A Handful of blessings

 I know I haven't talked about changing the name of my blog in a while, so here it is.  After much searching (via your suggestions which were great!) I found that a lot of blog names are taken. But one was perfect.

 A handful of blessings

 I wanted to share this with you first, b/c I had a situation at Walmart this week that really shook me.  I have never been offended when people stare at me at the store or say things like "wow, your hands are full."  I know that 99.9% of the time, people are really just noticing my beautiful children and don't know what else to say. 

So I have to admit, on the last post I realized that the fishing pic was of Jude and Thomas, our friends son, but I loved it so much I kept it up.  Here are my boys!

 I mean seriously, I only have 4 children.  It's really not that many at ALL!

 My response is always the same, and I stole it from someone else.  I hate that I can't remember the article or the mama that wrote it - b/c it is well worth reading.  I always smile and respond with "thank you, a handful of blessings for sure."  My children know that they are a blessing from God, a gift, and they know that I know that also!

Hey Jude!

like I said, I'm not put off when people say stuff.  Most people down here in the south are actually usually really sweet and are truly just being nice and saying hello.  And anyone who knows me, knows that I don't mind attention.. and neither do my children.

Stephen had a blast skiing, he never got all the way up - but he didn't care!

 But this past Wednesday we had a rough morning.  By the Grace of God we made it to daily Mass, the kids were pretty good, but then we had to drive to daddy's work to help him out and then back again to Walmart (we live in the country so we were in the van for a bit before getting to Walmart).  That begin said, the kids were wiggly, it was a rough morning, I'm sure I was looking a little frustrated, and "you've got your hands full" comments were coming out of the wazoo.  

 But what got me was this: two moms decided it was their place to truly let me know how they felt.  One with a "man, I thought I had it bad" comment that my children heard, and the other with a very nasty look.

This is Abby's kinda skiing! 

 It is what it is, and it was a rough morning, these moments just made it harder - and yes at some point I cried. 

Poor Abby, mommy thought you wanted to go a little faster :(

 But why tell you all about it?  See at the end of the day, crazy, loud, rough, joyful, whatever it turns out to be, my family is a blessings and that's that.  I feel that way to the core of my being, and I make it a point to let my children know everyday how amazing they are and that God gave them to us as a gift.  Every once in a while I need a reminder of this.  I need to step back, in the midst of my frustrations, negitive thoughts, and desire to just have a "do over" for the day, and remember that God gave me each one of these miracles for a reason.  

This is captioned "ahh, guys I think I just got up on one ski on the wrong foot, let me take a minute and switch to the other and show you how it's really done ;0"

So that's the deal, you wanna let me know that my hands are full, and I'll remind you that they are full of blessings!  And if I ever get my credit card near my computer I'll actually buy that web address and officially launch it! :)

Not that it's any surprise that I won't blog for a bit, but I will be out of town for a family funeral.  Please pray for the repose of the soul of my Uncle Bob, he has been sick for a long time and died very peacefully Thursday morning.  Thank you for your prayers!

Do you remember me?

 At the beginning of the summer I warned you that I would not be blogging very much.  I was hoping that I was wrong; but I was not!

 This has truly been a crazy busy summer!  Full of old friends (technniqly Alan calls this guy his "new" friend b/c he moved to vancleave in 6th grade)

 Alan's 20 year high school reunion (we didn't have to drive far :) )

 Silly re-do's of pictures from childhood

 More silly times with childhood friends 

 Royalty came to visit us also!

 they brought their own security :)

 Maybe not - haha!  Love this!

 And we have spent some wonderful moments together as a family!

I promise to get back on my blogging... I hope!  I hope I have something inspiring to write about, something you might want to read.  We'll see!  Until then, God Bless!

The gift of summer

 There is such a beauty about summer, longer days, the smell of chlorine, and tons of ice cream!

 I can tell you as a fact, we are making the most of this summer.  Having Stephen at school this past year has made this summer just a little bit more special.  I love having all my babies home, I love letting them stay in their pj's just a little longer, and I love, love, love, not having to rush home to get Stephen off the bus. (b/c he's already with me of course!)

So what I thought was going to be a very lazy summer, full of playing and eating ice pops, has actually turned into a very, very, full yet fun summer.  Once again please excuse the lack of blogging, summer is calling and this family is out and about camping, swimming, playing, and hanging out together!

A surprised blast from the past!

At the beginning of the May we were blessed with a great visit from a dear friend

That visit turned into a wonderful, last minute reunion with some amazing women.  I love when this happens, I have made some great friends here in Mississippi, but watching my children play with the very same children they've played with since birth, gone to Mass with, prayed with, well that's pretty neat.  Especially when we thought we would possibly never see a handful of them again.  

I could go on and on, but the biggest thing I feel I want to share is this:

There will hopefully be some vocations, religious, holy marriages, and by the Grace of God saints in this group(and this is only four families, and not even all of them)  That is amazing!  Living in Mobile was such a gift for me as a young mother, I was able to surround myself around women who spent their lives striving for holiness.  I watched them, sat in their kitchens, absorbed them, and learned so much- what it means to be a Catholic mom.  

I also know that it is not easy to make friends, good, true friends; whether your a child but more especially as an adult.  I have been blessed.  In Mobile I met and made some amazing friends, and now in Mississippi I have become apart of some amazing families.  God is soooo good!

So embrace those that are in your lives now, and prepare for those that God will place in your life today or tomorrow.  You never know what God has in store for that relationship!
Happy Summer!

"May" the force be with me!

 So that was a really bad play on words, but May is the busiest month of the year around here!  This family has been blessed with so many things to celebrate this month, so excuse me for my lack of blogging (or trying to stuff as many things into one post as possible).  This month Alan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!  The day after celebrating mothers day at our house with my children's amazing grandmothers (no pictures there I was to busy sitting down and enjoying the day!).  

And though this post is really going to be about Stephen's 6th birthday extravaganza I had to point out my sillines.  See when picking out outfits for special days, that I might actually get a picture taken of me, I should choose different outfits.  That's right folks, not just the same shirt or shorts or even shoes in this pics, the same entire ensable.  But to be fair, that shirt is sooooo cool - and our anniversary and Stephen's birthday were hot and I didn't want to be uncomfortable!  That being said, here is the evidence for the entire world!

 See after 7yrs of marriage Alan and I finally took an entire day for a date!  longest time alone together since Stephen was born!  We left after the school bus took Stephen away and returned home to tuck everyone in bed and kiss them goodnight. It was a beautiful day in Louisiana!  We visited Oak Alley Plantation, then spent the afternoon walking around New Orleans.  Thank you Alan!  

 I like that outfit Jess!

 So my sweet Stephen turned 6 Saturday!!  I can't believe it!!!

 And we had a blast!!  I've mentioned before that without Pintrest I would not be a creative person.... well this party is the proof!

 These cookies were the inspiration for the entire party.  Yes, Stephen loves Star Wars.  My brother actually "gave" Stephen these cookie cutters a few years ago - I looked at them and laughed!  I knew there was no way I would ever be able to do it!  But Valentines day, with the help of my dear friend Trish (who shared her mother's famous sugar cookie recipe with me) I had the confidence to do a test run!  Well, they were great then and I decided then and there Stephen was having a Star Wars birthday whether he liked it or not!

 So idea in mind I searched good ole pintrest and lo and behold there are some craft moms out there with some really cute ideas!  I couldn't help myself when I saw these "light saber's"  soo stinkin cute!!  I found these here. 

 This, and a few other activities, were brought to you from Kara's creative Place.

 The kids had a blast, and so did I!  Our little Jedi training camp was absolute success   Alan was a huge help, he made all the Light Sabers! Thanks again daddy!!  

 Even the littlest Jedi had fun!   Of course, how could you not have fun with light sabers you are actually aloud to hit someone with! :)

Now that I have procrastinated enough this morning, I should really get dressed and make sandwiches for Stephen's awards celebration and brunch....that's in an hour :)  Happy May!  There's still more celebrations for this family (my birthday of course!)  haha!  

Running on a prayer

So, Sunday night did not go as usual.  It wasn't the worst night ever, but it's been a long time since I have been up with a sick kid.  Long story short Cecilia was just couldn't stop coughing to the point she was having trouble breathing.  All is well, but she did not want to be without me.  So Alan found us past out on the couch the next morning. 

So what does a delirious mom do?  Take three kids for a 3 mile run......b/c that makes since. It took a bit longer than usual to finish that run/jog whatever you want to call it, so these three where very happy to be released at the end!

And that's all I got :)

Five Favorites!

So I'm a little behind the times this week - but I promise I'm here and since my brain seems to be working on a very minimal level these days I am more than happy to link up with Hallie at Moxie Wife for Five Favs!

So here we go!  

1) Bubble Machines!

Well, this picture doesn't do my children's joy justice.

Some dear friends of ours gave this to the twins for their birthday and they just can't get enough of it..... and neither can I.  "Oh, EVERYONE, you're screaming and cranky?  The sun's out for 3 sec... go turn the bubble's on"  Yep, mama likes saying that!  

2) This man

 Yep, that's my man!  The one joyfully smiling at me as we have a moment in the midst of craziness, the one that I will be more than happy to share with you why he should be #1 in this post, yep that man!  And I will wait to share his awesomeness until later.  We do have an anniversary coming up and I don't want to spoil his awesomeness for anyone. :)

3) Pintrest

I am sad that I got on this bandwagon late.  I feel like I am actually a creative person now. :)  haha Again, I am working on a project for Abby that I can't wait to share with you.  I just need to get some pictures and tweak it.  

4) Nap time

Just kidding

Things have gotten a little rowdy at our house during nap-time   Jude started climbing out about two months ago, but I was able to "train" him out of that.  Then this week...Jude started again, and Cecilia followed suite, meanwhile if they do stay in their cribs (like at this moment) they just throw all things out of their cribs, laugh, and play with each other through the cribs....

And Abby is doing her best to no longer sleep.  So I guess we are embarking on a new stage, not sure how I feel about this!

5) First Communion

I love watching young children receive Our Lord for the first time.  They are so nervous and excited at the same time, they know this is a very special moment in their lives.  My prayer is that I, and all of my family, will approach the Holy Eucharist like these 2nd graders every time we receive Him!