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Surprise Destination – Martha’s Vineyard | Continuation of Triplets’ Birthday

September 29, 2010 By Laura 10 Comments

Continuing sharing the triplet’s 8th birthday here. Get ready for a whole lot of photos! (Let them all load before scrolling like crazy, ok?)

Following a birthday kick off at home in the morning (as posted in ‘They 8 and 8 and 8’…), we had big plans for the rest of the day! Well, you know, big in our world. It was going to be a great surprise for the kids. A whole new adventure, and I knew they would excitedly enjoy every second of.

But first, believe it or not, we had to deliver our home schooling package to the town, as this day was the deadline! Ugh. The office was in the complete and distant opposite direction of our adventure, so it was a mad rush, as we had transportation to catch!

In our travels, the kids tried to guess what we were doing, and eventually voted that they wanted to know, so they could be excited on the way. So I told them.

(Imagine the announcement here, Oprah-style:

“We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!” “We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard!!”

Ok enough. They were about as excited as that audience too!! And no, I don’t really watch Oprah much. But is there anyone in the world, who hasn’t seen that clip?)

Sometimes, knowing what you are about to do is half the fun! They chatted excitedly the rest of the way, all the way to………

marthas-vineyard … the Island Queen Ferry. We were indeed going to Martha’s Vineyard!

It was about as close to (and as exciting as) a cruise ship experience, that we were ever likely to have.

You’d think, where we live, we would have been to Martha’s Vineyard by now, if not 100 times. But we hadn’t. I think I do recall going as a kid with my family, though. But not since. Have you been? If not, you can ‘come along with us’ through these photos. And if you have, you’ll know it’s well worth the re-visit!

Just about to deport.

The sea was so calm that day, and the temps were mildly warm…..perfect for a nice cruise, and a beautiful day on the island.

They stood a lot of the time. They didn’t want to miss a thing.

A few days later, someone asked {S} if he saw any dolphins or whales out there, and he said,
“No. All I saw was a dead bass, and a jelly fish.”

This mother’s heart gushed at the sweet sight of this.
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Another motherly heart sigh.
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Pulling into port!!

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A little welcome from the shores.
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An Osprey nest, perhaps?
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We got walking on the island, and every where I turned around, there were fun photos to take. Who’s birthday was it, anyway?

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Looking at the pamphlets available, there was one ‘must see’ that jumped out to us, and we were on a mission to find it.
(Dropping in on little shops as we went along of course.)

We found it!!

I can tell you, it was hot as hell in this old wood structure. (Or so I would imagine. Hopefully I’ll never know, for sure.) You could literally smell the warm wood. And believe it or not, so dark in there I had difficulty taking (good) photos. But it was so charming anyway!

Ready to go!!
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The coolest thing about this carousel, was trying to get the brass ring, as the carousel went around. These next 2 photos are awful, and you’ll need to look carefully to see what I am talking about. But, do you see that thing {JM} and {A} are reaching towards? That’s a metal ring dispenser.

You could try and grab one out of the dispenser, every time you went by.

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Most every ring was silver. But the one who got the ‘brass ring’, got a free ride!! It really added such a fun element to the whole carousel experience. There was also a dispenser on the inside of the carousel.

None of our kids got the brass ring. But hey…they are lucky enough, right?

More strolling around, just enjoying all of the charming little shoppes and restaurants.

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This place looked like fun!

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Just a quick glance around, told me this place had some great games to play! And none of the smutty and/or violent animated graphics I deem inappropriate for my little one’s eyes.

marthas-vineyard-20 But nothing in this amusement arcade place, was more exciting than the site of PLINKO!! Seriously?? I could not have been more excited!! That was always my favorite game on the Price Is Right. We were good at it too!

I was busy playing myself, and not taking as many photos in here.

Racking up the tickets!
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Oh what to get……decisions, decisions.
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I am sure all of you parents out there, know how long this can take. Have mercy!
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In the end, they all happened to settle on ‘silly bands’. It’s their first ones, believe it or not. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wear them more than once or twice, since. But they sure do like to collect stuff~ Oh my gosh, do they ever. (All of them. Trust me!)
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There are a lot of great signs at Martha’s Vineyard. Being in the sign business, we really notice and appreciatethese things. For anyone reading and not aware of these things, a sign is one of the top most important elements of your storefront business. It’s a first impression. It’s creates all kinds of sub-conscious messages about your business, and it definitely effects the flow of people that come in your door. Or not.

This sign, Sharky’s Cantina, drew us in. It was just a great sign. Well laid out, fun, high quality. So it gave those same impressions of the establishment as a whole, too.

The margarita might have been calling me in also.

But……there was just no room for us in there. It looked like a great place, but it was small, and packed with people. (Because of the sign. no doubt. ; ) See? ) We sat at a teeny-tiny table, in the very back corner, and I immediately felt trapped. Need-to-get-OUT!! I guess ‘Cantina’ was a clue there. But I was hyper-focused on the, well maybe the margarita. We had to find somewhere else to eat.

As we looked for somewhere else, we happened to look down a pathway, that really, really drew us in. As hungry as we were.…..

Walking through these gates, was seriously like walking straight into another world. Martha’s Vineyard as a whole, is pretty peaceful. But this…..this place….offered an indescribable feeling. All we could hear, were our own soft steps on the sidewalk, and the occasional tweeting of birds. As we walked along, I had to look back behind me to the gate I had just walked through, trying to figure out what just happened.

marthas-vineyard-32 The little walkway, led to a street lined with the quaintest little homes, that all seemed to surround a big green. Just looking down the little street, with the row of little houses, almost dumbfounded me. I almost felt like I was in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. Can you imagine that? I really wanted to go there, as a child.

This is the green that the we came upon, surrounded. What you see there in the center of the green is what is known as ‘The Tabernacle.’ We had to check it out.

It definitely had elements of a place of worship. It seemed like such a lovely place, to hold an outdoor Mass.

(To us, because we’re Catholic.)

As I looked around, I think I said, “This place is so cool, ” 20 times.

But it really was!!

One of the kids took note of the banner sign hanging, and read it out loud:

“Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place.”

Yes, surely. It seemed to us, that the ‘presence of the Lord’ was all over Martha’s Vineyard! The beauty of it all….how could one not feel God everywhere?

But, we didn’t see ‘the Tabernacle’ as us Catholics best know it. And thus, ‘the presence of the Lord’ as we know it, either.

Still, it was cool! And I did feel Him everywhere, all day.

I guess concerts and such are held there. I got the impression, some non-denominational celebrations as well.

Over yonder, from ‘the Tabernacle’ looked like what might be a Catholic Church. But the family was all talking about their ‘bellies grabbling’, and they all wanted to eat. We all needed to, really.

So we continued on our quest for a restaurant, which really got to be quite the task! There were little places around, but by this point in the day, I really wanted the kids to eat some ‘real food’, as I like to call it. (In other words…healthy.) Time was ticking, we were all dragging by now, and pretty warm too! When finally, we settled on an Italian Restaurant. By the time we got in, got a table, and ordered, we were in a slight panic waiting for the food, worried we would miss the last ferry at 6:45, to home-land! So we were scoffing down our meals by the time we got our food. Can you imagine missing the last ferry of the day? An overnight at MV was not at all in the budget, and we had nothing with us!

Can I just say, Fettuccine Alfredo is not easy to eat quickly!

Nor is high-tailing it to the ferry with a belly full of it!

(The fettuccine was what I ordered. The kids made healthier choices on their own, thankfully.)

I just had to grab a shot of this place. It’s an Inn. Michael knows some folks who stay there every year.

See? No heavy fettuccine in those bellies. “Hey, wait for me!!”

We did make it to the ferry in plenty of time. We ended up sitting and waiting for it. But we were happy to just sit, and chill. No rush anymore. Just a sweet evening ferry ride for us all, at dusk. SO BEAUTIFUL! The cool evening breeze……the smell of the sea…..the colors in the sky…….God everywhere, still. Not to mention our beautiful children, I was especially, especially thankful for on this day.

So….I took lots more photos on the ferry ride home. And that, my friends, will be the final Trio Birthday post, coming up next. You just have to see how perfect it all was.

Now tell me, have you ever been to Martha’s Vineyard? Once? Many times? For a day or an extended stay? Recently or a long, long time ago? As I said, I think I had been as a child. Michael never had. Nor our kids, of course.

But we’ll all be going back.

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They 8, and 8, and 8… | The Triplets Turn 8!

September 21, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

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As many of you know, our trio babies had yet another birthday at the end of August, and they turned 8.

EIGHT!!

I really wish they would knock it off. :\

You know. The whole growing and growing and getting another year older thing.

I think it’s the food?

They eat a lot!! More than me. They love to eat. And eat. And eat.

And then they get bigger, and older, and smarter.

It seems to be a phenomenon of some sort.

I just wish they would stay little babies.

But, we always love a reason to celebrate!

And x3 is even better!

Which brings me to my excuse about all of the photos coming. Well you all know how many photos you take on your child’s birthday; with the cake, and the gifts or party, and what have you. So imagine having 3 to celebrate on the same day. My shutter finger is plum-tuckered-out by the end of the day! But it sure is fun! Anyway, I tried to be easy on you, and make some composites, so your scrolling finger didn’t get plum-tuckered out too. I also am diving up their birthday posts, so this is only the first post on their birthday, which may not be all that exciting, for you. But oh how it all was for them.

If you’ve been coming around here long enough, by now you know that a birthday-number breakfast just comes with the birth-day. It’s Daddy’s specialty.

They love pancakes. They had way more than their number. 😉 They had like…8 pancakes after they ate their number. And sausages. And juice.

triplets-birthday-2 They never ask for a thing for their birthday, except a balloon. At one point or another, each one of them says, “Do you think I can get a balloon on my birthday?”

It’s the least we can do.

But we do a little more. We’re simple people, but come on. Everyone deserves surprises on their birthday.

I can’t tell you how perfect these little kits were for each of them. They were thrilled. And have gotten a whole lot of fun out of them since.

Big sister had surprise gifts for them too. A little something she bought for each of them. Then, she also gave them her big Magnetix kit from when she was their age, that they have wanted so badly. (So, like a Yankee gift. Lol) She was so sweet, because we had no clue she had any of this stuff for them. She loves planning surprises.

We totally lucked out with the cake thing this year! They all really wanted the same kind of cake. “Coffee cake”, as they call it. It’s cinnamon struesel.

I resisted asking them, “Nothing with chocolate?? Are you sure?”

“PLEEEEASE!!?? ANYONE? “

It’s so easy to make these 3 happy. We could have been done right there. But……we had so much more in store for them for their special day. A big surprise we knew would really make their 8th birthday very memorable.

It’s all coming up, right here.

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{A} Goes to Witness 2 Hope | Catholic Middle School Retreat

August 23, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

At last, I have gotten it all together enough, to share with you all a little bit about the purpose behind our prayer request for {A} a couple of weeks ago. We understand that some of you may not view it as that big of a deal, but for us, it was big. So we are thankful for your prayers if you prayed. They went a long way for us!

So here’s the whole scoop, for those who have been waiting:

In early July, when we were on the show This Is The day, there was a young man and woman there also as show guests, named Steven Colella and Danielle Olsen, from The New Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Boston, to promote a new program for middle schoolers, called Witness 2 Hope. A similar program for high schoolers, called Witness 2 Truth, had already been established and had been effective. They decided that instilling such leadership qualities in young people even sooner than high school, would be beneficial, and that is naturally the truth.

So after our segment of the show, and having listened to {A} speak about her faith, they approached us and encouraged her to attend Witness 2 Hope. It did sound like a great program, and we were glad to hear such efforts were being made with our young people today. However, at the time we just did not consider it very seriously for {A}, because the 4 day program was quite a distance away from where we lived, costed more than we could really afford at the time, and also, {A} had only just turned 13. Quite honestly, she has not had much interest in her young life, in being very far from her family, for days at a time. So, it was not something we really thought about very long.

However, a few weeks ago they contacted us again, hoping we/she would reconsider. They really just felt that she would be a good witness to others at the program. And then, they offered us a full scholarship, to go. After really looking into it more, {A} decided it was really something she wanted to go to. So then I, as her mother, addressed all of my concerns and questions with Steven Colella, as her mother. He was extremely gracious and more than happy to answer every last one, with detail and re-assurance. So we decided she’d be going, and got packing. She was VERY EXCITED, and grew more so as the time drew near to go.

That is really the bulk of most of your reading in this post. So bare with me! The rest is just photos and short explanations.
** Please note that all of the photos with the black outline are images by George Martel, photographer of the Archdiocese of Boston. The rest were taken by me.

The weekend was Thursday August 12- Sunday August 15th. We drove her, and stopped for a bagel on the way since it was a long way, and through our normal lunch time. The triplets were a little clingy, and didn’t want her to go! (And I knew exactly how they were feeling.)

The weekend was held here, at St. Thecla’s Retreat House, in Billerica, MA. It was a beautiful place, inside and out. When I was younger, I often contemplated and dreamed about living a secluded life as a nun, at a place like this. A quiet prayer life really does speak to me. As much as I love my life with my family, deeply, and know it is my vocation, I still dream about places like this sometimes. I wanted to stay with {A}. lol I knew she was going to have a great, uplifting weekend.

We brought her in, got her registered, a got her settled in her little room, and said our goodbyes! Not easy, Folks! Certainly not for me.

There were 25 middle schoolers attending. The purpose of the program was to build up real leadership skills, teach them to be able to communicate well with people in a group, work well together in creating plans of action, and accomplishing tasks that make a difference in their community, or beyond.

We learned that over the course of the weekends, there were many workshops, assignments, games to demonstrate why the skills they were learning were important, as well as mass, Adoration, and praise and worship. And a lot of fun!! {A} finally saw the movie, the Chronicles of Narnia, which was SO exciting to her, since she has read the whole entire series, many times over. She loved the movie, which they watched outdoors at night, in the courtyard!

On Sunday when the families came, each small group had presentations for us, that showed their demonstration of carrying out a Corporal Work of Mercy. {A}’s group chose ‘clothing the naked’, and they explained and showed their plan, of how they could help with that ministry.

Here is {A} with her small group that she worked closely with through parts of the weekend.
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Fr. Matt. He gave a passionate sermon at the closing mass we all attended. Really great, full of profound points, and humor. He is really great with the young people. I could see they really connected with him, and why.
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Praise and worship at Mass. The music was awesome! I love praisin’ and worshippin’. It was all I could do not to run up there and join them. But I stayed in my pew, and just rocked out there.

See, I do have control of my little self, sometimes.

This is Steve Colella and Danielle Olsen. They designed this whole program for the middle schoolers, as well as the Witness 2 Truth program that is in it’s 2nd year, for high schoolers. They are a great team!
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{A} and Danielle. This young woman has such a joy of God in her, it is hard to miss. She is so blessed, to be so in tune with her faith at such a young age! She was inspiring, and no doubt had some great influence on the kids there. I think God gave her those dimples for life, as some divine compensation blessing, for her work. lol
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I’m going to try not, to go on and on about this boy. But, he could have been mine!! He was adopted by his family from Russia. He stood out to me, right away, because he just carries out such an air of happiness and light. At one point at the closing, we were all in the chapel, waiting for mass to begin. He was in the front row, and I saw him turn around to talk to the kids behind him. {A} was 2 pews behind him, and when he caught glimpse of her, he just popped up and reached through the kids, outstretching his hand, for {A} to touch his. <sniff>. If you just could have seen it….honestly, it was just the sweetest most spontaneous thing. When {A} told me he was adopted, I immediately thought “Darn! I had an opportunity, and I blew it!”. I seriously wanted to take him home. But I am sure his family really wants to keep him.He is another she’ll be keeping in touch with. He is just…..I loved him.
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The whole Witness 2 Hope Team. They all had such a great time together, and {A} came home with more friends, more skills, and more experience.
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She had such a good time, and she was really happy she went.
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All of the kids got a t-shirt from the weekend, and this is on the back of it. It was sort of ironic.

{A} has ALWAYS spoke of this quote by Pope John Paul II, and pondered what she could do, in her own big or small way, to help bring his dream to light. So it was not only ironic that the shirts quoted JPII, but it shows you how much this program was right up her alley!

It was a great weekend, and a new milestone for all of us as a family. One that will present itself more and more as time goes on. But for this Sunday, we were happy to pick up our girl, and bring her home with us again!

We stopped to celebrate on the way home, with a wonderful Mexican meal at this restaurant, Margarita’s. While we gather around the table as a family every evening, we had a new appreciation and gratitude this day, of being all together again.

Thanks again for the prayers! They helped us a lot!

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Beatrice. She’s Really Been Around the Block. | The Story of a Doll

August 14, 2010 By Laura 2 Comments

The Story of a Doll.

{A} was just a toddler, barely walking, when my mother called one day a few months before Christmas. She said, “I am shopping for gifts in this catalog, and I am going to buy {A} a baby doll. Do you want the white one, or the black one?”

Those were her words.

Several things ran through my head. ‘Why would she call me, to ask me this? Is she testing me, in some way? Does she think it really matters to me, which one she gets?’

But I said none of those things. Instead, my focus turned to my own parenting. I was a first time mother, and I already had a long list of what I would and would not do, teach and would not teach, my kids, as God gave them to me. I was a confident parent from the get-go, much to the unnerving of, well, certain people. I did indeed know a whole lot about kids, how to care for babies, desirable and undesirable behavior in growing kids, and where they come from sometimes, all learned in depth through very tender ages myself, of caring for/all-but raising, children belonging other parents. But that is a whole other topic I won’t digress into. The point is, I was thinking, “My kids will be raised to never discriminate against people because of the color of their skin, among other things. It shouldn’t even be a thought. God made us all the same, and we are as equal as we are in His eyes.” But I had to answer, so I responded, “The black one is fine.”

I know what you are thinking. I think. Maybe not. But, if you are…..I suppose by ‘choosing’, I was discriminating in some way. But what I was thinking was, ‘This an an opportunity, here. {A} will undoubtedly fall right in love with this doll without hesitation or thought, and she will learn quite early on, in this early lesson in her life, that love knows no color. Or perhaps better, love knows all colors.”.

Previously, {A} never did care much for toy dolls at all, through her childhood. But for some reason she did indeed love this one, from the day she opened her Christmas gift, from Meme and Papa. It was SO soft. Stuffed with cotton and squishy. A little odd shaped, perhaps. There was a rattle inside. {A} was quickly more than partial to it.

Then came the dilemma of course. What to name her baby doll? {A}, of course, was just barely talking. I was helping her figure lots of things out, at that age. So I thought of who gave it to her. And a perfect name occurred to me, as I chuckled more than was kind, on the inside. “ How about we name her “Beatrice” ?“, I asked {A}. “Beee-tissss”, {A} repeated with her usual big smile. And so it was.

When my mother visited again, she asked {A}, as she toddled around with her new doll, what her name was. It was all I could do, not to bust out laughing, while {A} responded, “Beeee-tisss”.

The look on my mother’s face, was priceless. You see, Beatrice, was my mother’s middle name, that she has always hated. As I read my mother’s expression in that moment, I knew she was rather torn somewhere between irked, and pleased that the dolly was named after her

For me, it was just FUN to name her Beatrice, yes, in a humorously teasing sort of way. Out of love. You know. I truly had no idea, how long Beatrice would be around.

This is a scanned scrap booking page of {A} I did years and years ago, with photos just as old. Obviously before I mastered flash. Oh how hard it is to see these things now. But naturally I still treasure the photos. What I wanted to show you here, in particular though, was {A} in the bottom left photo. She is wearing her Daddy’s sweatshirt, and carrying her beloved Beatrice.

{A} carried Beatrice all around the house, and slept with her every night. Along with the nightie I used to nurse her in, that, as she grew older, she had me wear again after being washed, to make it smell like me again.

More scanned photos: When {O} came along, (with her triplet brothers of course), {A} gave her Beatrice. {O} began to sleep with her right away, too. She’s always used her as a pillow. Here they all are together (above), having a couch cuddle. I thought it was sweet that {A} passed on her beloved doll, to her baby sister.

{A} held fast to that nightie, though, which she still sleeps with today.

{O} developed her own special and deepening relationship with Beatrice, as she grew. They read together.
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She made sure Beatrice had other friends too.
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Year after year, Beatrice was still around.

And it’s really begun to show!! I just took these photos of her the other day. {O} was caught more than once as a toddler, biting/sucking on Beatrice’s nubby little clothe thumbs in bed. Soon those were amputated and sewed up.

But check out those healthy hips on her!

It almost makes me feel a kindred spirit with her.

Until I look at her sideways. How does she keep that tummy so flat?

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Most recently, a huge hole in her face, was mended. She’s Beatrice Scar Face now. There are other questionable dark marks, we won’t wonder too long about.

The wear and tear is showing everywhere, on poor Beatrice.

I am sure being washed, as much as she has been, has shown her years too.

But I think being loved, as much as she has, is the most evident.

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After all she has been through, she still has a faint smile.

I think in our own ways, we should all be able to reflect how loved we have been in our lives through the many years, as well.

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{A}’s 13th Birthday | 4th of July Weekend 2010 | Final Part at CatholicTV

August 1, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

{A}’s birthday wish, was to visit the CatholicTV station, in Watertown, MA. Now, some of you may or may not know, that we are a little familiar with CatholicTV, by having become friends with Fr. Bob Reed, who is the director of CatholicTV, and who also helps out with presiding over Masses at several parishes, including our own.

{A} was the first to develop a real friendship with Fr. Reed, as a result of the frequent masses she served, and the time spent with Fr. Reed in the sacristy. That led to Fr. Reed asking us to be part of the pilot episode of a new show at CatholicTV called House & Home, which was filmed in the fall of 2008, and aired in the summer of 2009. (It was a new show; they had a lot of ducks to get in a row. So we embraced our last bit of anonymity in those months. lol) Since then, Fr. Reed has remained a treasured friend of our family. He’s such a cool guy. So, when {A} e-mailed him (as she does on occasion), to request a tour of the CatholicTV station for her birthday wish, Fr. Reed responded quite quickly with her granted wish. He also said he would personally give us the ’25 cent tour’ himself. He said that the actual 5th would not work, but the 6th would be great. He also asked that we be there in time for the ‘This Is The Day’ morning show taping. We soon realized (when he called us later) that he wanted us to be part of the show too. Oh. lol. Now, one might think I’d be getting used to this being taped for television business, but no so much. A little racing heart comes along with knowing your children will be taped for live TV….you know? As we said, we really are not like that mylar balloon family. But..anything for Fr. Reed.

As a side note, {A} and Fr. Reed have had another special connection, in that her actual birthday is his anniversary of ordination into the priesthood. This would be his 25th year!! So, we were happy to go the day after, or whatever day worked for them. The 5th was a legal holiday anyway.

On the set of ‘This Is The Day’. Now….I had never been on the set before, but I had watched the show. I assumed, (and you know how that goes…), that there was a small audience whom we would be part of. You know, maybe a few rows of those seats like at the movies.

No. Six folding chairs, set up just for us. Oh my. Right next to the cameras, lights, and overhead microphones recording the live show. As I sat there next to my 4, occasionally spontaneous children. Yes, I had given them a brief pre-chat in the car on the way. But looking around, and as I heard the director countdown to the live taping “6…..5…..4…..3…..2……1…..<point of finger>”…..it warranted a moment of eye contact with my little blessings, that said “This is alllll business, Kiddos, but go ahead and enjoy it too! <wink>”….without saying a spoken word.

Here is Jay Fadden, host of the show, and side-kick of Fr. Reed (or is the other way around?)……who is as smooth as ice, with cameras rolling, just like his side-kick. I tried to listen, observe, and learn all I could through the first few segments, before WE were up there. No, I hadn’t necessarily learned all I needed to know (or would be nice to know!), the first time around, with all of this TV business.

But I digress. (Or..did I? I forget now.) But see the Mayflower on the side table there? They put that out in honor of us being there on the show that day! How sweet is that? I’m not sure what it meant, that it continued to be there for several following shows but….still!

So how and in what way were we part of ‘This Is The Day?’ Well, if you have ever watched the show (because CatholicTV is a nationwide cable television station), you might know about the ‘Catholic Treasure Box’. At the start of this show, that airs Tuesday and Friday mornings, Fr. Reed presents a riddle, to give clues to what answer may be in the Catholic Treasure box.

So this day, the riddle was as follows:

Parents and children, in home secure, we find the church’s most humble form.

The answer is: FAMILY. That would be us….<enter family>. We did not fit in the box. We didn’t even try.

We sat on the couches, did a little segment chit-chat, they took several photos of us, and then we got on with our tour. I’m not going to link you here, because really…..I wouldn’t assume you want to see it. And you shouldn’t assume I want you to, either, lol. But the show itself is a great show! Just as the other is.

This a shot taken in the master control room. Fr. Reed showed us the whole place….no stones left unturned. Well…would we know if there was? Maybe not. But, we saw a whole lot of the place, and it was incredibly interesting. Also, we can’t really express enough, what really wonderful people, work for the CatholicTV station. Seriously….so friendly. A real sense of family there, at that network. I almost longed to go to work there every day, myself. lol (Behind the cameras, of course.)

After seeing so much of the station, what they do where, and how it all works, Fr. Reed let us into this conference room, which I think, he thought, he had planned for {A}’s birthday. However, the joke was somewhat on him……as his CatholicTV family had this celebration planned for him, for his 25th Anniversary of Ordination. You can’t see in the photo, but the room is full of people. Clapping people.

He. Was. Surprised. I think he thought he had the whole day planned in detail, himself,….and this room full of people, for him, was not on his agenda. (Notice the sweet blush.) He said something to the effect of, “Well weren’t we going to sing Happy Birthday to Alexis?”. Jay explained they would, but they wanted to thank him for his many wonderful years of service as a priest, and the difference he has made in everyone’s lives….and he added how, “The Richard Family was in on this the whole time… .”

Ok…horrible shot here…..the camera actually went off by accident as I tried to hurry and GET this shot, where he was saying to our giggling trio, “WHY didn’t you TELL MEEEE???!!!”

So it seemed, he wanted to celebrate {A}’s birthday, and we were all there to celebrate his milestone anniversary. See, after he had made tour plans with us,, we got a phone call from the staff, saying they were planning a surprise celebration for him, and could we keep him in “Studio A” for as long as possible. Of course we were happy to! We were SO HONORED, to have been there with him to celebrate.

It’s just kind of comical, because it seemed he thought he had some special surprises set up for {A} in this room, which none of us knew about at all!! But there was actually a celebration planned for HIM in this room, that HE did not know about at all, but we did. So….in the end, we were all surprised on some level.

Fr. Reed, cutting his 25th Anniversary cake.

Soon enough, the focus turned on {A}, as the room full of people/staff (off camera)….sang her Happy Birthday, ….

….and presented her with these sweet surprises.

I was going to edit the red of her face out of this photo, but I think it is so cute. She was as embarrassed as the dickens. I don’t recall ever, having seen her blush like this. So much attention. But still grinning from ear to ear.

I really loved how the cake was decorated. It seriously was so perfect for her personality.

Cake…fresh flowers, and gifts……really. She just asked for a tour, so she was SO surprised by it all.

So here she is, just before we left, with her dear friend, Fr. Reed. Who incidentally….truly did give her a birthday she will never forget. To be there, for HIS special anniversary, meant more to her in the end, than anything. She really thinks the world and a 1/2, of him. He’s been a powerful and loving influence in her life, in many ways.

{A} made this bracelet for Fr. Reed. It is the branding colors of CatholicTV. She has made him these before in other colors, and he really wears them! He wore a red, white and blue one she made him, for the longest time.

He had a very special personal gift for her too.

Ok first, on a side note, something I have seen on TV happened to me. Someone said to me, (in this case, Fr. Reed), “Would you mind if I had a moment alone to talk to your daughter?”. “Uummmm….Sure! We’ll be at the car.” lol

Then he talked to her, and gave her this unbelievable treasure of a gift, which has been a personal treasure of his own…..

…a relic of Maria Goretti.

See, St. Maria Goretti is a 12 year old martyr, who was attacked on July 5th, {A}’s birthday, and also Fr. Reed’s 25 Ordination Anniversary. She died on the 6th, and this was her Feast Day. You can read all about St. Maria here, or watch the little video.

Wow, wow, wow. {A} treasures this, so very much, and we know she always will.

(Here is a closer cropped shot. I really love this photo of the 2 of them.)

Thank you Fr. Reed, and everyone at CatholicTV, for making our girl’s birthday so very special, and memorable. We also thank you for how warm and welcoming you always are to our family, and all you do for the Catholic and Christian community. You are a true light to us all, as we continue grow in our faith formation, be it in person, or the glow of our televisions all over the nation.

And one more HaPpY BiRtHdAy to you {A}. You truly carry a light of your own, and we are blessed to have you as such a big part of our life, and our family. We love you, more than you know.

Thanks to all of YOU, our faithful blog readers, for your patience in waiting for this last post! I was SURE I would have it out before July was behind us anyway, but I missed that boat. Nonetheless, we hope you all enjoyed sharing in our celebrations. {A} thanks you all for the thoughtful birthday wishes too!!

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