell asleep at the dinner table.  

 St. Valentine's Day flowers to brighten up the room :-)

 Phil and I got to enjoy an evening out.  A local catholic women's group sponsored an evening for couples with a nice dinner, the Augustine Institute's Session one of "Beloved" and time for discussion with free babysitting.  We enjoyed our time there and the materials from the Augustine Institute are really wonderful and well done!  This picture was taken by Miriam.

A couple of Sunday Morning pictures.  

 Our Saint dolls all lined up :-)

 Today there were a lot of robins in our "front yard" all trying to keep warm in this single digits and below 0 weather.

Phil built a Lego table for the kids this weekend to help keep the little Legos out of John's reach.  

Highlights from the Week: 

1. Everything is going well with the house in Fairfax.  We had the home inspection this week and have ordered the appraisal.  There were only a few minor plumbing and electrical fixes to take care of from the inspection - everything else looks good.  God willing, in a little over a month we'll be in our new home!  We are counting down the days and can't wait to be in a permanent home again.  John's new found skills, coupled with 4 older siblings who have toys with small parts (read Legos) and our temporary circumstances have made it challenging to "baby proof" so I'll be grateful when there are more "baby safe" spaces.  

2. We are entering into the Lenten season in our temporary home without some of the materials we would normally use (they are in boxes) so we're doing some new sacrifices to help prepare our hearts for Easter and strengthen us in virtue.   Our pastor had a really beautiful reflection on how the Lenten penances that we do are strengthening our "spiritual muscles" to give us strength to carry our Cross and follow Christ on our path to holiness so together we are striving to do just a little more each day for Our Lord who has given everything for us.  

Our prayers are with you especially during this Holy Lenten Season!  We are so grateful for this time to look into our hearts and see how we can love others better and do more to become more like Our Lord and Blessed Mother!  May God bless you and your families - please pray for us too!

.