A Confusing Anniversary

Yesterday, April 22, was the anniversary of when I delivered baby Gabriel.

It wasn't a terribly emotional day...It was definitely on my mind. We had Mass offered for him (it was even in the bulletin which I kept), Michael got me flowers, I made a cake, and though we pray for the repose of his soul each night at prayers, we made special mention of it during mealtime grace too.

But it was more of a somewhat confusing anniversary.  Not bad confusing, but that sort of confusing that makes you realize that God has a plan that includes both cross and resurrection.  It makes you glad for joy, but also glad for the suffering without which the joy wouldn't be possible.

Molly is here. Gabriel was here for much shorter of a time. Without suffering the loss of Gabriel, there would be no Molly.  I don't rejoice in losing one, but I rejoice at having the other. Certainly contradictions abound in my head, but it is resolved in knowing that each span of life is measured according to God's will be it short or long.  Gabriel had (and still has as our prayer warrior) an irreplaceable role in our family and that was how he was to play that role...and now Molly has her role.  And though there can be suffering, God can make the suffering work for good.

It's been a year, but our little one who has gone before us is still close to our heart and we hope we are close to his!

All Boys Need...

Are sticks, rocks, and water to throw them in

Also, the ducks in the pond added some bonus entertainment, but they quickly learned not to get to close to the shore as they made amusing target practice for the boys!

Smiles

Michael and Matthew have gotten plenty of them, but I finally caught a few smiles for me on camera.

Waiting for Daddy

Michael was laying in the hall this morning waiting for his dad to finish his shower. Such a devoted son.

Molly's Baptism

Here are some pictures....Enjoy!

Here is the link:

Molly's Baptism

Being Third Means.....

Sometimes Mom doesn't get around to you quick enough to put you in an actual bed for your nap.

Where's Michael?

Easter Sunday

Why does this photo remind me of the Comedy/ Tragedy Masks?

Anyways, the boys are all dressed up nice and sharp for Easter Mass! They had great behavior and I think liked being "dressed up like Daddy." (They usually have button-up shirts and slacks for Mass, but on special occasions they get to sport the awesome suit!)

Molly was in her little dress, but I really should have fixed her hat before taking this picture. Oh well.

Happy Easter!!

Blur

New Toys

Even though this swing is on its third around, it hasn't lost it's appeal to the older boys!

Molly Smiles

I don't think it's too early for her to smile...but I cannot accept this as just a coincidence, especially because what prompted me to get my camera to record this was that she was smiling at the boys consistently before this moment. I'm pretty sure Molly just really likes her brothers and is becoming able to express it!

On a related note, remember:

And speaking of smiling kids...was there ever a time when he WASN'T smiling?

From december

Keeping Ourselves Busy

Life at home is continuing to go well. There are rough patches, especially as we suffer from a bit of cabin fever sometimes, but by and large things are going very well. The kids keep themselves busy....

Making a mess cutting junk mail into shreds....

Spraying the patio with water guns/spray bottles

And climbing into boxes.

I'm learning to allow messy activities to be more than eligible for our daily entertainment. I used to be more hesitant because I dislike cleaning as it is, let alone intentionally making large messes with the boys, but messy activities tend to be the ones they like the best and I would rather clean than deal with antsy and bored children.

So, the 5 minutes it costs me to pick up shreds of paper from the living room is way worth the 30 minutes of fun they got out of it. Sometimes, it's just a simple matter of doing the math.

Today, I also introduced the concept of "Paint Bath" (a follow-up to "Glow Bath" which involves throwing glow sticks in the bath tub and turning off the lights!). Paint bath is just what it sounds like: giving kids paint in the bath tub and letting them go nuts and then bathing them at the end.

That was a great activity because they were surprised I let them paint the walls and so it had the added "fun" of doing something they didn't think they should be doing and it involved water and it ended with them getting an actual bath (something that sometimes doesn't get done as often as it should).

It's been fun coming up with new activities that involve us staying at home, but also a bit challenging, especially while staying determined not to resort to much electronic entertainment. It used to be so easy when we were feeling bored to just whisk them off to the park, but we are still a little ways from frequenting the park as often.

So, I'm trying to work more on crafts, school-like activities, cooking activities, and reading....but it's hard when they are boys and what they really want to do is boy-type stuff like run, and get things messy, and dig, etc.

In the mean time, we're hanging out at home, while the Little Miss gets her beauty sleep....

...and oh how beautiful she is!