Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, from our family, to yours!!
An Early Christmas Gift, from CatholicTV
So {A} expressed her wishes in her last post, that she hoped we would blog about our wonderful, unexpected, fill-our-hearts with joy, early Christmas gift. And since I took photos, why not!?
After Mass on Sunday, Fr. Bob Reed, who is Director of CatholicTV, and who also helps out with Masses at our parish, asked us to stay after Mass as he had something for us. Once we all went outside, he proceeded to transport a huge wrapped gift from his trunk, to our van! We were so confused. He said it was an early Christmas gift for us from himself and everyone at CatholicTV. Now, as many of you may know, we willingly let them film our family for a new series on Catholic families, for their TV station. We were the first family to do this, so maybe that is why they have expressed their gratitude many times, which was enough for us!! But here, we had this gift from them.
I asked if we should wait until Christmas to open it, but he said “Oh no!! Open it TODAY!!”. Now our plans were to go shopping from there but……you can bet those plans got a little rearranged. We went home first to open the gift.
Now, we are thankful for anything. Or nothing. From anyone. But as I looked at this box, I had an inkling. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. It my heart, I was a little bit hoping and praying, that it was just what it turned out to be. Hold on.
So here are the kids waiting to open it. Daddy was in the other room doing something, or something. I forget. But we were waiting. And wondering. Hmmmm.
Then we let them tear it open, which took all of 1/2 second.
Next, Daddy had to open the stapled box, and carefully cut the tape of the styrofoam box as well. Clearly it was something breakable. (That was a good sign to me!! lol)
He lifted off the cover, and though each piece was wrapped in plastic, it was clear enough that my little prayer had come true. The kids cheered! Can you tell what it is??
Here is a better look. The beauty of each piece is just……….
I can’t tell you how HAPPY this gift made us. So how did I have an inkling of what it was?? Many weeks ago, when that man from Bethlehem was selling religious wood goods at our parish, I told Fr. Reed how we need to get a nativity set, and soon. I told him we’ve never really had one, except for the Fisher Price Little People set our little ones had. He then mentioned a place he knew that made beautiful sets, but then told me to be sure we didn’t get one. Now WHY would a priest tell you not to get a nativity set? I was just about to ask him where he recommended, since he said he knew of a great place.
We even used that Little People Nativity Set last year, even though our youngest ones were 5 years old and a little old for it! We figured, hey, it was better than nothing. The thing is, our home was always too small before, and lacked a good display area for a nativity set. We couldn’t really afford one, anyway. Later, we added on and had more space, but then with 3 toddlers thrashing about the house, I didn’t want anything get get broken, IF we had one. But it was definitely time, to have a REAL one. Michael and I have wanted one ever since we’ve owned a home, and it was always sadly put off, for one reason or another. A nativity set IS what Christmas is, and we wanted it to be part of our home, for every Christmas season from now on.
But to receive such a BEAUTIFUL set, as a GIFT, from Fr. Reed (whom we adore), and CatholicTV, just adds sentiment to this set, that we will always treasure. The children will always remember how, when, where, we got it, and it just makes it that more special. It’ll be a family treasure, for many, many generations to come.
Michael will be building a stable that is just right, to accommodate our new Nativity set. We are all very excited to set it up in a place of honor. I’ll be sure to take and share photos.
To Fr. Reed (if you’re reading) and Catholic TV — THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, from our whole family here “at #19”. Your beautiful, thoughtful, amazing gift will never go unappreciated, and will always mean more to us than you will ever know.
And here is the STAR of the show! The very reason we celebrate every Christmas…..
A New Crucifix for Our Home
We have a new crucifix for our home.
At Mass a couple of weeks ago, there was a guest speaker from Bethlehem. He had 2 tables full of beautiful, hand crafted, religious wooden pieces for sale. He explained to our parish how the families of Bethlehem make these items, as a means to support themselves. Yet it seems that the town of Bethlehem is very poor now, because of a great decline in tourists, which is due to the danger there now, such as war, violence, kidnappings and the persecution of being Christians. He had a very heavy accent, and so we could not understand all of what he said, but it seems people are afraid to travel and visit there these days. So in an effort to bring in more income for the families, they are traveling and selling the items they make.
Honestly, I wanted so very many pieces there. There were all kinds of statues, rosary beads, and this large, glorious nativity set. There was even a wooden star at the peak of the front of the manger, that you wound up to play music. Be still my heart! We need a real nativity set, badly, too. We never really had a place to put a nice one before, but we do now. Frankly, now that our youngest are 6, the Little People Nativity Set we have isn’t cutting it anymore. 
So, we decided on this crucifix, which we all really love. The craftsmanship is so amazing, and the wood grain in this particular piece really adds to the beauty of it. We do still need to get it blessed.
There has been a crucifix hanging in every home I have ever lived in. Naturally, it is a very poignant symbol of Christian faith, and is meant have a place in every home where strong faith prevails. So this crucifix represents that here in our home as well.
But when I look at this one now, hanging in a place of honor in my home, I am keenly aware of the new feelings I experience in the depths of my soul. Perhaps it is heightened awareness of the reality of just what Christ went through, for us. The way, as we grow older and gain the wisdom that comes with time, something we always knew is embraced in a whole new way-with greater appreciation, gratitude, and the gripping meaning of it all. As we raise our children, and try to do so while teaching them in the light that all things, all actions, all lessons, all of LIFE, revolves around, and are tied, in every single way…our faith. It is all sprung forth from God’s creation, and our purpose, as we live our lives, day by day, here on earth. Seeing this crucifix brings all of those things to mind and heart, in one impactful moment, at the very glimpse of Christ there, on that cross, on our wall.
More than that, it has already served me well in another way. It’s been a reality check for me, when I really, really needed one. A well-deserved slap in the face, if you will. Because there was a day, or maybe 2, that I was having a bad day. And by ‘bad day’, I mean one of those self-absorbed, not getting over-myself kind of days. A day when I felt needless stress, for all I had to get done in that day, and the interruptions (blessings in transparent disguise that day…lol), that hindered me from getting it all done quickly. A day where, in this failing economy, I was feeling I had too much work and obligations, (I know…slap me now), and not enough time or focus to get it all done. So on such a day as this, I once again caught glimpse of this crucifix hanging there. And it served that reality check: “THAT, is a bad day”, I thought, looking at it. I recalled the truth of the matter: Here was the Son of the living God, being called a liar for who He was, being tortured in ways that brought about pain none of us will ever truly understand, and giving up His life, after a slow and merciless death…………..not for Himself. But for US! For all of us. For all of mankind, or at least, for each of us who accept his sacrifice, and embrace salvation in our hearts, minds and souls, and live a life accordingly.
And yet here I was…in a bad mood over, ummm….what again? A to-do list that wasn’t really that long. Certainly not painful. And when I really looked at it honestly, it was all blessings, I chose to see in a selfish light that day. They were all, in the end, for good things for ME, when the purposes come full circle. I mentally complained that day because I was tired (though I slept in a cozy warm bed most of the night). It irked me to see that basket of unfolded laundry, knowing deep inside some people must wear the same dirty rags every day. I groaned because I had so much work to do – which brings in the income to support my family, through the gifts God Himself gave me, and of which is a passion (sometimes of service)I feel in my heart. Because I didn’t feel like taking the time, to prepare meals, forgetting to be grateful for answered prayer when we say “give us this day, or daily bread”.
Shame on me, and I meant it, and felt it, when my eyes landed on that cross.
I live a life focused on gratitude, most days. I try to make a habit of starting each day in prayer ( a few times before noon), and counting our abundant blessings. I know in my heart, and remember 95% of the time, that nothing comes to me, to us as a family, that which is not first through the Father. And I feel, and fear, that when you forget to be grateful, the Good Lord tends to get us back on track with a swift and difficult life lesson, which makes us appreciate what we should, once again. Indeed, ALL GOOD comes through Him. We know this to be true. We have simple needs, as a family. As individuals. Yet we are very, very blessed. I would even go so far as to say, we are rich, really, when you consider what is really of value. He provides for us. He always does. He even gave the life of his own Son, as Christ did for us as well, so that we could have MORE, and eternally. It reminds me of that hymn, Whatsoever You Do. For we also know that what is ours, we must share with those in need.
So I think this cross will be hanging in our home for a long time to come. For all it means, for all it symbolizes, and just in case, for the reality check I may need someday again, when I am wrapped up in ME, and forget momentarily, that I have all I will ever need. I have woken up and smelled the coffee, after my partial day of ridiculous, unjustifiable pity. There is work to be done, which we quite enjoy, because work/income is coming our way, in a time some people can’t find a job, or despise their job, and in a time of a failing economy. There are meals to prepare, because we have food. There is laundry to fold, because we have clothing, and a washing machine in which to clean them. We have a home to clean, because we have a roof over our head. And beautiful, healthy children to tend to, because they are the very existence of our answered prayers, and joy of our life! They are just LOVE, making themselves known, all over the place. And all we need to do is remember to be thankful for such immense blessings, and sincerely follow a few other simple rules, and on top of all that we already have, we can then even enter into the home, of Our Father.
Amen, I say to you, Amen.
Tea Time for Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Day
Today is Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Day, so I’m be sharing a little special something I did with the kids, to learn a bit about it, and acknowledge it. Over the weekend, we decided to look around in The Christmas Tree Shops. If you don’t have one of those near you, I feel bad for you. It’s such a great, affordable place, and I always come out with more than I planned on getting. So I try not to go in often. : ) But this time we all went in – and being the season to sell autumn decorations and goods, I had to control myself with every turn. However…..we did let the kids each choose a mini loaf ceramic pan, with the intention of letting them bake some mini loaves on Sunday.
Sunday got away in terms of baking. So then it got pushed to Monday…which is today. This morning, somehow we went way off track of our usual school morning routine. We got into helping the kids put finishing touches on some paper crafts they had started yesterday ( I’ll be blogging about that soon), and then we had to clean up the mess made in a flurry of creativity. By the time we were done, we realized we really needed to get the kids to their schoolwork, so we decided to move family devotion to the afternoon (usually done first in the day). Since we were going to do that, and it was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, we decided to whip up some Quick Bread first and let the mini loaves bake while we did our school work, and plan on having an afternoon ‘tea’ together, and discuss the Feast Day, after school and lunch.
Boy did the house smell good while school work was getting done. Banana bread – one of our favorites. Soon the timer went off, and it was time for them to come out of the oven and cool for a bit.
The kids we so excited to have their own loaf (not to be eaten ALL at once) that they ate lunch a bit faster.
So we gathered in the sun room for Devotion, and discussion of the Feast Day while having a ‘tea’. We have had a ‘tea’ time a time or 2 before, but it was hot cocoa or something for them in the past. We just called it tea, for the sake of a tea time. But this time they tried some real tea. It was apple cinnamon decaf, and the little ones were pretty excited to try it – even though {A} tried to let them know they may not care for it, since she had tried it before. But she too was willing to try it again. Turns out, she still didn’t like it, 2 others didn’t think they did either. and the last thought it was ‘ok he guessed’. They sipped here and there as we chatted about the Blessed Mother, but not quite like they do hot cocoa. Their own little banana bread loaves, however, they were really enjoying.
For our discussion, first, we asked the kids how many times they could think of off the top of their head, when Mary, the mother of Jesus, might have experienced deep sorrow. Naturally, they all guessed his crucifixion, and death on the cross. {A} also named the time when Mary searched for three days in Jerusalem for her son, who was missing, and later found Him in the temple, teaching. Once they were done throwing out their thoughts, we taught them the 7 times Mary experienced great suffering in her life. We talked quite a bit about it, and how hard many of those times must have been. We can only try and imagine. (And as a mother, I don’t even want to. But I must, to truly begin to appreciate her sacrifice, and reasoning for it.)
It was a lovely tea time, even if the tea itself wasn’t the hit they hoped. There will be others, no doubt. Probably many in the coming cold season. We just leave the table with a warmer feeling inside. Perhaps it’s the tea. Perhaps it’s feeling a bit more in touch with our faith than when we sat. Or maybe it’s just the time together. In any case, we find tea time is good for the soul.
On a somewhat unrelated note, we might mention how Sunday ‘got away’. At some point, either while we were at mass, or picking up lumber at Home Depot, our little friend ‘Webington Ringaling’ broke free in the house…and we still haven’t found him.
A Day Worth Celebrating!! – Our Triplets Turn 6!
This past Sunday was a very special day in our family; it was half of our family’s birthday!! Our triplets ‘babies’ turned 6!
As I probably mentioned in our oldest daughter’s birthday post a couple of months ago, birthdays are celebrated in a big but different way, in our family. Basically, no one works or has school, and we spend the day together, discussing and celebrating our loved one’s life in the ways that feel right to us. Every family is different, as we all well know. For us, annual parties with piles of presents never sat well with us. It just wasn’t what we wanted to do every year, as much as we LOVE to plan celebrations. It just seemed to us that the presents become the focus of the gathering — especially for children, who are still learning/being taught what matters most in life. I think that perspective became all the more important to us to really try to implement in our children, when we arrived at a child’s birthday party some years ago. When we got there, and came walking up the driveway, the birthday child started to coming to meet us, and I personally was initially very impressed with such manners, to greet their guests like that. But then the first words the child said to us were, “Where’s my present?“. We had one of course, but that kind of stuck with us, and gave us a new determination with how we wanted to try things differently, and try to redirect to the most meaningful parts of the day. Granted, teaching such values is a constant work in progress, but the kids seem to be pretty focused most time on the true meaning and purpose of Christmas, birthdays, and the like. We do give and accept gifts, as you’ll see in this post, too. But as a family, we really do focus most on our traditions and time together, thankfully, than the gifts. Although those are always pretty exciting too, huh? They are more like bonuses.
With that being said, I know some of you have been chomping-at-the bit (for different reasons I imagine), and checking many times a day (we’re flattered!) for this birthday report, with all of the sorted details and photos……so here it is:
J, O and S’s birthday was really beautiful. Really. I’m still flying with glee from it, to tell you the truth. Just an emotional, exciting and FUN day, that created such memories! Weather-wise, it was beautiful, but the whole day was as wonderful as we had hoped and planned it would be. It started on our bed. They always ask to hear the stories of when we were expecting, and all of the crazy things that happened while they were all crowded in there together. But as we tell stories, they are always watching the clock, waiting for those official minutes of the morning when they were actually born. We purposely skip the whole labor part, as that is a horrifying and terrifying story, that even I prefer to forget (but can’t seem to). So we skip right to the moments of joy!
Next the little bedheads, still in their boxers and t-shirts, which we call pajamas, headed to the table to wait for their (our family’s) traditional birthday breakfast.
We have pancakes often enough, but they are just extra special on birthdays.
They usually prefer strawberry yogurt with their pancakes, instead of syrup. But this day they chose syrup, so that gave me reason enough to let them have their first surprise of the day;
Electric (well battery powered) toothbrushes. I could tell by their expressions that they weren’t sure how excited they should be about this first surprise. Then I heard one of them suggest that they go try them out right away………..
It might have been the longest they have ever brushed!! They came out with great BIG smiles, and I swear their teeth were whiter! We’ve heard lots of extra and longer buzzing in the bathroom in the past 2 days. Let’s hope the thrill of it sticks around. : )
Then the phone rang, and it was their Papa (my father)….who sang Happy Birthday to them over the speaker phone. (He could have/should have been a country star, just so you know. He has a great voice, loves to sing, and self taught himself guitar and harmonica….which he can really jam on and often entertains us. The kids LOVE it.)
Once we were all ready, we headed to Mass. It happened to be Sunday, and {A} was THRILLED that she was scheduled to serve on yet another special occasion to her. But what a beautiful way, anyway, to start this special day. The trio’s Daddy and I loved going to Mass on their birthday, and having such an opportunity in that way, to give thanks to our Heavenly Father, for the gift of these children He has given us. They could very easily have been ‘taken back’ to Heaven, on more occasions than we care to remember, while in utero or the NICU. I personally begged and pleaded while on bedrest, and admittedly ‘made a deal’ with God, to keep these babies in an earthly way. He granted my (our) constant prayers I presented with him throughout our expecting these babies, both through my 6 months on bedrest as well as when they were in the NICU initially. I am keeping my promise to Him, in return, and will until the end of time. My gratitude is present in my heart every day I live, with every breathe I breathe. So at mass, as I gave thanks once again, the emotions just kept on coming. How many ways can you be thankful for such beautiful and healthy children, who didn’t have great odds in having such a life??
After Mass and some brief ‘hang-out- time with our friend Fr. Bob, who presided at this mass (see? perfect!), we headed home to change and grab lunch. Because…..we needed to head out to the big surprise of the day!!
Color Me Mine,….an AWESOME and FUN pottery painting place. The kids just could not figure out what they wanted to do all together for their birthday this year, so their Daddy and I came up with something we were SURE they would love doing. They walked into this place with wide eyes, and ‘wonder’ written all over their faces. Once we explained to them what we were doing, the 4 kids all chose a plate to paint (well, except {J}, who initially really wanted to paint a piggy bank,,,,but being the Mama, knew he would be sad later when everyone was eating off of the special plate they made…so I talked him into what I knew he would ultimately be happy with.).
They could paint it and design it anyway they chose. I have to tell you…2 of them were insisting they needed to use a butterfly ‘for Meme’. That is my mother, who passed away. (As if the day wasn’t emotional enough.) They see butterflies as her spirit visiting them, and reminding them that she loves them and is still here, as many people see butterflies representing their own loved and lost ones, I guess.
Figuring out what they wanted to do, and getting set up was the hardest part. But once they got going, they felt really settled and were as happy as clams to get to work!
The photos in this post are just a handful of the ton of photos I took on this day. Truth be told, I always have a hard time choosing which photos to post in the blog. Any photos of our kids are my favorites, and any from THIS particular day was especially special. But I did my best to narrow them down. Who minds?
{A} decided on a couple of ‘add-ons’ to adhere to the sides of her very personality-evident plate:
{O} really wanted a job at this place. Once she was done working on her plate, she was washing everyone in the place’s brushes and sponges. lol
Their father and I were very busy the whole time, helping them get more paint or showing them how to do whatever, and I was taking all the photos I could as well. But there was one thing I wanted to do before they closed shop………a family hand-print plate. We managed to get it done, and my husband hand-lettered our names under all the prints, all the way around. THAT will be a treasure of mine for a long time to come. Well…forever!!
Of course, all of the pieces you have seen are very ‘undone’. We are very excited to pick them up in about a week! Once they have been glazed and kilned, the color will all be ‘popped’ and they are going to be just beautiful!! It’s just another somethin’ to look forward to! (For you too…since I’ll take photos and put them on the blog, I am sure.)
After we scrubbed up and left Color Me Mine, still kind of covered in paint, and with smiles seemingly painted on too, we left STARVING!! It was time to go out to dinner, and 2 of the kids wanted to go to the 99. 2 others wanted to go to a seafood place. {S} wanted baked scrod, and {O} wanted fried shrimp. We figured out that we could probably get both of those things at the 99 anyway…so that’s where we went. What a LOVELY and enjoyable dinner together. We just laughed (hysterically at times) and chatted over a nice meal. {S} did indeed order baked scrod, with broccoli (yay!) and apple sauce. {O} could have ordered fried shrimp, but changed her mind to chicken tenders. The other 2 ordered burgers. Anyhoo…..here was a nice birthday celebration bonus. Our (excellent) waitress came to out table, and let us know that 2 of the kids meals were free (for the purchase of each adult meal), because the Red Sox won the night before!! SERIOUSLY??!! (Not that the Red Sox won….lol, but about the free meals because they did.) Well……. OK!!! I guess that’s the deal they offer. We love that. : )
On the way home, balloons were on the urgent agenda. The birthday trio REALLY wanted them. So we stopped on the way home to get them, and somehow that experience was pretty fun too!! They were allowed to choose their ribbon color too, so they were thrilled. Then the cashier, who was one of those people who had never seen/known triplets before, was an especially (puzzling) hoot. We were cracking up on the way out.
Once we got home, we still had a few things to do. A couple more surprises, and the ‘coffee cake’ they specifically requested (for months) for their birthday cake. There was also sweet message on the machine for them; a quite amusing ‘Happy Birthday’ duet and message from their grandparents. We listened to that a few times. : )
Their big sister, {A}, is just the sweetest big sister when it comes to their birthday. She starts planning weeks in advance. Once her birthday is over, anyway. She really works at figuring out just what she wants to get them, and insist on using her own money. she makes pretty good money for a kid, as she enjoys being our business assistants here and there, and we like to compensate her when she does. She saves most of it, and spends a little. So as their birthday approaches, she asks us to drive her to the places she needs to go, and we do. So she was pretty excited, as she always is, to give them their gifts. She always knows just what they’ll flip over:
{J} loves penguins, and puppets……..
Not too long ago, the kids Papa came down for their pre-birthday visit, and gave the kids a gift. He gave {O} a purse, which I thought was perfect. She’s so into girls things. In accepting the gift, {O} amusingly said in her sweet and grateful little tone “Well thank you, Papa! I don’t know what I have to put it in it, but it’s nice! Thank you.’ {A} remembered that, and got her plenty of purse things to put in it……
Last year, {A} bought {S} a blue hummer toy. He LOVED it…had it every moment of the day. Until one day it rolled off the table and broke. (A few times, actually….and we fixed it over and over). Eventually it was just done, from playing with it, and it dropping so many times. So he really wanted another one, and said so a LOT! Do YOU think he looks happy?…….
Then we had one more surprise for them, before cake.
They have been using an educationally based computer program called Jump Start. They’ve been using the 1st grade one for over a year, and seemed like they needed something more challenging, so we got them the next level up. Mind you, this isn’t a school thing we give them. It’s something they like to do in their spare time, outside of our formal school time, for FUN. It’s all parts of writing, reading, math, science, social studies, thinking skills, music and art. So….”sure kids! You can play with that for awhile!” They are getting a refurbished laptop of their own that is fast enough, because {A} needs hers for science and history/geography. (Here is {O} below using the program the next day.
The next day we realized there was some mail and books that came for them that we forgot to give them the (late) night before. Not to mention the pile of thoughtful cards they got more in the mail that day. They were all very sweet/funny, and they even got some handmade cards that were very appreciated by them. They also appreciate the phone calls they received with birthday wishes over a few days time.
So that was our wonderful day, in a nutshell, believe it or not. : ) Although I am (very) excited to share our always exciting first day of (home) school with you, (oh my goodness…the abundance of photos I took), I wanted to share this day first. I will be blogging about our unexpected first day of school soon, somewhere in between the work I have, school and everything else important. I need to go through and process the photos before then too.
Thanks for reading all about this big day in our family! We appreciate the visitors, as we share, and record our daily family life we are so blessed with.
