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.