{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

 The girls all looked so pretty dressed up to Irish Dance at our parish's St. Patrick Day celebration.  (Click the link to watch videos of my girls dancing!)  I had hoped to curl all of my girls' hair in ringlets, but boy is it time consuming... They were happy with just a few. And I did find a pretty Shamrock Plant for them to give to their teacher!

{happy}

My girls have been very happy to make a couple new friends through Irish Dancing.  These sweet girls (on the left) go to the small local Catholic school and happen to have the same names (spelled differently) as my girls!  My boys have lots of friends, but there just aren't very many any girls my girls ages in our homeschool group - just a few that are either older or younger.   I sure wish the sweet woman who taught the classes would do so all year, but she is getting ready to return to Ireland next month to visit her mother.  Hopefully next year she will offer to teach the girls again for next year's parish celebration! 

I was also happy to be able to snap a quick picture of my youngest brother (and oldest godson) with his Godfather (a friend of my parents from Church).  I don't think we have gotten a picture of the two of them together since his Baptism! 

{funny}

I was so excited to find Murphy's Irish Stout at Trader Joe's this year!  My maiden name was Murphy, after all.   I also purchased a case of Irish Beer at Costco.  I'm not sure what I was thinking... I don't really care for beer, and Sean gave it up for Lent (though St. Patrick's Day was on a Sunday, and his birthday is on Palm Sunday!) so I think we are set for Easter!  Who wants to come over?! ;) 

{real}

We still are fighting colds and coughs in our home.  On Sunday Captain, Rose and Bud were too sick to go to Mass and the party so Sean went to an early Mass and then came home while I took the middle four to the late Mass.  Snuggles has since come down sick and has had earaches the past few nights.   I'm praying that everyone is healthy again by Easter! 

I did end up making the St. Patrick's Day Pudding! This time I made it in individual cups, only for the healthy members of our family...  I also had purchased some Rainbow's End Trail Mix and Green Coins (instead of Gold) after digging through the box of "Bunny Bucks" at the store to find the bags with the most green...  We'll be saving those for Easter too! 

Oh, before I go, did you see the boys' Lego Creation over on Father Z's blog?  

They were very excited, and also said to thank you all for your comments! 

Also, for those who have been asking, I am working on a list of the books I choose for this year's Easter Baskets.  Hopefully I can finish it up tonight and post it tomorrow! 

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Irish Dancing on St. Patrick's Day

In January the girls were invited to join the sweet little girls in our local Catholic School to learn how to Irish Dance in preparation for a performance at our Parish St. Patrick's Day celebration!   They were taught by two dear women from Ireland each Tuesday afternoon for an hour.



After only just 9 lessons, they all did such a great job yesterday, in dresses made by their teacher, during each of the two separate performances - one early in the day following Mass and a second later in the afternoon.  Here are a few short videos:

Two-Hand Dance - 1st Performance:


Three-Hand Dance - 1st Performance: 


Three-Hand Dance - 2nd Performance:


The girls looked so cute up on that stage!  Sean missed the first dance (he went to an early Mass to stay home with some of our sick children during the late Mass and St. Patrick's Day Party), but he was able to come long enough to watch their 2nd performance!

The girls were also very excited that my mom, dad, and youngest brother came to watch as well.

 

  It was such a fun day and great experience for the girls!

The Lucky Winner...

... of the St. Patrick's Day Giveaway is comment #71!  

Congratulations to Brian Pate from Happy Catholics, your 3rd entry into the giveaway won the giveaway for you!  I'll be emailing you soon for your mailing address to send to Christine (at Jacob's Toy Box) so she can get a Brother Hubert Doll and Story Book in the mail and on their way.



The rest of you still have time to place an order for Easter, if you do it soon!  Easter is just two weeks away!!!  (I spent most of last night ordering some great Easter, Spring, Saint and Historical books, in addition to a few other things including a Brother Hubert doll, for my children's baskets this year - with the proceeds from all the generous donations on my Papal Lap Book! Thank you all so very much!!!)   

I hope you had a very happy and fun-filled St. Patrick's Day!  (And Happy Birthday to my Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law!)  I'll be back soon with pictures and videos from the girls' Irish Dance Performances at our parish this afternoon!   They were so cute!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The strength of God pilot us,

the wisdom of God instruct us, 

the hand of God protect us, 

the word of God direct us.

St. Patrick, Pray for Us!  

St. Patrick's Day Coffee Hour

Hosted after Mass this past Sunday by my friend Kimber and I

St. Patrick Artwork and Coins to decorate all the tables provided by my children 

This is the second time I've signed up for the coffee hour...  It's been so fun to tie in the saints and seasons.   I wonder which feast day we should do next?!  :) 

An Irish Blessing

May you always have work for your hands to do,

May your pockets hold always a coin or two,

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,

May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain,

May the hand of a friend always be near you,

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

On this St. Patrick's Day, 
may you all be richly blessed!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Preparing for St. Patrick's Day!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

I just love this Woodcut Irish Blessings Celtic Cross that I found at our little Catholic Bookstore yesterday.  It is sitting on my kitchen windowsill.  So pretty!

{happy}

I am very happy that I was able to get a jump start on some fun treats for this coming weekend!  

Saturday is going to be super busy, with back to back plans from 9am-7pm including the boys last day of Hockey (including a Skills Competition, Parent vs. Players Game, and Potluck), a birthday party for a sweet little 2 year old, and then evening Mass since my Hubby will be leaving for a 3-week training session all the way across the country on Sunday morning at 4:30am.    As I mentioned over at Catholic Cuisine, I also agreed to help a friend provide treats for our Coffee Hour after Mass this coming Sunday.

So far I have most of the Candy Shamrocks made for on top of our Mint Crunch Cupcakes and the kids just finished helping me decorate some St. Patrick's Day Gold Coins!  I posted links to our documents over at Catholic Cuisine. 

{funny}

OK... I know that my Shamrock Eggs look a little "Gross" and the Snake Snack is silly, but does the Cinnamon Shamrock really look like an Octopus?  LOL! Now that you mention it, if I just add one more heart shaped cinnamon roll where the stem is, and a little round "head" on top, it might make a perfect "leviathan" for our Wind and Sea Good Shepherd Garden Party! 

{real}

It has been... ummmm.... 3 YEARS since Captain began making his St. Patrick Lap Book.  My grandfather passed away that same week (3 years ago yesterday), and it just never has been completely finished.   Maybe this year?  Is it just me, or do unfinished projects drive you crazy too?!


{bonus}

My sweet little Bud has been hanging out in the baby basket at my feet, happily watching me type up this post!  I just can't believe that he is going to be 3 months old on Monday... He had his weight checked yesterday and is already up to 11 pounds 12 ounces.  He is such a cutie!

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On St. Patrick's Day

I did say that it might be awhile before I was back to post pictures, but I really didn't think it would take until Monday early Tuesday morning!  It's been just a little bit busy around here.  :)

Since I am still up, waiting to change over the laundry, I thought I would upload a few pictures starting with Rose picking out the marshmallows from her first bowl of Lucky Charms - a breakfast "family tradition" that my children insist on each year for St. Patrick's Day!

My boy's really enjoyed making Shamrock Cinnamon Rolls to go along with our breakfast...

...and while I was busy preparing our Irish Beef and Guinness Stew for dinner, the boys did a great job putting together our Irish Flag Veggie Tray.  

For lunch we had Shamrock Toasties Pizzas. . . 

. . . and then the kids all worked on some coloring pages of the Life of St. Patrick while we waited for their friends to arrive.   

We were so excited that Erica and her family were able to spend a couple nights at our home, and that we were then able to join them for an overnight trip to the coast.  What a blessing to be able to spend sometime with their family before they leave this week to move Down By the River. . . or somewhere like that.  ;)  What an adventure they have ahead of them!   Thanks to one last change of plans, I picked up the three oldest treekids late this evening last night to spend the night one last time before they fly out on Wednesday morning.  My children are going to be so excited when they wake up and find their friends here in the morning!