A little "EAR"y....

What do you think? Could they pass for sisters with those ears?

They even synchronize nose-picking!

(This was a post that I meant to put up quite some time ago but couldn't get the photo to upload). These two cousins are eerily similar. (Pun intended)

Beautiful Baby Girl!!!

HHHHHMMMMMMMM...

Whose little paws managed this, I wonder?? Any guesses?

There's nothing sweeter...

...than children sleeping like angels. And you never know where the sleeping angels may end up around here.

Speaking of sleep, I'm not sure whether I'm jaded or just more experienced, but the littlest angel is now learning how to put herself to sleep. As much as I think the theory of co-sleeping is blissfully wonderful, I learned from the first two that I end up feeling like a monster after a few months. In one sense it is difficult becuase I really enjoy being close to her and her baby-hood seems to be going by so quickly. But on the other hand, I don't have as many moments in which I feel like I'm going to go absolutely crazy. Motherhood would be perfectly blissful if we never needed to sleep or clean or run errands and we could just sit in awe of our children. But there has to be a thorn in the flesh. (Sigh).

NFP the Catholic form of birth control?

Interestingly, while we were engaged and during the first part of our marriage another couple confronted us with the question, "Isn't Natural Family Planning just the Catholic version of birth control?" This perplexed me and I didn't know quite how to answer. I certainly never thought of it like that before. Perhaps I just needed a few years of marriage under my belt to be able to say, "No it's 'not. It's not at all." (I hope that the next part of this post is not too personal, but I feel compelled to share the beauty of where we find ourselves right now).

With our youngest angel only four months old and with the confusion that breastfeeding can cause with respect to NFP, we've been delving deep into the beauty that periods of abstaining can bring to a marriage. What graces we have been given!! Praise God that He has allowed us to grow so much during this time. At times it has been a temptation to think that couples who use birth control really do have it better. Externally it appears that everything is wonderful for these couples and that their relationship is strong and beautiful, which may be true, especially for those who have not had the Catholic formation we have been blessed to have (a big thanks to our parents for that). However, we've been discussing how in these relationships it's not necessarily a matter of what is, but a matter of what cannot be with the use of birth control, with the withholding of fertility in the union of spouses. In our current situation we've been given the grace to see very, very clearly that NFP is in fact not at all equivalent to birth control. Yes, we are trying to avoid pregnancy, but the approach is rightly ordered because we are using our sexuality according to God's design and not according to our own. All too often we think about our sexuality serving us and our marriage. The Creator of our sexuality in His infinite wisdom knows so much better than we do. He has better plans for us than that. It's been extremely powerful to pray that our sexuality be at the service of God and that it always be pleasing to Him. This has certainly not been easy, and of course sexuality is a very important part of marriage (which is why we are now learning the Creighton method with the hopes that we can be a bit healthier about abstaining). However, there is far more beauty with a rightly ordered sexuality than this poor culture of ours can even begin to understand. I hope that we can be God's vessels to share with others the wonderful joy that it is to use His gifts as they were designed to be used.

Trick or Treat

SO PRECIOUS!!!!!!

There is not enough time in the day to kiss her!!

(*I'm referring to the baby in this picture!)

Our budding chef

Though we thought the play kitchen would be a bigger hit with Little Angel #1, LA #2 has been spending lots of time "tooking" marvelous recipes for us. My favorite so far is the "cucumber tea" he served me the other day. (Notice his football pajamas...It's nearly impossible to get them off of him, he likes them so much.)

Apples, apples, and more apples

We finally got it together and went apple picking yesterday. It was an enjoyable little field trip and the drive was absolutely beautiful. Oh, how we long to live in the country. Little Angel #2 is totally in his element among the corn fields and orchards.

Now I have to figure out what to do with all of the apples. I've made apple butter and apple crips and I haven't even made a dent in them.

How about that sign? The owner of the orchard has quite the sense of humor. We spent half of our time there just shooting the breeze with him. What a character.

Moments when you know it's all worth it...

As we were loading everyone in the car this morning for mass, LA#1 said, "Look Mommy! I see the stars!" Yes, we did go to 7am mass this morning. As I was frustratingly thinking, "Daddy, please do not sign up to lector this mass next year!" (Okay, maybe a few explicatives included). I, thankfully, had a moment of grace, which was definitely NOT upon hearing a voice on EWTN radio say, "Whatever the suffering you are experiencing, compare it to the eternal glory which is to come." I was still internally grumbling and pouting at that point, but I did eventually settle down and get the picture as I was reminded that God is not outdone in generostiy. And it's true. His faithfulness was proven to me later today when I had the opportunity to nap for three hours (yes, I DO have an amazing husband who made this possible) and I had a nice long walk. Not to mention, ALL of the clean laundry is put away. Looking back on the day, which started at 5:30 am with three crying children (It was not our intention to go to mass together today-I would rather have been slumbering peacefully), what sticks out in my mind is the tangible realization that the sacrifices of parenting are worth it... the moment that we went to visit the Blessed Sacrament after mass and LA#2 said, "Ook, Mama. Ere's Esus!" (Look, Mama. There's Jesus). Well, their sweet little good-night kisses certainly helped too.

Airmail

I was sitting in the recliner the other day when LA #1 shot by me, making a hasty line to the front door with three torn pieces of half-scribbled coloring book pages. Just as she was about to step outside I asked her where in the world she was headed. She turned around slowly as if to indicate her disbelief at the fact that I had dared to pose the question. "Daaad! I need to put the mail outside so that the garbageman can take it to A and G!" (A and G are two of LA #1's little friends who have since moved from the area.) After setting the old man straight, she turned, stepped onto the porch and proceeded to throw the papers into the air. Satisfied that her "mail" would now reach its intended recipients, she stepped back inside and went back to the kitchen table to color, leaving her befuddled father shaking his head.

Snips and snails and puppy dogs tails...

This picture was meant for my last post, but I had problems uploading it.

That's what Little Boys are made of!!

My son is getting ornerier by the second...

If you've every wondered what "snips and snails and puppy dogs tails" referred to, look no further!! I can tell you.

Drawing on walls. Climbing on the back of the toilet to reach into the cupboard with the cleaning supplies. Moving chairs to the fireplace to grab candles off of the mantle. Taking books off of the shelves and spreading them all over the house. Putting the clothes I've just folded in the diaper pail. Eating highlighters. Drinking water from the bowl that had pancake batter in it and has yet to be washed. Climbing the shelves of the bathroom closet-unfolding towels along the way. Taking drinks of milk and spitting it out on the floor instead of swallowing it. Exploring what the toilet is used for..."Mommy, you mean I'm not supposed to put my feet in it??" Climbing in baby sister's bed while she's sleeping. Biting baby sister's toes. Climbing to the top of the play kitchen to "play the drums." Taking dirty dishes out of the dishwasher to the sunroom to "play" with them...

...If you need further description, please let me know. There is more!

Heaven help! :)

Adorable

Isn't cuteness just oozing out of her??

Enjoying her big brother!

Well, LA #2 still has a long way to go as far as not making his little sister cry, but we did capture some moments in which they were both very much enjoying each other's company. We have the classic belly blow, a nice smile from LA #3 during a game of peek-a-boo, and a very loving kiss from LA #2.

Birthday celebration

Last week we celebrated the Blessed Mother's birthday with a rosary made of cupcakes. Everyone had lots of fun with this project!

She doesn't even miss us...

It's Wednesday and LA #1 is still with Grandma and Grandpa and having so much fun!! Picking apples and pears, taking care of the animals (dogs, goats, cows), swinging on the swingset, playing marbles with her uncle and riding on his shoulders, picking on Grandma, learning how to ride a bike. Wow. Now I will be more inclined to let her stay more often. I'm sure she's enjoying a break from her brother's constant pestering.

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down

This past weekend we traveled out of town to celebrate my father's 60th birthday and go to a family wedding. LA#1, as you know from my previous post is a lover of all things having to do with weddings. This one was particularly exciting for her as it was Cinderella themed. There were glass (well, plastic) slippers everywhere, not to mention the ice sculpture castle and the castle wedding cake. She had a BALL (pun intended). Though she used to be a Mommy clinger, she is little Miss Independence now, which is actually kind of nice since I was able to socialize a bit. Upon our arrival at the reception, she immediately found the flower girls and a few others and was playing Ring around a Rosy, much to the delight of the photographers who thereafter neglected the rest of the assembly. Unfortunately, the bride will have her fill of pictures of our daughter, and we will have none since we foolishly left the camera behind.

It was nice to take a little trip out of town. Once we got home I realized how much good it did me to get away from the house for more than just a few hours here and there. I'm exhausted, but in a good way. I feel relaxed and ready to rest in spite of all the messes LA#2 makes while I nurse. We all know they will still be there tomorrow, and even if I did pick them up, they would probably end up there again. So, I'm just going to kick up my feet for a few days, especially since LA#1 is still at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She is having a blast, and I am enjoying a rather quiet house. LA #2 was ready for an early nap today. I sighed a happy sigh of relief as I sat down to take a snooze myself, but to my dismay, half an hour later, he was screaming. Ugghhh...well, maybe he'll take another nap later, and if not I will coax "Aunt Taytay" to watch him while I take a nap. :) That's the beauty of a built in sitter!! Ahhhhh.

Her fair share

My apologies for the lack of pictures of LA#3. It seems like we are taking pictures of her a lot, but to tell the truth, they just don't seem to do justice to her utter cuteness. At any rate, I've tried to pick some of the best shots to give her the attention she is entitled to for being the cute, snuggley butterball that she is. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?? For those og you who have never met her, I posted some pics of when she was first born so that you can see how much she's grown.

Hangin' in There

Whew! It's been 8 weeks since Little Angel #3 arrived...already 8 weeks! These little ones grow so fast! I'm beginning to understand more and more the passage of Genesis in which God tells Eve, "In pain shall you bring forth children." I always thought this applied to labor, which of course it does, but every day I grow in my understanding that pregnancy and labor are just the beginning of that pain. The daily little crosses don't seem extremely painful, but they are crosses nonetheless...lack of sleep, little ones making messes while I nurse, fighting, screaming, teething, disciplining a stubborn 3 year old and an impulsive and physical little boy. What gets me is that in the midst of all of this and the chaotic state that I feel my home is now in, these darling little ones are growing and changing so quickly that I can hardly grasp it or really appreciate their littleness, their complete trust and openness, and the time that I just get to spend with them. I'm finding that sometimes the greater pain is not so much in the sacrifices that must be made, but in the fact that in my own busi-ness and even my sinfulness I forget to enjoy them, or worse, I don't want to enjoy them because I just want to get the dirty dishes out of my sink. I'm thankful for the freqent realization that this time in which they are little will pass so quickly, and I try to embrace this time. On days (which are many) in which I struggle greatly with being patient with them or with the frustration of not accomplishing the housework I wanted to tackle, I tend to forget that the time will be gone before I know it. I never realized that motherhood would come with so many little heart-aches, right now the greatest of which is coming to the end of my days and reflecting on the ways in which I put myself before them and how that clouds my vision and my ability to love and serve them as I ought. But, thank God for His mercy and His grace which is sufficient and is getting us through. And I keep reminding myself that there will be another time to put the house back in order and I will get more sleep. It just doesn't have to be now, so I'll just hang in there until that time comes and focus on the fact that when I come to the end of my earthly journey, I want to offer God the Cathedral of my children, not my house.

End of summer Fun

Sniff, sniff. The end of summer is drawing near. Here are a few pics of some activities we managed to squeeze in before the end of summer. Parish picnic, a trip to the beach, backyard wrestling on the freshly cut lawn.

Big Brother

So cute! He loves his little sister!!

He also loves his hoodie towel, which is a bear. It's a dog to him, though.

For the record...

This is how the room full of toys looks when Mommy is finished wih it.

Oh the cute and funny things they do.

Cramped

How everyone from Daddy's family must feel on an airplane.

My Little Brute

Whereas LA #1's favorite activities involve sugar and spice and everything nice, LA #2 can be quite the brute. In recent visits from his one year old cousins, he had many a time out for his unruly behaviors consisting of shoving, tackling, face-smacking, and ripping things out of other little hands [eds. note: LA #2 also has delivered clotheslines to his male cousin, WWF-smackdown style]. I've considering calling up Charlie Weis to let him know that he is ready for training now. And yet, he is my dear boy, and I'm grateful to be his mother. It's such a privilege to love him the way only a mother can.

My Little Bride

Sometimes it's a bit challenging to live with a 3 year old, and in fact I find it more challenging than those "terrible two's." For better or worse, I cannot remember what it was like to be 3, and I barely remember anything about the age of 4-except that I never wanted to part with my mother. However, I try to remind myself that I should try to see things from her perspective. Like most other mothers of 3 year old girls, one of the things I understand least about her is her sense of fashion. I've resigned myself to taking her out in public in things that I wish I never allowed her to wear. For the most part, I'm no longer embarrassed by the things she wears, but Sunday Mass was interesting this week. She has a beautiful white dress that is reserved for wearing only on special occasions. We ended up letting her wear it this week as we had already had plenty of battles during the process of getting ready for Mass. She, of course, looked quite darling in the dress...it was the veil that got me. She was intent upon wearing it into church. (It is a piece of white, sparkly fabric that she uses for dressing up). She waltzed right into church, veil draped over her head and all. We got some looks that were a little harder for me to swallow, simply because that's the last place I wish to distract anyone or turn heads. Little does our associate pastor know that this get-up was all for him and that she believes she is destined to marry him in spite of our gentle bubble bursters that as a priest he is already taken. At any rate, she does talk an awful lot about marriage these days. "When I grow up I'm going to get big and get married. Then, I'll have a HUSBAND!" "I'm too little to have a husband and daughter, but I'll get bigger and then I'll have one. I'll have babies after I get married." (Boy, I'm relieved that she already understands that concept...marriage comes first.

Little Angel #1

Overjoyed at having a baby sister!!