Our Magnum Opus

St. Nicholas 2020

Lydia helped decorate a double batch of gingerbread St. Nick cookies.

If you live at home, you still get a wooden shoe filled on St. Nicholas Eve.

 

The Good Bishop himself made a vigil visit to the our grandchildren and friends at Cottonwood.

The Feast Day landed on the second Sunday of Advent, so we had the usual gathering of the clans to celebrate

Beautiful mama

Like her siblings, Idalena had her first home bath in my kitchen sink. (The chrism oil smells so good, one waits till the holy aroma is gone to bathe the newly baptized.)

Easter 2018

Beautiful Easter Vigil Mass

 

Christmas Baking

This year we are baking a few of our regular treats and trying some new grain free, sugar free recipes to keep Kevin and me on plan over Christmas.  Our regular treats are: snickerdoodles (because the younger kids love them and can do them by mostly themselves), buckeyes (because... well, yum), gingerbread for St. Nicholas Day, and traditional fruitcake (because my husband asked).  Also whatever is gifted into the house.

I baked a cake and two pumpkin silk pies, chocolate cookies, fudge, cranberry wassail, eggnog, cranberry sauce (I did both,regular and sugar free), low carb sourdough for the stuffing, and keto rolls.  All on plan for Kevin and I, good for the children, and, so far everything tastes very good!

I can't imagine not baking for Christmas so I'm grateful to be able to bake and cook food that is actually nourishing, and also celebratory!

 

 

Christmas Tree 2017

an over zealous chaperone

the baby cut the tree down :)

Victory!!

Miriya and Shelagh

 

All Eight Children

All of our children learned to read from the Little Angel Reader series. I loved the snuggle-on-the-couch-teaching-reading times.  OK, sometimes there were tears of frustration and sometimes the poor child had to follow me around the house while I worked so I could hear the reading lesson, but I loved every bit of it.  Lydia, the baby, just finished her last lesson in the series.  She is ready to move on to chapter books!

Lydia's first chapter book will be Little House in the Big Woods. (Lydia and her sweet friend, Cordia, as Mary and Laura)

The Retirement of the Dress

All four girls wore this dress sand veil for their First Holy Communions, and usually a Mary crowning, and Corpus Christi procession.  All four.  Glorious memories. Today Lydia wore it for the last time.  I'll have it professionally cleaned and stored.  Maybe one day a granddaughter will wear it.
_{excuse the enormous, blurry picture.  i cropped it down and can't seem to resize it.}

Feast of Corpus Christi

Our parish does a wonderful Corpus Christi procession.  This year we were blessed to share it with our two new priests; our pastor Fr. Tom, and a visiting priest, Fr. Joseph.  All our men were on canopy, Dominic served, Blaise sang, and Lydia strewed flowers with the other First Communicants.  (We are an organizer's dream: one phone call and you get all four canopy bearers, roughly the same height. LOL)

The Divine Praises
Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy.
Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. Amen.

Lydia's First Holy Communion

"Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him" (John 6:53-56).

The Sunday before her First Communion, Lydia sighed happily and said "This is my last Sunday that I can't receive Jesus." 

Her First Holy Communion was a beautiful, happy day regardless of the torrential rain.   The Mass was a family affair. Kevin J. and Alex ushered, including holding umbrellas over the first communicants as they came up to the church from the basement where they had assembled.   Blaise and Regina sang in the choir loft, and Dominic served.  After Mass, our parish hosted a beautiful reception for the families.  Even the rain kindly stopped and the sky generously cleared!

waiting to process

she is so happy!

with Fr. Tom

our last First Holy Commion

with Grandma and Granddad

with the fun loving aunts, Angela and Erica

The doll's dress and veil were made by Grandma for Monica's FHC, it's been well loved, and all the girls have dressed their special doll in them for their special day.

Mr. and Mrs. E., the FHC class teachers and two of the best people in the world.

her good friend, Sean and Dominic the photobomber

her good friend Ruth

Lydia is Eight

Well, almost 8.  Her birthday falls on Ash Wednesday this year so we celebrated the day before.  Lydia's last few months have been busy! :)  at the Haye's traditional Valentine's party, sipping punch far left

learning to ride a bike

a fresh, clean soul after her First Confession at Old St. Pat's

birthday manicure

Regina baked an amazing strawberry (pink lady) cake

 

Christmas Eve

I changed tradition this year and served lasagnas (one red meat sauce and one seafood) instead of meatballs for our Christmas Eve dinner.  Most of us don't appreciate it when I try to change any tradition, but they liked this change!  After dinner we had the first plate of cookies and exchanged the secret Santa gifts among the children.  After dropping off those who were serving Midnight Mass or in the choir, the rest of us visited grandparents till it was time to return to church for Mass.

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

the stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

you can see a few Advent books are still wrapped, those are really books for a few of the 12 days but I hadn't thought to wrap them in different colored paper

Secret Santas...

Monica knit Kevin a scarf.  You would think at their age I could get a nice smile for the picture!  LOL

my new favorite picture of Alex

Kevin J. gifted us with this beautiful nutcracker!

my new favorite picture of Regina

 

In the stillness before Midnight Mass... All is calm, all is bright...

_{photo credit: Ben Eriksen}

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!