Lessons from Maggie Rose

Maggie and I were eating breakfast yesterday together. As I went to get up from the table, I knocked the glass over. Then Maggie proceeds to tell me, "You have to use 2 hands Mommy and be careful!" This little scenario made me chuckle, but it also taught me a lesson. I thought about how angry I often get at my 2 year old for spilling her drink or knocking over her whole plate of food. I am thirty and I still knock over a glass of water every now and then. If I am still messing up and changing after all these years, I need to know my children are going to do the same. I should try to be more patient through the spills and messes. Maggie made me laugh this morning and she stopped me from getting frustrated. It helped me to be joyful and I gained some incite and wisdom for the day. I am so thankful for my Maggie!

Life Lesson from Andrea Hope

These past few weeks Andrea's been busy. She went back to school after the break. Andrea has been working hard to earn money for an American Girl Doll. She also is learning to ride her bike, with the help of daddy. Oh did I mention she decided she wanted to do gymnastics so we've added cartwheels into the mix? (Thus the funny video of Andrea's cartwheel attempts.) Andrea was looking distraught yesterday as she looked at me. She said, "I am trying to do all these chores to earn money for my doll, but then I have homework every night, and I need to go outside and practice riding my bike. I JUST DON"T HAVE ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY FOR EVERYTHING I NEED TO DO!" I chuckled. My 6 year old daughter was realizing she needed to set priorities of the tasks she needed to do. A lesson that will surely resurface itself again and again throughout life.

Charlie's 5th Birthday

~~~Charlie celebrated his birthday with his buddies and their siblings at the park.~~~ Our Excited Birthday Boy

Josh, Charlie, and Max

Mommy and Charlie Bear

The Lighting of the Cupcakes

The Tasting of the Cupcakes

Charlie wanted a Mario Party. He asked if we could collect all the gold coins. The boys enjoyed collecting the coins while running from one play area to the next. They are showing off how many they collected during the game.

Singing Happy Birthday to Charlie

Charlie Blowing out the Candles

Michael, Josh, Charlie, Charles, Josie, Simon, Jane, Beatrice, Willem, Ian, Ethan, and Max

Willem and Ian Covered in Icing and Loving It!

Michael, Josh and Charlie enjoyed having green tongues and hands.

Grandma and Maggie Licking Some Icing from the Yummy Cupcakes

Julia and Maggie Eating Cupcakes

Halloween 2013

[From left to right: decorated by Charlie, Maggie, Mommy, and Annie]

Annie and Elle

Charlie the Dragon

Maggie Resting up for Trick-or-Treating

Our Little Cupcake is still Sleeping

Standing and Sleeping, Impressive!

And There she is! Our Little Cupcake is Up and Ready for Some Candy!

My Little Chef

Charlie breaded all the chicken for our chicken parmesan dinner. He was really excited, can you tell?

Home for the Weekend

One of the things we've loved about helping with youth group and leading the 6:00 Mass are the friends we make over the years. However, it is bitter sweet when God calls them to bigger and greater things. We were blessed to have Mary and Malcolm over for dinner after Mass on Sunday.

Failed Sorority Photo Opt