All kinds of Roses!

As I mentioned in my daybook, when Angela and her daughter arrived this past Friday for an overnight visit to attend Erica's Shower, they arrived with LOTS of Roses!!!

How on earth did she know how much I LOVE roses?! ;) Anyhow, I just HAD to share a few pictures...

First there was a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of White Roses:

Then there were a couple spiritual bouquets of Chocolate Roses for the girls, for giving them their room for the night:

But my favorite was the Bouquet of Baby Clothing Roses for our baby girl!!! I've never seen anything like it and am seriously amazed at the creativity!!! Isn't it so neat!!??!! I don't know if I'll ever actually be able to take it apart to actually use the clothing... though I would love to see how it was put together!

I feel so totally spoiled! Thank you so much Angela!!!

A Handmade Treasure

Aren't these just precious!?!?

I was so excited when they arrived in my mailbox this week from Aimee!! She had them made, by her Grandmother, for our little one and I absolutely LOVE them!! Thank you so much Aimee!!


*Aimee will actually be welcoming a new little one any day now! (Her due date is November 8th.) Perhaps you could join me in saying a quick prayer for her. Thank you!

Prayer for a Safe Delivery

Saint Elizabeth, through the great blessings you received from God at the birth of your son, Saint John, I beseech you to obtain for__(Aimee)___the grace of deeply understanding with joyful wonder the privilege of motherhood and of living each day in happy anticipation.

I ask this grace through the Precious Blood of Jesus, God’s Gift of Love to us.

Saint Anne, obtain for__(Aimee)___ through your own blessed child, Mary ever Virgin, the grace that no accident may befall her and that she may deliver her child safe and sound into the world.

I ask this grace through the Precious Blood of Jesus, God’s Gift of Love to us.

Mary, my Mother, I pray you to intercede before your Divine Son, Jesus, and obtain for__(Aimee)___ the help and blessings of God so that she may patiently endure with joyful expectation the pains of delivery and that her child may receive the grace of Baptism.

I ask this grace through the Precious Blood of Jesus, God’s Gift of Love to us.

Amen.

One Week Later...

I finally received a phone call from Hubby, and he is actually ON HIS WAY HOME!!!  The job he was doing on this particular fire is completed and, with a holiday weekend coming up, the fire management wanted to get as many men off the clock as possible.  It will be so nice to have him home!  

Right now I am going to get busy picking up around here and planning a "real" dinner for the first time since last Thursday.  ;)   Thank you all for your prayers for his safety.   I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

My New Catholic Apron

Since you already got to see the girls new apron earlier this week, and since it doesn't look like I'm going to have a chance to post a daybook this week, I thought I'd post a picture one of my new favorite things:  my new apron!  It was one of the items in the wonderful Catholic Mom's Ultimate Git Set I recently won.

 I LOVE it!!

Isn't the embroidered image beautiful and the quote perfect!?!

Thank you to both Catholic Embroidery and Catholic Mom!

The interesting thing is that, even before I won the set from Catholic Mom, I had already been talking to Mary, the founder of Catholic Embroidery, about hosting a give-away here and at Catholic Cuisine, which I will be posting soon!!  ☺

Oh! I am so excited...

... and it's not even Christmas yet!

♥ Thank you Hubby!!!!!! ♥

♥ Happy Tears ♥

I guess I was bound to cry at today's ultrasound, and sure enough, as soon as I heard our little one's heart beating, as perfect as can be, the tears started falling! Happy, joyful, THANKFUL tears!!! I knew I was a little bit worried, but I didn't realize just how scared I was until today...

I had the same ultrasound tech that I had in the fall, and she didn't hesitate to let me hear the heart beating and reassured me that everything looks just fine this time.

My due date is December 24th!!! The ultrasound machine kept going back and forth between the 24th and the 25th before finally settling on the 24th. Either way, we seem to have a Christmas baby on the way!

To celebrate I picked up a box of See's candy for me my family and a couple maternity tops... Is it really possible to start showing at just 8 weeks???? lol!

Thank you all for your prayers!!!

Friends

Even though my birthday came and went a week ago, my friends continue to spoil me!! Last night, at Little Flowers, Amy surprised me with a lovely little gift bag containing a beautiful mug, a Barnes & Noble gift card, and the most delicious smelling freshly ground coffee EVER!! I keep picking up the packet just to smell it! YUM!!!


Also, this past Sunday I came home from the March for Life to find a little gift box with three beautiful bracelets handmade by my friend Marci!! Not only that, she made them in the perfect colors to complement most of my clothes. (I tend to wear mostly browns, blacks/whites, or greens. I wear pink too, and Marci said she was going back and forth between the green and pink!)


Thank you Amy and Marci!!! You really shouldn't have, but I am glad you did. I LOVE the gifts!!!!

Now I am off to to brew a pot of that coffee and try and decide just which book to get with that gift card... (Do you all have any suggestions for me?!?!)

I'll be back later to share some pictures from Little Flowers. We had a great time as usual!

Flapper Hat Girls

Aren't these just the cutest little hats ever?

"Thank you Miss Charlotte!"

Love, Twinkle Toes and Chiquita ♥

Thank you...

...once again to my Aunt Alice and cousin Juliana!!

The girls just LOVE their new dresses!!! They wore them on Christmas Eve, and then again to Mass on Sunday. The Scottie dogs are so cute!

A Spiritual Bouquet...

...from one of my Little Flowers.

Thank you so much sweetie!! It made my day!

A Poem From My Sis

My little sister is always writing beautiful poems. On Thanksgiving she gave my husband and I a poem that she had written for us.

Thank you Mary!


Christ is Always There

Who knows what God above has planned?
Holding the world in the palm of his hand.
Creator of all we touch, hear, and see.
Creator of all life, love, and beauty.
Knowing all things and to where they will lead.
Knowing our wants but granting our needs.
Though at times it’s hard for us to understand
Why God allows such things under His command.
We must keep in mind that despite how we feel,
Our God is all knowing with a love that can heal.
No matter our state in mind, soul, or heart.
The good Lord above is there from the start.
He knows all our thoughts and sees every tear.
He knows all our joys and our every fear.
God is all loving, all knowing, and all good.
He understands all that we never could.
Everyday we wish that we could have control,
But God alone can lead us to our ever-lasting goal.
Everyday we wish that we could change the past,
But God knows what He’s doing, that pain inside won't last.
Too often we forget Him, when dealing with a loss.
So often we forget our Lord who died upon the cross.
So much pain we go through, sometimes it’s hard to bare,
But we must not forget the crown of thorns he had to wear.
We fall into depressions and can’t see past the hurt,
But Christ is falling with us, three times he hit the dirt.
Sometimes life can deal such tragedy seeming so unfair.
But it always helps to know that Christ will never fail to care.

An early visit from St. Nick?!?

Today we attended a 50th Anniversary Mass and reception for some very dear friends of ours. In fact, it was for our children's wonderful swimming teacher! We had a wonderful time, and it was so nice being able to reconnect and visit with lots of old friends!

However, we forgot to lock our door before we left, and when we arrived home, we were all stunned to find a Christmas Tree in our living room!

What a nice surprise!!!!


Now, if we could just figure out where it came from?!?

UPDATE: Well, it turns out that the tree was a gift from 2 of my brothers, Paul & Scott! Actually, my first guess WAS Paul. :) He is such a sweetie! A few years back, on Thanksgiving, I unsuccessfully tried to get him to stay late at my parents and play board games with us, but he said he had another job to do. (He has an Outdoor Lighting business, and is always super busy hanging Christmas lights this time of year.) Anyhow, a few hours later, we headed home and were shocked to find OUR home COVERED in little white Christmas lights! It was BEAUTIFUL! He is always so thoughtful. When I called him last night, I asked if he had been playing Santa Claus again, and he laughed. He said that it was from him & Scott and that they had just done a job for a tree farm who wanted to add a bit of extra lighting in exchange for a few trees.

So that explains how we came home to find a tree in our living room... Something I would have never expected! Don't I have the sweetest brothers?!

Thank You!!

We are busy continuing our celebration for the feast of St. Therese. (Since today is her feast day on the Traditional Calendar... Plus one day was just not enough time to do all the fun things we planned!) We've been having so much fun... I'll try and upload photos soon!

Anyway, I just wanted to get online real quick to THANK YOU all for all the prayers and well wishes on our Anniversary! We enjoyed reading each and every comment! You are all so kind and thoughtful! It was so fun to look back at our wedding day and share a few of our special memories with you all. Also, THANK YOU to my little brother who babysat so we could go out to dinner and a movie. (A rare treat indeed!) And THANK YOU to my in-laws and Marci for the beautiful cards in the mail... that was so very thoughtful of you both! You all helped make our anniversary very special!

"The smallest actions done for His love are those which charm His Heart."

~St. Therese, The Little Flower

Roses and Blessings

Whew! It has been an overwhelming week, and I have had very little time to blog, much less keep up with the school and house work. I had also started feeling like it was going to be impossible to catch up. Until today...

My hubby called this morning and said that he would make the drive home today for a visit and to cut the boys hair in time for Mass tomorrow!!! Yeah!! Well, he arrived with roses for the girls and I. Wasn't that sweet?!?! I just love roses! (During his last visit he gave the boys fire tee-shirts, and told the girls he would have a surprise for them next time...) Chiquita has been talking about it all day, and has been telling everyone, "Daddy gave me pink roses!!!" We placed all our roses in a vase and set them near our favorite statue of St. Therese.

After hubby left to head back to the fire, a brave sweet friend of mine called to say she was on her way to pick up my children (the oldest four) so I could work on cleaning the house and try to finish sorting though all that clothing... So, all evening, it was just Snuggles and I, and I am amazed at how much I was able to accomplish!! Thank you Marci... It was just what I was needing, and even though I still have quite a bit to do, I am not nearly so overwhelmed.

Just a few more days and hubby will be home, on the feast of St. Therese, and just in time for our anniversary the following day! ♥

Kindness and Flowers

Kathy over at The Daily Grotto has kindly sent this award my way. Don't you just love getting flowers?!?! Thank you Kathy!

One of the greatest things about blogging is making new friends!

This past year I have "met" some wonderful new "blog friends." You have truly been a blessing in my life. I treasure these new friendships, and thank you all for the friendship, support, inspiration and ideas that you have shared with me!

I want to give this award right back to you Kathy, and also pass it on to:

Ruth at Just Another Day in Paradise
Elizabeth at Real Learning
Meredith at Sweetness and Light
Matilda at Waltzing Matilda
Cheryl at My Thoughtful Spot
Christine at Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Christie at Tis'But a Season
Christy at The Happy Hunting Ground (currently a private blog)
Michele at Decrease to Increase
Jamie at Lord, Make me a Saint

As well as a couple of my real life friends that I have gotten to know so much better through blogging: Regina & Amy. You two are wonderful!

I could go on and on, but I had better stop there.

Anyhow, thank you TO ALL OF YOU that stop by and visit, often leaving comments that add an extra bit of joy to my day! Isn't blogging great?!?

Speaking of...

... how easy it is to make my day.

Check out this delicious surprise my Auntie gave me as a bonus for finally catching up her bookkeeping:

These little things are SO GOOD!!

Thank you AUNTIE B!!!

Oh... and how soon is Easter?? In the meantime, it's a good thing that another one of my auntie's sent me this!

What a surprise!!

Ever had one of those "I really wish I would listen to Flylady mornings," when you put off showering and getting dressed, and then when you finally take a shower, the doorbell rings? That's what happened to me this morning.

Anyhow, when I finally made it to the door, I was surprised to find a sweet old man from church with these:

Aren't they WONDERFUL!!! They are so much prettier than the cpc one that we have!!

I JUST LOVE THEM!!!

AND SO DO THE KIDS!!

Thank you so much, Mr. Pecor!!


**He did tell hubby he was going to bring them over... I just hadn't heard yet! :)

Another Surprise

Not only did I receive a TON of packages from FedEx today, a couple more arrived with the mail, one for me, which contained some DVD's that I have been wanting to watch for some much needed inspiration and motivation, and one for the boys!

The boys were SO excited!

You should have seen their faces, and heard their excitement when they opened the box and found these:

A couple WWII Style Bomber Jackets!
(**The tan patch is for a Velcro name plate, which I removed for the photo.)

Aren't they cool! They LOVE them!

Check out the zippers too... with little airplanes! Aren't those darling!

Thank you to my dear cousin Juliana and Aunt Alice! You two have been spoiling us!

You know your old...

...when your mom buys you cellulite cream for your birthday! Thank you mom! I do need it, now that I am officially closer to 40 than I am to 20. ;)

Actually, I guess I asked for it back before Christmas, and she remembered. (I hear it works great on stretch marks!) I just couldn't help giving her a hard time!

I really do have the BEST family and the GREATEST friends. I love you all so much! Thank you everyone for making my 30th birthday such a memorable day!

In spite of the early morning power problems, my hubby helped the children make me the sweetest cards. And then, even after he came home early (with one of my favorite coffee drinks, a sweet card and some beautiful flowers), very sick (he caught what I am finally getting over), he and my boys "built me" a cake. I was so excited, and it made me very happy! It has been a few years since I have had a cake on my birthday... And it was perfect!

Unfortunately, since hubby was so sick, our dinner/date plans had to be postponed. We had planned to go on a double date with my friend Trina and her hubby.

(I have been blessed with TWO very dear friends named Trina! One that lives here locally, and one that has moved away, and I miss dearly! I love them both.)

So, after the kids had dinner and and we all had cake, hubby told me that I should still go out with Trina... After talking to Trina on the phone, we decided to meet at 8:30. That way, I could help get the kids to bed before I left, and hubby could get to bed early. I headed into town to meet her at Applebee's. She told me she was going to invite a few others .. But I was not expecting there to be THIRTEEN of US! It was such a surprise! Especially considering we met last minute at 8:30 on a Wednesday night! I had SUCH a great time.

Amy and humble mama (above right photo) were able to make it! Even my mom came, and I was able to hear the dramatic story of my birth once more! (You can see my mom in the following picture, second from the left.) We missed you Regina, I wish tug would have been in town so you could have joined us too!

Well... I have stayed up WAY past my bedtime, so I am off to bed! Thank you all for making my day so special! I'll see you sometime tomorrow, to let you know who won the key hook! Goodnight.

Hand Made Gifts

The girls just LOVE the little kitchen they received for Christmas. They are playing with it constantly! And I just love how darling it looks set up in their room. :)

Before Christmas, I was noticing how many other bloggers were either making all their gifts by hand, or purchasing handmade items only... I so wish I could be talented patient enough to make my children gifts! But since I had my mind set on the little kitchen set for the girls, I knew that there was no way that I would be able to take the "Handmade Pledge." HOWEVER... MAYBE, I could make SOMETHING to go WITH the kitchen...

There are so many creative women online, and I was amazed to see what they had been making! Could I possibly make something?

My dear friend Regina called me one night, and told me to take a look at some felt food she saw online. It was REALLY cute! Plus, I have worked with felt before, and it doesn't intimidate me like fabric and yarn does! :)

So... I pulled out some felt, a pair of scissors and then searched the house for a needle. (I really wish I would have learned to sew as a child!) Anyways, here are a few pictures:

I started with making a couple eggs. These were VERY easy, and a good place to start! The other day, Captain came up to me and asked me for a couple plastic Easter eggs to put them into, so they could "crack them" into the frying pan Grandma gave the girls.

Then I tried making some Strawberries. Here are a few of them:

My mom said I should add some french knots, at least thats what I think she called them? To make it look like they have little seeds on them... We'll See, maybe I will since last night when some friends were over, Sugar asked if they were chili peppers. :)

Then I got started on some sugar cookies. I worked on stitching seed beeds to pink and blue fabric for the icing, and then stitched that to some off white felt, added a bit of filling and stitched another piece of felt to the bottom. Does that look like a cookie?

Now, I didn't get near as much accomplished as I had hoped to... In fact I am still working on finishing the cookies... and they didn't turn out very good, but my girls loved them just the same. And I actually enjoyed giving it a shot!

Speaking of kitchen stuff, last night we had my Aunt Bridget, Uncle Shawn, and some friends over for dinner and games. (Aunt Bridget gave me the game Catch Phrase as a gift, and it is a BLAST! We played girls against guys, and us girls won every round :) We also played Apples to Apples and Sequence.)

Anyways, all of our guests came stocked with even more cooking supplies for our family! My Aunt & Uncle gave us a Road Trip Grill with an accessory Griddle!! We are so excited, and can hardly wait till next summer to go camping! (This will be a HUGE improvement over trying to feed our growing family with a single burner that attaches to the top of a propane bottle!) They also gave these darling mini pans to the kids, there are 2 of each, and can actually go into the oven! They LOVE them! Thank you Aunt Bridget & Uncle Shawn... You always spoil us WAY too much!

Then, Regina surprised the girls with some darling sweets! Check these out, they are so cute!

OK, OK! Before I go, the boys are looking over my shoulder, telling me I "HAVE TO" post a picture of what my little brother made for them out of some PVC pipe! They are such BOYS! :)


It is handmade! :)