45 Life Lessons

I received this in an email. I thought it full of good advice that we all should take into consideration as we muddle through.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step .

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over-prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years time, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29 What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles .

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Happy Feast Day Kiddo #2!

Today is the feast day of St. John Neumann. There are many St. Johns, but our kiddo #2 picked the saintly bishop from Philadelphia to be his patron since we live right outside of Philadelphia and Mommy was born and raised there. :-) His special request was Mommy's chocolate cake with homemade vanilla icing.

If you can see the photos on the table, the one in costume was my son in his Saints' pageant back in 1st grade. (he's in 4th now). He made the St. John on the right as part of a project last year.

Saint John Neumann, pray for us!

New Year's Eve

As another year comes and goes, I find myself getting a bit melancholy. I always laughed inside at midnight on New Year's Eve when I would see the adults get teary-eyed, while the kids were just jumping up and down screaming. I wondered how they possibly could be sad during such a fun time.

As I get older, I realize the reason for their mixed emotions: another year of our short lives is gone and we do not know how many more we have left. For many, there are more years behind them than they have in front of them. Our children are growing up and although we have wonderful memories, they are just that: memories. We will never get those times back.

So, even though we celebrate and welcome a new year tonight, let us not forget to be grateful for the year that has past. Yes, for many, it has been a difficult year. We all have our problems, whether they be financial or health, emotional or physical, but let us not be like society as a whole and wish this year never happened. I read in the headlines people saying that they can't wait for this "horrible" year to be over with. There are far more things to be grateful for and remember with joy than to regret. Let us remember our childrens' smiles rather than their tears. Let us remember the babies born, the marriage covenants made, the lessons learned, the special times we all shared together with friends and family. If we wish the year away, it is like wishing away everything good that happened, as well.

God always brings good out of bad. So, if we take just a moment at the stroke of midnight tonight, let us thank Him for all of the good that happened to us this year and pray that we may be so undeservedly blessed in the next.

Happy New Year.

Christmas Preparations

Although it is the day after Christmas, I wanted to post some photos of the kids' Christmas preparations. The most memorable for me was taking them to "Five and Below" and allowing them to "shop" for each of their siblings, their parents and grandparents. They really chose gifts that showed they were thinking about each person and what they liked. They were so excited yesterday to give away their presents. I think they got the message that some of the greatest joys are in giving, not receiving....

The first photo is of kiddo #3's Advent calendar. He tore off a ring every day until he reached his "Star of Bethlehem" on Christmas.

























Second are some photos of the kids helping to decorate the Christmas tree.






















The kids also helped me in some of my Christmas baking.

The last two photos are of kiddo #4's gingerbread castle and of kiddo #3's handmade Nativity that he put on the kitchen table.



A Blessed Christmas season to all! I will try to get Christmas photos up in the next few days! :-)

Christmas Quote

Just came across this quote and wanted to share it:

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world - stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death - and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.
--Henry Van Dyke


Happy week before Christmas!

Kiddo #4's birthday party

Last Friday, Kiddo #4 had her birthday party with her friends at the Little Gym. What a fun time! The leaders had the kids play all kinds of interactive games with lots of free-time in between. All of the parents seemed to be grateful that their children were being run ragged right before bedtime! LOL.



Now you see them,

















now you don't! :-)










The time in the gym was followed by pizza, cupcakes and balloons, much to the delight of all 15 of them! :-)




Happy 5th Birthday again, Princess! We love you!

Disney Pics!

We had a wonderful time in Disney for Thanksgiving week. Seeing the whole park decorated for Christmas was unlike anything we have ever seen.















We all got special treats- kiddo #4 got to spend her birthday in Disney and had a special dinner with Mickey and Friends to celebrate.

For Thanksgiving dinner, we had a special dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends! My mom got the special treat of actually sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner without having to cook it all and serve it!

The weather was so unbelievably beautiful! Not a rainy day the whole week (except for the day we left, which we assumed was Florida crying to see us go! :-)) It was in the 60s-70s and sunny the whole time, with a few days toward the end of the week hitting in the 80s.

We went to Epcot for the first time and it has quickly become one of our favorite places! "Soarin" is beyond words and Spaceship Earth became a quick hit among the kids and had to go on it twice. With exhibits like that, you could probably go on them a half a dozen times and still not see and appreciate all of its intricacies. Our 3 visits to Epcot over the course of the week weren't even enough. I don't think we saw half of what was there. Well, there's always next time! That's what makes repeated visits so much fun-- you see your "old-time favorites" and always get to see something new.

Of course, kiddo #3 was beside himself in Animal Kingdom. The safari was incredible. The animals were coming right up to our truck and made for some great pics. The kids enjoyed the train ride and petting zoo there, as well.

The memories of our trip will last a lifetime.