Our littlest little kid is on the move, so watch out world!
The lure of the low hanging Christmas ornaments proved to be too much for #5 and he began actually crawling on Christmas Eve. He still doesn't like it. He prefers whining until someone comes and picks him up or gives him what he wants, but he can do it if he thinks no one is around. At 8 months old and 24 lbs, it's time he started to move on his own. My back couldn't take much more of the constant carrying, and his eldest sister only out weighs him by a bit, so he is getting to be too much for her.
Happy Trails, my boy. Once you get moving, it's every man for himself.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
On the first day of Christmas
my loved ones gave to me time at Mass filled with joy, prayer and gratitude. As you can imagine, going to Mass with 5 children is not always the most peaceful even in their parents lives. Imagine my surprise and delight this morning when everyone was good in Mass.
The 3 year old came with us instead of into the nursery. She bowed and genuflected in all the right spots (she watched the rest of us to see how it was done). She was quiet and listened. And when we sang the carols she knew, she joined in loudly and happily.
I usually spend a majority of my time in Mass snapping my fingers at and correcting my 2 eldest boys. They try to be good, but little boy bodies are wiggly. Today, they were still. They prayed and sang, knelt and sat and stood in all the right moments.
My eldest sang a solo for the offertory hymn. Her sweet, pure voice wafted through the space. Then I turned to look at her siblings who watched her with swelling pride because she belonged to them.
It was all I wanted for Christmas.
My only questions are....what day did the aliens come and take over my darling children? and what took them so long?
The 3 year old came with us instead of into the nursery. She bowed and genuflected in all the right spots (she watched the rest of us to see how it was done). She was quiet and listened. And when we sang the carols she knew, she joined in loudly and happily.
I usually spend a majority of my time in Mass snapping my fingers at and correcting my 2 eldest boys. They try to be good, but little boy bodies are wiggly. Today, they were still. They prayed and sang, knelt and sat and stood in all the right moments.
My eldest sang a solo for the offertory hymn. Her sweet, pure voice wafted through the space. Then I turned to look at her siblings who watched her with swelling pride because she belonged to them.
It was all I wanted for Christmas.
My only questions are....what day did the aliens come and take over my darling children? and what took them so long?
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Miracle of Christmas
Merry (almost) Christmas everyone. My long hiatus is swiftly coming to an end as my seasonal employment winds up for the year. It has been fun and slightly profitable, but exhausting as well. I will be glad to be home every night with my little people.
It has been interesting listening to the customers in our store chat as they prepare for Christmas. I can easily pick out the church-goer form the non-church-goer. There just seems to be a different focus. It's not obvious in the way that a blinking neon sign would be obvious, but is an undercurrent that flows through everything they do.
I had an interesting conversation with an Evangelical minister who wandered into the store for some Christmas lights. He kept trying to explain to me about the "Miracle of Christmas". I think it puzzled him that I don't consider it a Miracle, big "m", at all.
The birth of Christ is and was a joyous occasion. I have spent many a Christmas Eve midnight Mass crying openly over the joy of new life in the world, and that God loved us enough to give us His Son. Happy as His birthday is, it is not Miraculous. It is the natural consequence of pregnancy. It has the same amount of miracle as any birth.
Please don't think I take it lightly that Our Lord was born of a virgin in that stable in Bethlehem. I just think that we look to much at the birthday party and forget the forest for the trees. The REAL Miracle happened back in March when an angel appeared to a scared young girl and asked her to give her life and her body over to the will of Almighty God. She said yes, and Christ was created.
He was Our Lord and Savior even then. In that instant when he was just a bubble, not even attached to His mother's womb, just floating freely and dividing away, at that moment, He was our Lord.
It is the moment of the Incarnation which holds the truth of the Christmas Miracle. The fact that Jesus Christ began just as we all did, as a single bubbly cell floating around in search of a place to land. In that one tiny cell was the Salvation of the whole world. One tiny microscopic bubble....fully human and fully God.
So, celebrate the birth of Christ tomorrow, because birthdays are important. They mark new beginnings for all of us. But come March the 25th, go to Church and take a moment to fall upon your knees before God and thank him for the Miracle of Christmas. He came to Earth, and started small and helpless just like us. Take a moment, too, to thank His Mother because she was brave enough to look an angel in the face and say yes too all that he offered her.
It has been interesting listening to the customers in our store chat as they prepare for Christmas. I can easily pick out the church-goer form the non-church-goer. There just seems to be a different focus. It's not obvious in the way that a blinking neon sign would be obvious, but is an undercurrent that flows through everything they do.
I had an interesting conversation with an Evangelical minister who wandered into the store for some Christmas lights. He kept trying to explain to me about the "Miracle of Christmas". I think it puzzled him that I don't consider it a Miracle, big "m", at all.
The birth of Christ is and was a joyous occasion. I have spent many a Christmas Eve midnight Mass crying openly over the joy of new life in the world, and that God loved us enough to give us His Son. Happy as His birthday is, it is not Miraculous. It is the natural consequence of pregnancy. It has the same amount of miracle as any birth.
Please don't think I take it lightly that Our Lord was born of a virgin in that stable in Bethlehem. I just think that we look to much at the birthday party and forget the forest for the trees. The REAL Miracle happened back in March when an angel appeared to a scared young girl and asked her to give her life and her body over to the will of Almighty God. She said yes, and Christ was created.
He was Our Lord and Savior even then. In that instant when he was just a bubble, not even attached to His mother's womb, just floating freely and dividing away, at that moment, He was our Lord.
It is the moment of the Incarnation which holds the truth of the Christmas Miracle. The fact that Jesus Christ began just as we all did, as a single bubbly cell floating around in search of a place to land. In that one tiny cell was the Salvation of the whole world. One tiny microscopic bubble....fully human and fully God.
So, celebrate the birth of Christ tomorrow, because birthdays are important. They mark new beginnings for all of us. But come March the 25th, go to Church and take a moment to fall upon your knees before God and thank him for the Miracle of Christmas. He came to Earth, and started small and helpless just like us. Take a moment, too, to thank His Mother because she was brave enough to look an angel in the face and say yes too all that he offered her.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
....I'd like to shake his hand
The guy who decided that food should come from spray cans. Whipped cream, cheese...are there any others?
I just had a very enjoyable snack made from crackers and spray cheese. It was delightful. Don't just turn up your nose at it if you've never eaten it. It's weird but good.
I warned you when I started this blog that I was the pink flamingo, cheap rhinestone, Hamburger Helper kind of girl. I guess we can add spray cheese to the list, because I think I'm in love....
I just had a very enjoyable snack made from crackers and spray cheese. It was delightful. Don't just turn up your nose at it if you've never eaten it. It's weird but good.
I warned you when I started this blog that I was the pink flamingo, cheap rhinestone, Hamburger Helper kind of girl. I guess we can add spray cheese to the list, because I think I'm in love....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)