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Let Us Rejoice and Be Glad…| Triplets’ First Holy Communion Day

May 15, 2010 By Laura 3 Comments

The triplets’ First Holy Communion Day, was so special.
This day, that they have waited for for so long, finally arrived! I promise, this is the last of the First Holy Communion posts – along with the Simple Lunch Spread for a Celebration Gathering post up right now. We’re hoping someone, somewhere, is still interested, while we indulge in posting about this happy occasion one more time.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to take photos of them actually receiving for the first time, because it just didn’t seem right. But….the other parents were told it was alright, as long as the photos were taken from their seats. So, I decided to do so too, not wanting to regret passing up the opportunity! Even though my angle was awful! All of the other children receiving their Sacrament this day, sat at the end of a pew for their family, and simply stepped out of their pew to receive this first time. But ours stepped out of our pew, and across the whole aisle in a line up, across the back of the 2 lines of kids. (Hope you followed that.) Anyway…..the Mass was really nice, as always, and the kids did great! They were so excited prior to…..then after, so happy and just….beaming. Trust me when I say, they fully understood/understand the significance of this event, and every Mass from here on out.

Some of our family and friends were there at the Mass with us. Some traveled quite a ways, to celebrate this day with us, and it meant a lot to all of us. {JM, O & S} brought up the gifts for the Mass, which was so sweet. They were really happy to do it.

Do you all know Fr. Bob Reed, from CatholicTV? ( Do your kids watch WOW!?) Well, we do, and love him. We were touched to learn that he had put in for presiding the Mass at which they would make this Holy Sacrament. He has become a great friend of ours. Yes, he is giving them rabbit ears in the first photo, still being silly in the second, and finally we get a serious shot in the third! He even has a secret handshake with them. He is, simply put, a really kind, funny, down-to-earth guy, and the work he does to evangelize our Catholic faith through by his vocation, through TV and otherwise, is nothing short of amazing!
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Following Mass, our family and friends came to our home for a continued celebration. Of course, we had decorated our little tree (a.k.a. a branch) for this special Sacrament occasion, and I loved what the kids did on our schooling chalkboard! We served our guests a light lunch, which I shared in the Recipes section.

Before we ate though, we took some more quick photos with the people who love them, and came to be with them on this day:

triplets-first-holy-communion-day-7 Left: The 6 of us. I love that this is small, and you cannot see how absolutely terrible & tired I looked! (Aren’t I clever?) I had been going non-stop for days, to be ready for this day. Can’t imagine how I would have survived, if I didn’t ‘keep it simple’! But I digress. {A} on the other hand, was an absolute doll! She had on the sweetest outfit, and beads! / Right: The trio with their Godparents, (one of my brothers and sister-in-law), the kids Uncle G and Auntie K. As blessed as our kids are with the Godparents they have, we wanted badly to be able to give them each their own set of Godparents. They are individual kids, not a unit, and deserve that like any other kids. But you know how complicated these things can be, and we just couldn’t at that time, give them their own. I feel compelled to say that, only because I do not want to give the impression that we see our triplets, as ONE, and not individual kids. Most know that, but I feel better SAYING it. (So thanks for letting me!) Their Godparents love them very much though, and vice-versa. They are also a wonderful aunt and uncle, and were gracious to accept all 3 as their Godchildren.

With their ‘Papa’, who often comes for overnights to spend time with them. And then with two uncles.

“It’s all…..for you.” lol.

WITH FR. (Bob) REED

Fr. Bob showed up, so I took the fruit cup in his hand away, and I made him have another photo. Even though, as he said, he didn’t have his priest attire on anymore. But he had PINK on!! I think it’s great when guys wear pink. Don’t you?

We were so done with photos by this point. And hungry. So we all went and ate. Well, I made sure everyone else ate, and tried to keep up with everything going on, and took bites in between!

Family and friends brought, and sent by mail, very thoughtful and unexpected gifts. We wanted to spend as much time with the people who came to celebrate with us, so the kids opened most of them later that night by ourselves. They received so many beautiful and special tokens of this day, that the kids truly already, treasure. They have always had a special fondness for their own religious items-and now they have so much more. The people in our lives are so kind and thoughtful.

The day just seemed to fly by, and I felt like I missed so much. I despise that feeling. I had planned this special day for the kids for so long, and I didn’t want to miss a moment. But I just couldn’t take it all in at once. We had several friends with us that day, that I wanted to get candid photos of, and never got to before they left: A family who good friends of ours, and some folks who have sat near us for so long and have become dear friends, who have watched the kids ‘sit like indians’ while we all went up to receive Communion, and have waited for this day too. It’s really bothering me, still. It’s one of those things…I want to go back and have another chance! I want the kids to have photos of everyone who was there with them that day. Despite my planning, I didn’t get this part done. I wanted to take LOTS of candids all day. But I was so busy with so many things, time got away, people eventually left, and then it was too late.

But to the kids….the day was truly perfect, and joyful. And I too, do have sweet moments of this day, burned into my memory. (But, I don’t have proof of it all in photos, darn it! lol). Sweet moments, like this one…..

….The boys, pushing their Aunt/Godmother on the swing. She, of course, was really being dramatic and making the most of it for their entertainment, and they were just loving it!! They were laughing so hard, and having so much fun. And so was she!! I truly just love the photo of her on the right.

THIS……Is Fr. Ken. The pastor of our church. You know, the one who’s AMAZING homilies I speak so much about?! We were so happy he came over to our house for awhile, too!! He came a little later on, after many had left (even Fr. Bob). But you know what…it was SO NICE. Because we sat with him for a long time on the deck, and just talked. (After he quizzed the kids on important questions. Talk about being put on the spot!) We talked about his homilies, and how he prepares for them. (I had to know the details!) He also shared a whole lot…..about the new church we will be building quite soon.

Here is another photo, that represents more sweet memories of this day….

…..our kids, with some of their cousins. Many could not be with us this day, but these 2 could!! D & M (right behind {A} in the front) are great kids. They all had SO much fun together, playing with Pixel, laughing and talking about random stuff, and playing basketball. It was great to see them all having a great time together, and we’ll be doing it again soon!

It truly was a blessed and beautiful day, for sure. The weather could not have been better, too. Sunny and mid-70’s. Perfect.

O.K. now, aside from the day’s menu over in Vittles, that should wrap up our First Holy Communion posts!! Thank you so much, for letting us share so much of this special occasion with you, and sharing in our joy!! As much hype as we have built up to this day, the kids will tell you, the happiness and excitement only began with this day. They will, and already are, re-living the joy over and over, as they receive Jesus at every Mass of their lives, from this day forward.

Let us continue to rejoice, and be glad.

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Meet "PIXEL"; Our Rather Unusual New Pet

May 7, 2010 By Laura 22 Comments

Quite recently, we got a ‘real’ pet, and it seems I about shocked about half the world over in allowing this. Let’s just say, I’ve never been into the whole domestic-type pets thing. More than anyone, my sister-in-law was in sheer disbelief that we got a pet, and couldn’t wait to find out what we got. I loved taunting her. We sent her (and my brother, niece and nephew) “I am….” riddles and clues for 2 days, before my brother finally guessed what she (our pet), was.

Would you like to meet her?

Can you tell, looking at this photo, what she is??

She’s a hedgehog. And she’s a doll. If I do say so myself.

She’s quite active sometimes. She has awake and sleep time intermittently, both through the day and night. But we can put her to sleep anytime, in our hand, in a heartbeat. Especially ME. {A} keeps asking how on earth I can do that so quickly. I looked up at her and told her, “Because I’m a mama….through and through. I could put YOU to sleep right now, if I wanted to.” She looked down at me, and giggled.

{A} has wanted a hedgehog for a long time. She had researched hedgehogs thoroughly, and then some. An then again, and again. She studied them, looked at photos, saved sites and info, and asked me if she could get one at least once a day. I was blowing her off, ever chance I got. Which as I said…was at least once a day. She sent me e-mail reminders and links, and asked me to promise to read them. I finally did.

As I read, I was waiting to come across ANYTHING that was a deal breaker. Give me a reason to say ‘no’. Tell me they stink. Tell me they are noisy. Tell me they are dirty. Tell me they bite. But nope……no smell, they are quiet, clean, and very sociable. As a matter of fact, the more I read, the more I thought a hedgehog just may BE the perfect pet.

The photos I was seeing of the hedgehogs, were pretty cute too. Well, most of them. I also remembered how I just HAD to buy the hedgehog Stampin’ Up set from my sister, when she was selling them years ago, because I thought they were so cute. I’ve used them many times too.

So, I asked {A} some questions, and she had a good answer for every one. I told her we could look into where to get one, but she promptly informed me she already had all of the info. She found a breeder right in the Boston area, and she had her name and e-mail. (When our girl puts her mind to something, she prepares herself to win, like nobody’s business. ‘Research‘ is the girl’s middle name.) (O.k., that’s not actually true….her middle name is Grace. But you know what I mean.)

Honestly…I didn’t have a leg to stand on, as a reason for saying no. Well, except that I am the parent, and I can say no without even giving a reason, if I want to. But since she was being so grown-up, I figured I should too.

So I got in touch with the breeder, and asked some questions. We gave her our preference….a female, salt & pepper. It took several e-mails back and forth, an application process and a deposit, and a waiting period, while these baby hedgehogs were weaned and socialized. The excitement was building, even for me!! And then…. finally, we got notice we could go get her. (Well, we would pick her out when we went. But she was already real in our minds.)

The breeder was very nice, and interesting! She had lots of animals, and was great with giving the kids all kinds of info and letting them see all of her animals. I had wished I brought my camera!! (The breeder took the one below and was nice enough to send it to us.) I love these surprise-field-trip-home-schooling experiences! We met her ‘indoor chicken’, which is a ‘serama chicken’…..the smallest chickens in the world. (Who knew? Not us.)

Her name is SOLO. The kids loved her.

Once we got ‘Pixel’ home, we gave her a day or 2 to get used to her new place, and then we all started spending time with her. Even me!

She’s very easy to hold, and in fact, loves it.

She’s SO cute when she is curled up.

Especially when she really pulls her face in, and hides. She doesn’t do this very often, because she is always so content to just look around, enjoy her petting, and fall asleep.

She’s so easy to take care of. {A} is her main care-taker, and she ({A}) loves her (a hedgehog) even more than she knew she would. Did you know you can potty train hedgehogs? (That was a plus in my considerations too!) It’s true. Pixel is just a baby, but we’re working on it. Mostly, she eats hard cat food. We do have freeze dried meal worms and crickets too….as treats. She is an ‘insectivore’.

Hedgehogs are related to the moles – not rodents! Interestingly…..the porcupine, which a hedgehog is often compared to, IS a rodent. Hedgehogs and porcupines are not even cousins. Hedgehogs quills are somewhat soft, but yes, sharp on the ends. (No barbs, because they are not like porcupines….remember?) If she’s not happy, they do come up a little. But that is rare, because she is very happy and content with us. Mostly, she does not like being woken up, needlessly. (Neither do I. I tend to be prickly then too.). She has a very soft underside though. I love petting her quills. She’s so misunderstood on appearance. Kind of like me, again. We can relate.

I know sometimes, she looks a little, like a rodent. But don’t say that to me, because you’ll hurt my feelings. Because the truth is, she’s got a little piece of my heart. Many in my family, are still trying to wrap their brain around this because really, it’s not very expected of me. But, I too have become a bit smitten, with Pixel. This past weekend was our celebration for the kids First Holy Communion, and everyone discovered she was cuter than they expected.

Almost every night, I hold Pixel for a little while. She loves me to pet her to sleep. She loves to cuddle on me. I do believe, she loves ME. : ) (No surprise there. lol). She actually is happily held and cuddled by all 6 of us in the family. Even {JM, O & S} are great with her, and she with them. But I can put her to sleep the fastest. Oh….I guess I already mentioned that.

She LOVES to be in her TP tube. She’ll curl right up in a ball and have a snooze. Oh….that little bit of green you see is a bit of paint the breeder dabbed on her, to differentiate her from the others in the litter. She’ll lose these quills and get adult ones as she grows….which she is already doing. She won’t get too much bigger though.

Look at that little face in there. <sigh>

I think her ‘hair’ rocks.

She’s a handful, and yet, she’s not. KWIM?

If you’d like to learn more about hedgehogs, here is a great link. Hedgehog Central. You can read for yourself what a perfect pet they are! But first, go ahead and tell us how cute you think she is. ; )

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Earth Day 2010

April 24, 2010 By Laura 4 Comments

A few years back, we decided to invest some ‘extra’ personal efforts of our own, on Earth Day, to help preserve and protect our environment.

It has become a tradition of ours, every year since. Somehow, we’ve been blessed with perfect weather to revel in every year on April 22, as well. This year was no exception.

Typically, our Earth Day starts with heading out into our neighborhood in the late morning, with our poke sticks and big trash barrel on wheels, to clean up all of the litter we can find.

As we work our way down the side roads, people drive slowly by, and smile at us, through their puzzled expressions. As if they are thinking, “What on earth, are they all doing?” (No pun intended. lol). Some actually roll down their windows, and ask us out loud. Others get it right away and already know and say, “Are you cleaning up because it is Earth Day?”….to which all the kids say in unison, “Yesssss.” And they usually say something like, “That’s so niiiiice. Thank you.” And again in unison they say, “You’re welcommmme.”

It’s downright sad, to easily find all we do.

We know some escaped the back of a truck on the way to the dump, or blew off someone’s deck by accident, etc.

We also know how many people just carelessly toss out their vehicle window, anything they are done with.

We love the part where we get to our beach.

We don’t find a whole lot of trash on the shore, but some. There are often adults, settled with their chairs and blankets at the beach, on (school) days as warm and fine as these. So most of them strike up a conversation with us. They first group thought we were a real crew, hired to clean up the beach, because of their colored shirts. But the kids explained, they were trying to wear “Earth Day colors”. Then they got it…”Ohhhh. It’s Earth Day….that’s right.”

I know the awareness of Earth Day has slowly grown since the 1960’s. But it seems we have a ways to go! For ALL to be aware not only of Earth Day, it’s history and purpose, but to contribute to it’s success every day of the year, through our daily habits. That’s the goal.

For us, our rituals of global love include not only cleaning up, to beautify our environment….

….but appreciating the beauty and Creation by God already all around us. Like this huge sea snail I spotted in the rocks, left behind by the receding tide, as we made or way down the shoreline. O.k., ‘beauty’ may be a stretch, for a sea snail. Sure, in it’s shell, it verges on pretty.

But I am quite sure, out of it’s shell, it’s about as ugly and nasty as the dickens.

The kids studied the sea snail meticulously….

…and had lengthy discussions about how interesting it was. And big! Then they decided it would be kind, to return the snail to it’s safe-haven home: the sea.

So that’s just what they did, even though it was a bit of a hike to the water line, as the tide was going out.

But the sea snail seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, or perhaps a thank you, as bubbles quickly rose from it’s shell, to the surface of the water.

Like any gorgeous weathered day around here by the shore, it’s hard not to feel so blessed, and amazed, at all God has created, for us. We sure do love it.

Soon, we headed home, ate some lunch, and later on, baked some Earth Day treats! Cupcakes.

The cupcakes were deviled food cake mix, aiming for an earthy color. Then we colored ‘whipped’ vanilla frosting from a can, and got creative. Going with the whipped was a wise choice. It was so easier to work with.

I do love the “EARTH” ones, that Michael/Daddy did.

Michael, {A} and I designed the rest.

These 2 were a couple of my favorites. By sight, and bite. : )

Our Earth Day has been as simple as this, but I have some bigger ideas for the future. We know many others do special things on Earth Day, and still others do nothing special, but are just good “earthlings” all year long. (And we appreciate that!) Did YOU or your kids do anything in particular, at home or at school, for more global awareness, appreciation or nurturing, on Earth Day?

Year round, we try to recycle, conserve energy (for our bills too, lol), reuse materials, and do other clean-ups on our street now and then, and we never, ever litter! (We also let anyone we see littering, really ‘have it’. “Excuse me. Pick that back up, please. NOW!!! <throat clear>. Thank you.”) Michael wants to put a rain barrel in the ground, to use for watering our gardens.

We hope you had a wonderful EARTH DAY!! Feel free to share with us anything about your day this year, or any and all tips or habits you use throughout the year, that benefits us all, as we preserve and protect the beauty of our world, together.

(P.S. After commenting, don’t forget to visit the Home Page! XO)

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Giveaway Winner / Live, Love, Laugh & Win

April 21, 2010 By Laura 3 Comments

We’re so excited that the time has come to announce the winner of our latest give-away, for this beautiful stationary card set and fancy pen! But before we get to that, we just wanted to say…..

We never anticipated the heart-warming stories you all have shared with us. It was evident that every one of you shared a little piece of your heart. Whether you spoke of romantic love letters, special cards, or little notes that expressed affection in one way or another, from loved ones you have loved deeply, and maybe have lost……they all came from the most special places in your hearts. We felt it. A few of you spoke of written keepsakes from ones we too know and love, some have been lost, and others spoke of their loved ones we have never known. But the pictures you painted made us feel a little bit like we did too. Some stories gave us lumps in our throats, and some made us shed a tear on our keyboard. We want you to know each one touched us, and it matters to us that you could share such meaningful bits of your lives.

With that said, by using the random dot org number generator, the winner of this give-away is….

Commenter number 8 was MARIA!

Congratulations Maria!! Please e-mail us with your home address, and we will ship your gift right to your door!

Thank you all, again, for participating. In time, we hope our blog grows enough to be able to give-away bigger, better, or multiple give-away gifts. But for now, we are enjoying doing what we can, to brighten someone’s day now and then. It can be fun just taking part, with a hope that you might win! One of these times, it just may be YOU!

We hope in some ways, you were all reminded of how much written words, from someone you love, can grow to mean, as time passes. In reflecting on these memories and the keepsakes that mean the most to you, may you be inspired to leave a little of your own love and legacy, for those you love, in writing.

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Live, Love, Laugh and Win

April 12, 2010 By Laura 14 Comments

Hand written notes and letters, have virtually become a thing of the past, with the speed and convenience of technology communications today. I admit, I am all about using the computer, especially, for communication. I do love it. The phone, not so much. But there are some folks in my life, who are not going to e-mail with me, anytime soon in their lifetime. Meaning, never!

For example, one of those people, is my beloved Godmother. First of all, I am blessed beyond all reason, to be able to call her my Godmother. Although she has Godchildren that number in the double digits, (which is a testimony to the kind of beautiful, loving person she is), she has always made me feel like her only one. She has always made me feel extremely special to her, and unconditionally loved, forever. She is now in her 70’s. She is not into the computer much at all. And I thank God for it, because her fairly frequent notes and letters are some of my most precious possessions I have. They always fill me in on how she and my Godfather are, what they have been doing, and they ask about varied details of my life at the time as well. But most of all, from the greeting to the closing, they express her sincere and abundant love for me. For our whole family. Her love, and promise of being included in her daily prayers, is not only in her eloquent words, that so adequately express as much. It’s in the very flow of her handwriting. It’s in the sound of her voice that I always hear in my head, as I read her mail. It’s in her little drawn signature heart, that is always beside her name. She not only writes to me, but she and {A} have been pen-pals for some years now. Yes, she’s a faithful writer. Even though she admittedly says her hand shakes as she writes due to age now, and she doesn’t write quite as often, her need to express how much she cares about us, (and others, I imagine) encourages her to keep on.

Oh, she calls on the phone now and then, too. Oh, her voice. I can’t tell you how sweet, this woman’s voice is. Again….you can hear the love for you that she has, in every single word she speaks. So much so, that we have no less than 3 messages on our answering machine, that no one can bear to delete! It would just feel….wrong! A couple are at least 5 years old. So we hear them every time we listen to all of our messages. Maybe someday, we’ll delete them, although I can’t imagine. But her letters, and cards, I will keep forever.

I have letters, cards with written sentiments, and drawings from other loved ones as well. I have several boxes stuffed with precious pieces of postal mail, although it’s not often I need to lift the lid anymore, to stuff another one in, with the few true writers left in the world. Except from my Godmother, of course.

Do you have very meaningful handwritten mail, that you have saved? Could you think of a hand-written letter or note that you have received, right now, that meant so much to you? Do e-mails give you quite the same warm-fuzzies, as the personal mail you find in your street mailbox or post office box?

I have to admit…….we get some pretty meaningful, warm-fuzzy e-mails (as discussed on the HOME PAGE right now. If you haven’t been there today, please read there as well if you have the time this visit.)

But I can tell you, that one of my very most treasured messages, was a little note my mother wrote to me, in a book that she gave me, at a very difficult time in my life. The book itself was full of lovely images and press-printed text of poems and quotes, that I know were all meant for me. But it was her written words in that book, that spoke to my heart the most. They were the words I needed to ‘hear’ so much at that time, that I had not even allowed myself to realize it, until I read them on that page.

I want to encourage you all, to re-embrace once again, writing to those you love. Perhaps not all of the time. But more-so. Maybe a note to let someone know you’ve been thinking of them. Or a dated love letter for your children, to stick in their box of baby things, to find and read when they are older. A quick thank you, to someone who took the time to do something nice for you, even though a quick e-mail would suffice.

And so, I’d like to give away, this beautiful set of cards seen in these photos. They come in a nice and sturdy keepsake box, with a velcro closure. There is 16 cards and envelopes, and a variety of 4 designs.

They all depict beautiful, carefree artwork, and express sweet little reminders of the joys of life. Just writing in one, will bring cheer to your own heart. Never mind how you’ll brighten someone’s day, when they open their mailbox, or find it in a surprise place unexpectedly.

I love how even the inside of these cards, have design. They aren’t just a little something on the front, only to open to a plain white inside. That blank white space that makes you feel pressure. lol

No…..they are all as lovely on the inside, as they are on the outsides.

Even the backs, are pretty!

Of course, I would never send you this beautiful stationary card set, only for you to have the excuse of, “Well, I don’t have a good pen to write with.”

So, a brand new fine Paper Mate pen, will be sent with your gift.
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I’ll even write you a hand-written note, myself, and it send along with your card set and pen. Oh don’t worry, I didn’t write on one of YOUR cards in the set. You can bet when I came across a stationary card set this cute, I got one for myself! After all, if I’m going to talk the talk, I’ll have to walk the walk, too. No pressure to stuff my note in your box of keepsake letters, though. (Although you can-if-you-want-to-ooo.) My only goal, is for YOU, to write notes, that OTHERS want to stuff in their boxes. For you to leave a little hand-written legacy of love behind in your life.

To enter to win, just tell us a little about the most meaningful hand-written note or letter you have ever gotten. The one, or one of the ones (if you are blessed enough to have a collection), that you treasure the most. The details are not necessary, if you are uncomfortable sharing that much. (Although you know we’d all eat that up. ; ). But a brief mention of who it was from, maybe what occasion, if there was one. Whatever you’d like to share.

That’s it! If you can do that, you are entered to win all of the above.

Remember……..the 3 L’s, whatever you do.

But also remember……if you don’t play, you can’t win! Don’t you love free stuff? We do! And we’d love to send these gifts to YOUR door step! WE LOVE DOING STUFF LIKE THIS!! So please join in on the fun!

Entries for this drawing will be accepted until the close of Tuesday, April 20, 2010. A winner will be announced sometime the next day, on Wednesday, April 21st.

GOOD LUCK!

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Let us continue to rejoice, and be glad.

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