Weeks 27 & 28 In Review

The past two weeks in pictures: 

We've had a nice balance of rainy and warm days - it's been a great summer for outdoor fun and for our garden!  Here's a picture of one of the pleasant rainy days.  

The last week of June was our Totus Tuus Week.  William was able to serve for a few of the Masses.

 The kids loved Totus Tuus and had a great week.  

 Thomas and John and I spent a couple mornings at the Library rather than make the 20 minute drive 4 times in a day (Mass was at 11:30am) and the kids were at Totus Tuus from 9am-3pm.

 We had the Totus Tuus team over for dinner on Friday night and the kids had so much fun with them - there were some tears when they had to say goodbye.

 We went to visit Grandpa John's and he gave Phil some rocks to use for our shrine.  

 We also had some fun in Grandpa John's Row boat on their pond. 

 The day of the 4th of July arrived and the kids were super excited to set off our fireworks. All day long they were asking when they could set them off!

Ready for Independence day Mass :-)

 Some of the really large rocks were delivered by tractor - the kids had fun on the tractor. 

 We went to the Fairfax Parade and had great seats and got so much candy that we won't need to do any trick-or-treating this year. The candy jar is stocked! :-)

 We set off the fireworks that evening only to find out it was all smoke....apparently only sparklers and smoke bombs are legal in Vermont.  The kids still had fun but we journeyed over to Smuggler's Notch to watch some real fireworks that night.

 The kids were able to participate in the Chocolate Olympics at our library - they had a lot of fun completing the chocolate challenges our librarian prepared.

 John loves the chickens!

 Phil was in D.C. this week for a conference and got back at 2 am on Saturday morning.  He had to scramble at the last minute to find a flight home as his original flight was cancelled - we were grateful he made it home!

 While Phil was gone The kids decided to climb the pine tree in an effort to free the rocket's parachute from it's top branches - we have retrieved the rest of the rocket.  The attempt was unsuccessful but I was amazed at how high Miriam could climb and relieved that she was able to get down safely. Thankfully she didn't inherit my fear of heights.  

 A beautiful summer day with the playground in use. 

 William's Lego creation - he and Luke are having so much fun with their Legos.   It's great to see their creativity! 

 Sunday morning fun on the rocks that will be made into our family shrine.  

 

In other news:

On the homeschooling front: In happy news, we received our enrollment letters for next year for the 3 oldest so we are all set to homeschool in Vermont.  I now have a system for creating electronic portfolios for each child that should be a lot less work and cost.  I also have our curriculum ready to go and have been working on our lesson plans for next year for the three oldest and getting the school room ready.  

Looking ahead:  William will be taking part in a wood working class next week in Milton. William's summer sessions at the Stern Center are also starting tomorrow -  he'll have five 2 hour sessions. We're looking forward to checking out a new library this week which is across the street from William's woodworking class.  

We will be hosting some Chinese students for the last 2 weeks of July - we are excited to be part of the exchange program here in Fairfax.  I'll be attending a meeting this week to find out more of the details for their stay.

We're also planning a trip to San Diego in October and can't wait to see family and friends there.  It's been 4 years!!  We may also be stopping in Wisconsin on the way if it all works out as Phil and I were honored to be asked to be godparents for the child of good friends in central WI and we'd love to see Grandma, Aunt Jenny and our many friends there.  

These beautiful summer days are such a gift and I am so grateful for the many blessings God has showered on our family!  It is such a joy to spend time together as a family enjoying our beautiful home here in Vermont and getting to know new friends.  Our prayers are with each of you and we are joined in Christ's love through His Sacred Heart!  Please pray for us - that we radiate Christ's love to all who need to encounter Him and are faithful to His plan for our family!  May God bless your week!

   

Week 26 In Review

The Week in Pictures: 

It was vacation week with Dad so we took some fun day trips to explore Vermont.  We checked out the Shelburne Farms pass from the Library and had a fun "on the farm" experience.  

Among many other fun activities, the kids each got to milk a cow.  

William tried out this tractor. 

The kids got to play with the goat kids, brush a rabbit and see baby pigs also.  

.  

All in all, everyone enjoyed their time on the farm!

We took another day trip to Bingham Falls in Smugglers Notch. 

It's a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole that is a bit of a hike down the mountain.

 It was well worth the hike! 

 Phil added an outdoor run to our chicken coop this week.

  

Then on Saturday we headed to Stowe for the Renaissance Faire.

 The kids enjoyed trying on armor.  And checking out the Viking tents.

The highlight of the day was the full armor battle and the jousting match.  

Miriam even chose the flag of the winning jouster.  

 I just had to share these cute pictures from a trip to Lowes to purchase wood for a project for the school room. 

  

We also went strawberry picking and made some freezer jam.  

Today's beautiful weather was perfect for the pool.

It was a great week with Phil home on vacation! This week William, Miriam and Luke have Totus Tuus from 9am-3pm every day.  The days are flying by and we are really enjoying the beauty of our new home and the joys of being together as a family.  Praise the Lord for His many blessings!  Our prayers are with you - please remember us in yours!

Weeks 24 and 25 In Review

The Weeks in Pictures: 

Thomas caught a frog in the woods. 

After the rains the weeds took over the garden, but we reclaimed it!

The after picture :-)

Fun times in the four wheeler at "Grandpa John & Grandma Fern's" house. 

The kids each got to ride a horse at a local horse riding school open house. 

They also got a grooming lesson. 

Luke celebrated his Baptism Day on June 12th. 

I got a couple more saints painted - I'm still working on saints for all of my nieces :-) Above is St. Agnes and below, St. Michael.

 This is the reason last week's post didn't get posted - Phil left on Monday for a conference in Baltimore to learn how to be the Diocesan Representative for CRS.  His flight home on Thursday got cancelled so he got a bonus night in the "Crystal City" Arlington, VA before flying home from Washington DC on Friday.  We were quite happy to have him home!

 While Phil was gone we spent some more time at John and Fern Rainville's - the kids got to help with a big bonfire.

 William also discovered the home of a  mama racoon inside a hollow tree while we were there,

 This is a huge Maple tree that William climbed. 

 We were blessed to attend a holy hour for the soon to be ordained seminarians on Friday evening.  When we got home, Thomas had his own benediction.  

It was beautiful to be able to attend the ordination with the children.  Since I was in back with John, I got this great picture of the laying on of hands as well as a couple others that I'll use with the kids to talk about the Sacrament of Holy Orders since it is likely they will be witnessing their father's ordination to the Diaconate in the not too distant future.  

 We had a wonderful Father's day with Phil - all the more special because we were so happy to have him home again!

 Phil helped the kids set up camp in our woods.  They picked out a great site!

 The chickens are getting bigger!

 Here's a picture of some of the painting on the play ground - we're still working on it but the kids had fun putting their hand prints on the playground.

 Enjoying a warm chocolate cookie with ice cream topping and M&M's before heading out to the campsite.  

 The Lawson campground express - taking camping gear and kids to their campsite.

The view of the sunset from the woods.  Our campground is officially open - all friends and family members are welcome!!

Praise the Lord for His many blessings!  What a beautiful and amazing gift Fatherhood is - I am so grateful for my father, my grandfathers and for all those who have been fathers to me - teachers, priests, and those who have been there to teach and guide and love unconditionally, mercifully.  I am also so very grateful for my husband and the father of my children - I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, thoughtful and loving husband and father.  God has truly blessed us!   May our Heavenly Father watch over you and guide you tonight and always!  Our prayers are with you, please pray for us as well!