ADVENT/CHRISTMAS
DECEMBER 17th
Isaac and I are so joyful to have Madison, Savannah, and Nicholas home with us for two full weeks
Yay!!! We made it through finals week and now my babies get to come home and relax with no worries.......except which Christmas movie to watch first or what Christmas carol to listen to while we are icing Christmas cookies!
I get to bask in the fact that they are really ALL MINE for 2 weeks!! I have missed them so much. When they are busy at school, each day Isaac and I count down the minutes until they arrive home to see us. The door opens at about 4:00pm, where 3 beautiful and tired children run in to greet us. By that time, they are feeling hungry for a snack and packed full of entertaining stories about the happenings of their day. So, they eat as Isaac and I listen to all of the great school stories that they have to share with us. Now, instead of school stories, their daily stories will be filled with family adventures
CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
Tonight is the Faustina lower school christmas Pageant. Christmas pageants along with other school performances are what every mother lives to see! When a mommy gets to witness her children, on stage, all dressed up in church attire, praising God as they sing all of her favorite Christmas carols with their angelic little voices, brings tears to a mother's eyes EVERY time! Unfortunately, I won't be able to go this year because I am sick, but my heart will truly be with them tonight even if I cannot be sitting in the audience gazing upon their sweet faces
(my little man dressed like a gentleman)
A LITTLE "MOM" NOTE ABOUT ADVENT
Advent is a very important time to prepare our hearts for Jesus' Holy Birth. Advent is the beginning of the church's calendar year. Because it is a new beginning, Advent is a beautiful opportunity for me, as a mommy and daughter of Christ, to purify my soul through focusing more on virtue.
(As I focus more on being a better mommy, I think of this image of Mary with Baby Jesus together. Mary is just being a mommy of her Son, holding Him up lovingly, as she shows Him things that amaze His innocent Eyes, as every mommy does......but unlike ANY other mommy, she loves her Son Jesus, with a love that is totally self-LESS and pure. I pray to be a mother like she is)
HOUSE CONSTRUCTION
OH....I forgot to mention that Jeremy and I are adding onto our house in preparation for our new little baby girl, Gracie Ann. We love our house, and it has lots of room BUT the room is just in the wrong places and Jeremy and I prayerfully decided not to move, but instead to make changes that will make life easier for our ever-growing family, bringing peace to our everyday lives.
Right now, our entire house is torn up, therefore our daily routine has been very uncertain and totally insane.....Some days I think that we must be crazy taking on this addition with everything else life has thrown our way recently, but Jeremy and I can do anything if we do it together with the strength of our Lord.....we have proven that so many times.....and this project is no different. Yikes!! Talk about an opportunity to grow in virtue right now!!
I just need to make it a full-time job.....practicing patience with the family!
The three older kids are bunking together in the family room right now, as most of the upstairs has been blocked off...luckily Isaac's nursery is downstairs at the opposite end of the house as the construction
(I do love that they are all "camping out" together.....it's so much fun)
DECEMBER 24th
CHRISTMAS TIME
Look at this sweet little St. Nick suit that my friend Rhonda gave to me.....Isaac made us laugh so much when he had it on....He LOVED that we were laughing and clapping as he performed for us in front of our make-shift Christmas tree! This little one filled us with so much joy!
SOME CHRISTMAS TIME HAPPINESS
(Matching sweaters with my True Love, Jeremy was just the best...I love matching with this handsome man, who I get to be married to forever!! I loved this so much that I formulated a plan for Jeremy and I to live out each day of our twighlight years in matching attire)
(Nicholas giving sweet kisses to his best friend Grady.....they just don't know that they are best friends yet)
(Cuddling up by the roaring fire to watch Christmas movies together)
DECEMBER 25th
(A table full of my loved ones....sharing a Christmas feast together at my Mom and Dad's house...followed by our long time Christmas family tradition of gathering together and reading the nativity from the Gospel of Luke, followed by joyfully singing happy birthday to Baby Jesus, as we enjoy some yummy birthday cake.....Angel-Food cake, of course)
OPENING PRESENTS
I get so excited, even giddy, watching my family and friends unwrap the special gifts that I carefully chose just for them....I love to see the joy on their faces, when their gift brings them true happiness
(Isaac totally loved opening his fun new toys.....he would unwrap one and just start playing with it immediately....Isaac only had a couple of gifts to open, but his gift opening lasted almost all day, as he stopped to enjoy every toy thoroughly before opening up the next surprise! What a beautiful innocence and child-like gratefulness he possesses)
I pray that my children look back on Christmas and realize all of the blessings that they have been showered with by our God, a God who delights in showering His children beyond what we could ever deserve
My sweet Nicholas
My sweet Savannah
(This pic was taken by Jeremy in the passenger's seat of the jeep, as Madison drove him to downtown Ft Worth in a snow and hailstorm....Yikes!!!)
God bless my sweet Jeremy....aka, our Daddy, who loves his daughter Madison so much, that he takes his time to give her as many driving situations as possible, under his watchful eye, patiently coaching her through every maneuver....well, maybe NOT so much PATIENTLY.....but LOVINGLY, for sure. She will be well prepared to face the roads on her own in a little over a month...but will her mommy heart be prepared ?!?!)
HOUSE CONSTRUCTION
OH....I forgot to mention that Jeremy and I are adding onto our house in preparation for our new little baby girl, Gracie Ann. We love our house, and it has lots of room BUT the room is just in the wrong places and Jeremy and I prayerfully decided not to move, but instead to make changes that will make life easier for our ever-growing family, bringing peace to our everyday lives.
Right now, our entire house is torn up, therefore our daily routine has been very uncertain and totally insane.....Some days I think that we must be crazy taking on this addition with everything else life has thrown our way recently, but Jeremy and I can do anything if we do it together with the strength of our Lord.....we have proven that so many times.....and this project is no different. Yikes!! Talk about an opportunity to grow in virtue right now!!
I just need to make it a full-time job.....practicing patience with the family!
The three older kids are bunking together in the family room right now, as most of the upstairs has been blocked off...luckily Isaac's nursery is downstairs at the opposite end of the house as the construction
DECEMBER 24th
SOME CHRISTMAS TIME HAPPINESS
(Matching sweaters with my True Love, Jeremy was just the best...I love matching with this handsome man, who I get to be married to forever!! I loved this so much that I formulated a plan for Jeremy and I to live out each day of our twighlight years in matching attire)
DECEMBER 25th
OPENING PRESENTS
I get so excited, even giddy, watching my family and friends unwrap the special gifts that I carefully chose just for them....I love to see the joy on their faces, when their gift brings them true happiness
My sweet Madison
Madison was our first child to realize that after Christmas Mass was attended, Christmas dinner had filled our bellies and now the food was already placed into tupperware for safe storage, and the beautifully wrapped gifts had been opened, that there was a feeling of a letdown. This blessing that opened Madi's eyes, was the perfect opportunity to talk to all of the kids about another aspect of Heaven.
Material things and events of this world will aways fall short of our expectations, as our soul is disordered with a skewed view of what it means to be fully satisfied. We will only feel filled with satisfaction when we are in Heaven with Jesus. Everything on earth will always fall short of the perfect love and pure happiness that awaits us in heaven
DECEMBER 27th
After a Christmas day of 70 degree weather, we even had a little bit of snow AND hail....so, no snowmen or snowball fights outside, but the kids loved it anyway! God totally spoils His children
God bless my sweet Jeremy....aka, our Daddy, who loves his daughter Madison so much, that he takes his time to give her as many driving situations as possible, under his watchful eye, patiently coaching her through every maneuver....well, maybe NOT so much PATIENTLY.....but LOVINGLY, for sure. She will be well prepared to face the roads on her own in a little over a month...but will her mommy heart be prepared ?!?!)
These days of Christmas break are melting away so fast.....and regular life will be commencing in seemingly minutes!
I want to fully enjoy EVERY minute.
Lord Jesus, please help me to stop and just enjoy everything more intensely, with no earthly distractions preventing me from being "present" in the moment.
Thank You, Jesus for all that You have taught us and how You are using this time away from our normal life to form our hearts into ones of purity and true charity.....so that our hearts delight You as You watch them evolve into what they were truly created to be. Help us to grow in purity and charity of heart
Lord Jesus, please help me to stop and just enjoy everything more intensely, with no earthly distractions preventing me from being "present" in the moment.
Thank You, Jesus for all that You have taught us and how You are using this time away from our normal life to form our hearts into ones of purity and true charity.....so that our hearts delight You as You watch them evolve into what they were truly created to be. Help us to grow in purity and charity of heart
