Sorry so long no blog!

I can't believe how the time has flown! February is already almost gone. Well, with all 4 kids having a terrible case of the flu and with starting my new job, things have been even more crazy around our house, but we are starting to get in a comfortable, albeit tiring routine. :-)

We did manage to all get away for the holiday weekend last weekend, though. It was a nice diversion from all of the madness. My mom has to spend the entire month in D.C. for work, so we thought we'd go down and visit her and let the kids have their long weekend in Washington.

We left Thursday night, which ended up being the best decision. They had off from school on Friday, so we didn't have to use it for a travel day and could spend the entire day sightseeing. Since it was forecast to be the nicest of all of the days that we were going to be there, we spent the day at the National Zoo. It was a wonderful day, it wasn't at all crowded (I guess many schools in the metro area don't do long weekends for the holiday like around here) and the kids loved seeing all of the animals. I really loved the zoo. It is laid out well, the houses are beautiful and new and the animals have large, spacious quarters. We got to see the elephants (huge to our kiddo #3 who has a book about those very elephants), the pandas and even got to witness the feeding of an octopus. (really neat)














On Saturday, we ventured out to Dulles Airport to the Air & Space Museum's new (well, it's 5 years old now) added area. It is huge. It is literally an entire hangar. The highlight there is the space shuttle. Yes, a space shuttle! The Enterprise, the first shuttle, was donated to the Smithsonian, but they never had anywhere big enough to display it. It is really awe-inspiring to see how absolutely enormous it is. Also there is the Enola Gay, the Concorde and thousands of other aircraft.



















On Sunday, we went to the Mall and went to the Museum of Natural History (the kids loved the dinosaur bones and animal exhibits) and the Air & Space Museum, which has so many hands-on things to do for them! We didn't even see a quarter of the museum! There is so much to see.

And, our weekend came quickly to an end. Monday was our travel day. We had a nice leisurely breakfast at the hotel (mom's hotel has a free breakfast every morning which the kids just love. The highlight is making their own Belgian waffles!) got to play a while in the room and then head to the train station for our return trip home.

Mom made it extra special. She went to the supermarket and bought all of the kids favorite foods and snacks and had the fridge and cabinets fully stocked for when they got there. (the unit has a kitchen which is a necessity with kids!) :-) She also sent dh and I to the movies on Valentine's Day, while she watched the kids, which was a very nice treat.

So, here we are a week later, getting back into the grind and feeling like we were never away! LOL. :-)

Until next time, which I promise won't be as long!

How appropriate

I was just reading Rocco's blog Whispers in the Loggia, saw this speech from one of Pope John Paul II's many trips to America and was really touched. I just feel that it is as appropriate today as it was when it was given over 20 years ago. (emphases original)

As I go, I take with me vivid memories of a dynamic nation, a warm and welcoming people, a Church abundantly blessed with a rich blend of cultural traditions. I depart with admiration for the ecumenical spirit that breathes strongly throughout this land, for the genuine enthusiasm of your young people, and for the hopeful aspirations of your most recent immigrants. I take with me an unforgettable memory of a country that God has richly blessed from the beginning until now.

America the beautiful! So you sing in one of your national songs. Yes, America, you are beautiful indeed, and blessed in so many ways:

- in your majestic mountains and fertile plains;
- in the goodness and sacrifice hidden in your teeming cities and expanding suburbs;
- in your genius for invention and for splendid progress;
- in the power that you use for service and in the wealth that you share with others;
- in what you give to your own, and in what you do for others beyond your borders;
- in how you serve, and in how you keep alive the flame of hope in many hearts;
- in your quest for excellence and in your desire to right all wrongs.

Yes, America, all this belongs to you. But your greatest beauty and your richest blessing is found in the human person: in each man, woman and child, in every immigrant, in every native-born son and daughter.

For this reason, America, your deepest identity and truest character as a nation is revealed in the position you take towards the human person. The ultimate test of your greatness in the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenceless ones.

The best traditions of your land presume respect for those who cannot defend themselves. If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life! All the great causes that are yours today will have meaning only to the extent that you guarantee the right to life and protect the human person:

- feeding the poor and welcoming refugees;
- reinforcing the social fabric of this nation;
- promoting the true advancement of women;
- securing the rights of minorities;
- pursuing disarmament, while guaranteeing legitimate defence; all this will succeed only if respect for life and its protection by the law is granted to every human being from conception until natural death.

Every human person - no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society - is a being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the condition for her survival-yes,the ultimate test of her greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest and most defenceless ones those as yet unborn.

With these sentiments of love and hope for America, I now say goodbye in words that I spoke once before: "Today, therefore, my final prayer is this: that God will bless America, so that she may increasingly become - and truly be - and long remain one Nation, under God, indivisible. With liberty and justice for all"

What a couple of days!

The stomach bug has hit our house with a vengeance! It has gone through my husband, two of my children and my mom in just the last couple of days. I am fully expecting the other two children, myself and my dad to follow suit as the week ends. Hopefully not! Keep us in your prayers!

Also, keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on a new journey starting Tuesday. I will start full-time work at the school where my two oldest children attend. Kiddo #3 will start there on Tuesday, as well. As I am excited about the possibilities and experiences I will surely have, I am apprehensive and a bit wary of full-time work after 11 years and the repercussions of being out of the home for 10+ hours a day (more like 13 or 14 on the nights that I'm teaching at the college). Everyone has said they will pitch in and do their best to make the transition an easy one for all of us. Kiddo #4 will still be able to attend her preschool and "graduate" with her class in June. I will pick her up most days and bring her back to work with me where she will be able to play in after-school care with the children she most likely will be with in summer camp and kindergarten in September. A dear friend has offered to take her one afternoon a week to play with her children. For that I am very grateful.

So, as you can see, there will be a lot of change in our lives in the near future, but I think it will be change for the better. The children will have mommy in the same building with them and I will have an active, intergral part in their education. The salary of a small private school is nothing to brag about, but having half-price tuition is surely a blessing!

Click here to check out the school's website. It is a wonderful place and the boys are thriving there.

I hope I can report back and say the same for all of us

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! :-)