{this moment: sunshine and smiles}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. Photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Living a Life of Luxury

Who needs a personal assistant (or the salary required to employ one) when you have a 2 year old who will not only escort you into the bathroom every time you need to go, but will also lift the toilet lid for you?

Hormones and Terrorists

So big news over the weekend, right? Not the wedding. Not the beatification. That other piece of news.

A bad man is dead.

Tom and I first found out when my MIL called to see if we had heard the news. We hadn't had the tv on at all, except to watch that other news-worthy event, the celebration of a great man, so it was definitely news to us. I let the news set in while Tom and his mom talked. I checked Facebook, which was all abuzz with the news. I finally turned the tv on. And I was kind of bothered by what I saw. Crowds of people in Times Square and at the White House acting like it was New Year's Eve or after a big championship game. I was torn about how to feel. Now if you know me, or have ever been in my house, you know my love of this great country. And I am definitely a fan of putting boots "you know where" a la Toby Keith when needed. The American military is made up of the bravest, most capable people on earth, and they deserve to be celebrated for what they do. But I was still disturbed to see such joy out of people over the death of a man. I assumed that my emotional confusion was due to the hormonal craziness taking place inside of me. Becoming a mother definitely changes the way you see the world, especially during the nine months of pregnancy. When I'm pregnant, there are certain movies I won't watch because their effect on me is so strong emotionally, and sometimes physically. (And then there are the crazy dreams I am prone to have during those 9 months.) Being a mother wakes up your compassion. To all human beings. Death and war are, unfortunately, a part of life. I know that. There was a time in my life that I was prepared to be the cause of death should Uncle Sam ask that of me. But that doesn't mean that death should be a cause for joy. In all likelihood, this man will spend eternity in Hell. The saying, "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy" comes to mind. All of these feelings were overwhelming me, but I couldn't exactly put into words how I truly felt about the news. Until I read a friend's status on Facebook, quoting the Vatican's official statement. "Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of everyone before God and man, and hopes and pledges that every event is not an opportunity for a further growth of hatred, but of peace." As for me, I will be grateful for our military and their success, hopeful that we are one step closer to peace, and joyful that while most are focused on the death of bad man, a holy man is celebrated for the good he did and leading more of the faithful to our Lord. Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!

The I'm Back Daybook

Outside my window: It's dark. I started this post a long time ago, but am just getting around to finishing it now. I'm afraid to look too close outside, though, because it's been doing a funky snow-like thing all day. Seriously, it is May, right?

I am listening to: The sounds of the tv in the other room as Tom and I sit at the table on our computers. The girls and dog are in bed, so all else is quiet.

I am wearing: My volleyball team sweats. Comfort takes priority a lot these days and looking outside has made me feel a little chill all day.

I am Thankful for: a husband who puts up with my irrational stress freak outs.
~ wonderful families with beautiful little girls for my daughters to grow in their faith with.
~the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.

I am Planning: EVERYTHING. We are embarking on three major adventures this summer, all of which require a lot of planning. Any guesses on what the adventures are?

I am reading: Educating the Wholehearted Child

From the kitchen: Uh…a trip to the commissary is desperately needed. We have friends coming for dinner on Wednesday, so groceries will definitely be needed by then. Hopefully, something Mexican for Cinco De Mayo!

On being Healthy: Our eating habits have much room for improvement, another piece of Mommy guilt I’m dealing with, but sometimes we have to just make do and try to be better again tomorrow. I have a feeling “convenience” will trump most things for the next month.

I am Thinking: About all of the news this weekend. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what happened yesterday in Pakistan. A different post to come on that later.

I am Creating: not much. This past weekend’s tea party was the most creative I’ve been in a while, and besides a birthday party still to be planned for later this month, there really is no time for extraneous projects. I plan to make up for this later this summer.

On my iPod: Tom and I have been adding Children’s music to our inventory for a certain road trip next month.

In the Learning Baskets: Nothing here for a few months…again, see me later this summer. Isabel finishes up school in a few weeks.

Towards Rhythm and Beauty: Our Rhythm is about to be seriously disrupted. We are just surviving the month of May now with a new rhythm to be established in a new location.

To Live the Liturgy: The Beatification of John Paul II is still on the dvr, which I’m sure we will be visiting again multiple times in the next week.

I am Hoping and Praying: for converted hearts; brand new babies; PATIENCE; peace; health for loved ones

In the Garden: (sigh) One word…SNOW

Around the house: Cleaning, organizing, PURGING!!! I attempted 40 bags for Lent, but a few major things derailed progress. I did collect quite a few bags today, though, so I feel slightly productive. I will still see how much more I can purge in the next 30 days.

On Keeping Home: So much learning needs to be done on my part. It really is embarrassing.

One of my Favorite Things: A dvr so that I can still sleep normal hours, but still “take part” in major events around the world.

The Children: Isabel is “expressing herself” a little too much for mommy’s comfort. We need to work on some politeness. But she is still a big help, especially for 5.
Alexis is STUBBORN. But she still amazes me at how much joy is in her soul.
Maire is a sweety, as usual, but she is definitely testing her two year old boundaries. Lots of prayers for her, still, as we continue to wait and see what the future holds with her health.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week: School, purging stuff, friends for dinner, ballet class/dress rehearsal/recital, BABY SHOWER

A Picture Thought I’m Sharing: We are in the middle of what I like to call “Birthday Season”. Here are the birthday girls of March and April.

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for May

General Intention: That those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person.

Missionary Intention: That the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and to grow in unity.

Cute!

Little Flowers Tea Party 2011

This weekend, my daughters and I hosted the end of year Little Flowers Tea for our Little Flowers group. Don't know what Little Flowers is? Visit here.

The girls' table (with all of our craft projects from the year displayed on the wall).

I copied took inspiration from Jessica's Tea Parties and was hoping to have our party outside. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate (it snowed later that day and the rest of the weekend) and I changed my plans to inside. It was a little crowded getting around the tables at times, but I think we made the best of it. Because of the relocation of the festivities, I decided to buy some flowered garland at the craft store (roses and wisteria) to give a little garden atmosphere to my dining room. The pictures aren't the greatest. The sun glare was fighting with me and I was slightly rushed to get pictures taken before our guests arrived.

A view of both tables and some of the added flora

The little table to the left was for our 2 and under crowd

One more angle

This was the first time I had ever hosted a tea party. I don't even own a teapot! So I had to get creative on some things. A lot of what I used was borrowed. At both tables, there were borrowed teapots, cream and sugar sets, lemonade pitchers, and half of the napkins (the flowered ones). At the Mothers' Table, I used my china and crystal.
Mothers' table place setting

At the girls' table, I used cups from my punch bowl set for their tea cups and some borrowed glass plates. I used Holy Cards of the saints we were learning about as prizes all year, so I continued the theme in the place settings. I put the holy cards under the plates, which I thought was a cool effect.
Girls' table place setting

We had three courses and in between courses we had activities for the girls to include Jessica's word search and a Memory Game.

The activity table

This is our version of the Memory Game



We also did a craft, using all of the flowers I had purchased for the individual meetings throughout the year.

The craft prep area

This craft project is also in the Craft Companion guide

One of the finished hats (Dad got involved A LOT with this one)

The food was delicious! Each of the other moms was so helpful and brought a couple of dishes. We had three courses, which I think the girls got a kick out of. I forgot to take a picture of the first course, but it included strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and blueberry scones.


The second course included tortilla roll-ups, cucumber and egg salad sandwiches, and ham and cheese and jelly and creme cheese flower shaped sandwiches. Don't they look amazing?

The third course was DESSERT!


Brownies topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, strawberry creme cupcakes, and a strawberry puff pastry dessert. YUMMY!


Despite all of my stress and worries, it turned out to be a wonderful time and most importantly, I think the girls had a lot of fun.

(Please bear with the poor formatting. Obviously, I've been away from blogging for awhile and I'm a little rusty. I just don't have the energy to fight with Blogger anymore tonight.)

REJOICE!!!

Happy Easter, from our home to yours!

Coming Soon...

I know it has been a while, but life has been busy and kept me from blogging. I do have plans to return with the new year, but we all know how planning goes, right? Until then, I hope you are having a Happy Advent and that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for September

The Word of God as Sign of Social Development
General: That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people's hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.

The End of War
Missionary: That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.