Thursday, November 19, 2009
David is Reading!
David and I finished Lesson 52 in our Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Half way done! He is doing awesome and is reading short stories in the book. I couldn't be more proud. The short daily lessons are working. He is remembering the words and sounds from the previous lessons while adding the new ones they throw in each time. It has worked great for us.
Books we are reading...
It is hard to keep up these days...
Emily and I are reading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers together. It is delightful.
We are also plowing our way through The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We are both enjoying it. I say plow because the characters, Dickon and his sister Martha, speak in 'broad Yorkshire' in the book. Lots of "Aye", "thee", "tha"... and such. We have found common words to substitute them... so I kind of translate those parts as I read them because clearly my Yorkshire isn't the best. :-) We are looking forward to watching the movie because we only have about 6-7 chapters to go.
I picked up Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (one of my childhood favorites) hoping Emily and I could read it together. However, she sat on the couch on Sunday and finished it in a 2 hour sitting. Really, she amazes me. I can't keep up as much as I'd like to. She has more free time.
She also plowed through Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll before I could read it with her. It is still in my "to read" pile.
David and I have been enjoying The Adventures of Pooh by A.A. Milne. They take about 15-20 minutes to read and he listens better some days than others. I think Emily and I enjoy them more than he does but I'm trying to get him to listen for longer periods of time.
David also likes The Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. They are longer but have lots of pictures which still holds his attention better than the books with less pictures.
Emily and I are reading Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers together. It is delightful.
We are also plowing our way through The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We are both enjoying it. I say plow because the characters, Dickon and his sister Martha, speak in 'broad Yorkshire' in the book. Lots of "Aye", "thee", "tha"... and such. We have found common words to substitute them... so I kind of translate those parts as I read them because clearly my Yorkshire isn't the best. :-) We are looking forward to watching the movie because we only have about 6-7 chapters to go.
I picked up Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (one of my childhood favorites) hoping Emily and I could read it together. However, she sat on the couch on Sunday and finished it in a 2 hour sitting. Really, she amazes me. I can't keep up as much as I'd like to. She has more free time.
She also plowed through Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll before I could read it with her. It is still in my "to read" pile.
David and I have been enjoying The Adventures of Pooh by A.A. Milne. They take about 15-20 minutes to read and he listens better some days than others. I think Emily and I enjoy them more than he does but I'm trying to get him to listen for longer periods of time.
David also likes The Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. They are longer but have lots of pictures which still holds his attention better than the books with less pictures.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Emily's Baptism Day and Award Ceremony
Today is the anniversary of the day Emily was baptized in 2003. A couple of weeks ago, I gave her the Emmanuel Books catalog and told her to pick out any catholic book she would like to celebrate. It was very interesting to watch her pour over the catalog to decide. She picked two things since they were both inexpensive. One was a book called Garment of Grace and the other was a coloring book, Holy Name of Jesus. She was very excited to receive them this morning.
To make the day even more special, she received an award at her school's quarterly award ceremony. We didn't know what award she would get... but it just so happed to be the Christian Spirit Award for demonstration of Christian values, character traits and behavior. How appropriate. :-)
Wurst Fest 2009 recap...
We had a whirl wind of events this weekend and I have no pictures to show for it... A verbal recap will have to suffice.
We got up early on Saturday morning (6am) to drive to Austin. Everyone was loaded and we were pulling out of our driveway a little after 7am. This is a success all in itself. ;-) Chris stopped for kolaches about an hour into the drive and everyone was very happy. The kids got a monster cinnamon roll and we didn't hear a peep out of them as it was devoured. Another stop for bathrooms occurred but we made it to the stadium a little before 11am with plenty of time to make it for kickoff. Chris and David were going to be the lucky two to enjoy the game but as we got closer to Austin, Emily asked if she could go too. Texas was playing Central Florida and Chris suspected he could easily get her a ticket on the street. He was right. There were many people selling tickets and he got her one for $40 (a bargain?). So off they went!
Lia and I headed to our old house to see if any neighbors were around and to take a look (sob...) over our beautiful old neighborhood. I miss it in many ways. Bob and Betty were home and we got to visit with them for about an hour. Betty has been busy with all her outdoor projects and has made the cutest patio area ever! It is decorated with the theme of Talivera - I'm sure I spelled it wrong - pottery... all in red, yellow and blue. It is super cozy and inviting and I would love to recreate the theme for our kitchen one day. This notation will be a reminder to research it one day. ;-)
I met Sarah for lunch at WaterLoo on 2222 and 360. There is an outdoor play area and sand pit so Lia was very happy and allowed Sarah and I to visit for over 2 hours! My hubby called to be picked up and I couldn't believe how quickly the time went by. Sarah will welcome her niece into the world today or tomorrow as Bethanne is being induced today! We will be saying little prayers for them all day. Very exciting.
We made it to 5:00 mass at St. Catherine's and Emily was able to participate in their Children's Liturgy of the word. It is much smaller scale than at St. Anthony's. There were only 20 kids and they have it in their chapel. During the prayer intentions she prayed for the soul of her friend Kelly... this made me tear up. She really gets it and I admire my daughter's strong faith. Children embrace the cycle of life so easily! She sings with her whole heart and people comment all the time how amazing it is she can read the hymnal and how beautiful it is that she sings all the songs and prayers. They are always surprised to find out she is only 6.
Runar joined us at The Smiths house for Reubens and pretzels and the kids had a ball playing with their friends. 6 kids is quite a houseful now that they are all into their own things!
We were treated again to a fabulous breakfast! Cynthia made pumpkin cinnamon rolls from scratch and they were divine. She treats us like royalty... we love it! The whole gang was off to Wurstfest by 11am and we spent the whole day there. The weather did not exactly cooperate as it was very rainy... a steady down pour with little break. However, we made the most of it and listened to music all day as the bands switched in and out of the tent we chose to camp out in. German food and beer was consumed... the kids had fun in spurts and were cranky in spurts. Emily had a ball and did quite a bit of dancing and she rode a bunch of rides so I think Wurstfest will be lots of fun for her from here on out. Travis and Mary Alice joined us with their daughter Arielle. It is always good to see them. I enjoyed getting in a visit with them too.
The trip home was long but all the kids were asleep by the time we got home. We simple transferred them to their beds and got to bed as quickly as we could ourselves.
I am always overwhelmed with laundry and stocking the fridge when I get home from a trip. I don't know why I suffer anxiety from this... character flaw? So I really need to put my nose to the grind stone and get some work done.
More to come.
We got up early on Saturday morning (6am) to drive to Austin. Everyone was loaded and we were pulling out of our driveway a little after 7am. This is a success all in itself. ;-) Chris stopped for kolaches about an hour into the drive and everyone was very happy. The kids got a monster cinnamon roll and we didn't hear a peep out of them as it was devoured. Another stop for bathrooms occurred but we made it to the stadium a little before 11am with plenty of time to make it for kickoff. Chris and David were going to be the lucky two to enjoy the game but as we got closer to Austin, Emily asked if she could go too. Texas was playing Central Florida and Chris suspected he could easily get her a ticket on the street. He was right. There were many people selling tickets and he got her one for $40 (a bargain?). So off they went!
Lia and I headed to our old house to see if any neighbors were around and to take a look (sob...) over our beautiful old neighborhood. I miss it in many ways. Bob and Betty were home and we got to visit with them for about an hour. Betty has been busy with all her outdoor projects and has made the cutest patio area ever! It is decorated with the theme of Talivera - I'm sure I spelled it wrong - pottery... all in red, yellow and blue. It is super cozy and inviting and I would love to recreate the theme for our kitchen one day. This notation will be a reminder to research it one day. ;-)
I met Sarah for lunch at WaterLoo on 2222 and 360. There is an outdoor play area and sand pit so Lia was very happy and allowed Sarah and I to visit for over 2 hours! My hubby called to be picked up and I couldn't believe how quickly the time went by. Sarah will welcome her niece into the world today or tomorrow as Bethanne is being induced today! We will be saying little prayers for them all day. Very exciting.
We made it to 5:00 mass at St. Catherine's and Emily was able to participate in their Children's Liturgy of the word. It is much smaller scale than at St. Anthony's. There were only 20 kids and they have it in their chapel. During the prayer intentions she prayed for the soul of her friend Kelly... this made me tear up. She really gets it and I admire my daughter's strong faith. Children embrace the cycle of life so easily! She sings with her whole heart and people comment all the time how amazing it is she can read the hymnal and how beautiful it is that she sings all the songs and prayers. They are always surprised to find out she is only 6.
Runar joined us at The Smiths house for Reubens and pretzels and the kids had a ball playing with their friends. 6 kids is quite a houseful now that they are all into their own things!
We were treated again to a fabulous breakfast! Cynthia made pumpkin cinnamon rolls from scratch and they were divine. She treats us like royalty... we love it! The whole gang was off to Wurstfest by 11am and we spent the whole day there. The weather did not exactly cooperate as it was very rainy... a steady down pour with little break. However, we made the most of it and listened to music all day as the bands switched in and out of the tent we chose to camp out in. German food and beer was consumed... the kids had fun in spurts and were cranky in spurts. Emily had a ball and did quite a bit of dancing and she rode a bunch of rides so I think Wurstfest will be lots of fun for her from here on out. Travis and Mary Alice joined us with their daughter Arielle. It is always good to see them. I enjoyed getting in a visit with them too.
The trip home was long but all the kids were asleep by the time we got home. We simple transferred them to their beds and got to bed as quickly as we could ourselves.
I am always overwhelmed with laundry and stocking the fridge when I get home from a trip. I don't know why I suffer anxiety from this... character flaw? So I really need to put my nose to the grind stone and get some work done.
More to come.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
All Saints Day, November 1st
The kids were able to wear their Saint costumes and participate in the procession at church today. My friend Peg took these shots. There was a tremendous turnout. We didn't make it to the alter for the group shot because I was too busy visiting with some friends after mass. ;-) Everybody was happy to have donuts after church too!
Kelly V, Oct. 31, 2009, RIP
My friend Kelly died peacefully in her sleep at 7am on Halloween morning with her mother by her side. I feel blessed to have known her and am saddened it was only for a short time. She shared her faith with me in my Familia class and her love of teaching her boys through our homeschooling group. She battled cancer for 5 years and showed such amazing grace and strength when surely she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Over the past 6 months we got together with our kids a handful of times and I'd like to say I found a kindred spirit. I am saddened that we don't have more time together but I am happy she is no longer in pain. I don't think I've processed my emotions just yet. One beautiful memory I have is when she came to our house with her boys after daily mass. She had told me of her love of espresso so I invited her over so I could make her one. Her boys, Taylor and Blaze, showed us their origami talents and made little hats and boats for us. David was so comfortable around Kelly, he climbed in her lap! We brought her dinner right before she got really sick and Emily was struck by the fact she had lost all her hair. We prayed every night for her and her boys. Emily said she would attend her funeral service with me next week. I hear it may be Tuesday. Again, I haven't processed my feelings but I know I will miss her.
"May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween and A Trip Down Memory Lane
Halloween 2009
Here is Lia in our Tigger Costume. She wouldn't put the hood on. She told me quite defiantly, "No!". I am hearing quite a bit of this from her these days. But she did pose and smile. And, she is awfully cute!Halloween 2003
New baby Emily. What a smiley face she was. We would always say, "Emily smiles with her whole face!"Halloween 2004
Our neighbor Caroline, in Austin gave us this ballerina costume. We spent Halloween in Dallas to celebrate a baby shower for my cousin Nichole.We didn't do much Halloween 2005 because David had just been born... Emily was 2... and didn't want to wear her costume.
Halloween 2006 
Emily is 3 and David just turned 1. Yes, the Tigger costume is the same one. Our poor 3rd child has to rummage through the costume bin... but at least she has choices!
Emily is 3 and David just turned 1. Yes, the Tigger costume is the same one. Our poor 3rd child has to rummage through the costume bin... but at least she has choices! Halloween 2007 
Emily is 4 and in my old Flapper costume. David is 2, but won't tolerate his Giraffe costume for longer than a few minutes. I remember him telling me, quite defiantly (of course), "Off"!
Halloween 2008
Look at all those teeth coming in! I remember that pumpkin was as big as she was!
And 2008, was Lia's first Halloween. I think Emily put together a princess costume from her dress up clothes but I didn't get a picture of that. David was 3 and I remember he expressed no interest in dressing up - which was fine by me. I am quite sure I was feeling overwhelmed that year! Lia got to wear Emma's flower costume... so cute!
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