My baby's feast day

Augustine as depicted by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480

Today is Gustin's feast day, the feast day of his patron, St. Augustine. I've been praying for St. Augustine's intercession a lot over the last few days. Not just for my baby, but also for certain politicians who are using St. Augustine to try to rationalize moral atrocities.

I'm so glad that we named Augustine after this great doctor of the church. I admit, I had some reservations at first, but it's so cool that such a great saint is Gustin's patron.

It's silly, I know, but I feel a little intimidated praying to him. I mean, he's one of the big dogs. It would be like calling up Pope Benedict and asking him to pray for Gustin when he has a cold. I feel like I shouldn't be bothering him over such a little thing. But, I have to remind myself that the saints aren't limited by time and space, so there is no reason to not just ask away, even for little things.

St. Augustine and his beautiful mother, St. Monica, please pray for us.

Picture of the Day: I hope you have one of these hanging around your house, too

Disturbed

**UPDATED at the bottom**

I just saw a video clip of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi over at Mary's Aggies a few minutes ago. I am so upset and disturbed by it. Speaker Pelosi is asked in an interview on Meet the Press when human life begins. She dances around giving a definitive answer, of course, but during all her dancing she says that even the Catholic church doesn't know when life begins. She says that the issue has been debated across the centuries by the doctors of the church who couldn't agree on an answer. She even says that St. Augustine said that life didn't begin until three months after conception.

What?!?

I'm am so angered by her lies and misrepresentation of Church teachings that I'm having a hard time forming my thoughts into coherent sentences right now. I just want to scream! And then, I want to cry...

Equally disturbing is the clip of Barak Obama's thoughts on when human life begins. Apparently, he has no idea. Don't you think that if you don't know when human life begins, then you should err of the side of caution given that if you are wrong you would be committing murder? The fate of human lives hang in the balance.

Ugh! I feel another need to scream coming on. And, some more crying. But, most importantly, I'm going to pray.

**Update:
Check out Danielle Bean's synposis of the response of several American bishops to Pelosi's comments. I'm so glad that our bishops are speaking up so clearly and quickly on this issue.

Picture of the Day: Tongue of concentration

My latest favorite movie

I know that I am not the most up to date on the entertainment world. Dan in Real Life came out in the theaters last year and on DVD last spring, but I just recently found this gem of a movie. It's funny, sweet, and wholesome with a quirky family and honest struggles.

I've rewatched this movie several times now (I'm the type who watches her favorite movies over and over again until every line is memorized). I absolutely love the interactions of the family. The grandparents are still parents to their children, even though their children are parents themselves. The grown siblings get along and encourage one another. Old fashioned values are the rules of the house. The young children teach their parents about love and life.

There's also a sweet love story about learning to love again after losing a spouse and some great humor is throughout the movie. You really don't want to miss the impromptu sing-a-long. I find myself singing "Ruthie 'Pigface' Draper" in my sleep.

So, as you can tell, I highly recommend this movie. It's perfect for a stay-at-home date night with your spouse.

Picture of the Day: My Sweetie

Elizabeth generally does not like to get her picture taken. She rarely both looks at the camera and smiles at the same time. I had to beg to get this shot, but I absolutely love it! I adore her sweet little smile.
Too bad this picture isn't "portraity" enough to count for her 4 year old portrait. I don't think our lawn chair is a very good background. But, I think I might get a print of this one anyway.

Here's another favorite taken the same day.

I've found that pictures of kids seem to turn out really well if I have them look up at the camera like in this shot.

Hmmmm... I can't decide if this one is "portraity" enough or not either. Maybe I should get a print of it, too? Decisions, decisions. I love it when the problem is that there are too many good pictures to choose from!

Daddy is away

Eric in on a plane right now on his way to San Francisco. From there he will go to Japan and then on to Singapore. He has business meetings through the week and then will come home on Friday. For those of you who travel or have husbands who travel, you know how grueling it is to have to travel so far. It will take him more than 24 hours to get to Singapore.

I would really appreciate prayers for Eric during this trip and for me and the kids while we go it alone for a full week. I really wish he didn't have to be gone over a Sunday. It's just not right to not be together as a family for mass (plus it's much more difficult to not have the extra set of hands!). I think I will be relying very heavily on the Blessed Mother to help me get through this week! I think Eric and I will both be having great adventures this week, however different they may be.

Picture of the Day: Why Daddy is more fun

Eric was in charge of watching the kids while they were outside again.

I guess this is why the kids like playing with Daddy more than they do with me. :)

Day doo

Gustin is doing the cutest thing these days. Though he babbles a lot, he doesn't really say many actual words (my kids don't seem to start talking until closer to 18 months). But, one thing he does say is thank you. Whenever we hand him something, a sippy cup or toy for example, he always responds with "day doo," his version of "thank you". It's too cute and he does it every time. I don't know if he picked it up because I am constantly reminding the big kids to say thank you or because I tend to say it whenever Gustin hands me something. Either way, I'm loving it! I hope he is always this polite!

First day of school

It's that time of year again. Jonathan's first day of first grade is tomorrow. His school is starting a good two weeks before any of the other schools in our area.


But, Jonathan is sooo ready. He met his teacher yesterday and found out that his best friend is in his class. He got a new backpack and loaded it up and his uniform is laid out and ready for the morning.


Of course, I'm not ready for him to go back yet.

But, it will be fun to walk him into his classroom tomorrow and snap a few pictures of him at his very own desk for the first time. It will be even more fun when I open up all my pictures in photoshop and they are full of this big smile.

Maybe then I won't miss him quite so much.

Mouth full of metal

Jonathan got a whole mouth full of metal today, his new appliances on both the upper and lower arches to fix his underbite and crowding issues. I was going to take a picture to post, but honestly, it's just not all that pretty.

The orthodontist said that his speech will be slightly slurred for about a week. We were to expect him having trouble with pronouncing the letter "s".

What has actually happened is that his speech is completely slurred. It sounds like he has a sock in his mouth when he talks. I can barely understand him. I hope it doesn't cause him too much trouble when he starts school on Thursday.

Jonathan is pretty nonchalant about it. He thinks it's all pretty cool. Besides, he's already reassured me, "Don't wuwwy Mommy, I can stiwl burp!"

Picture of the Day: Do you think he wants something?

Off to get the big kids

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I liked it so I'm posting it anyway. :)


I'm off to pick up Jonathan and Elizabeth from their grandparents this morning. This week has really gone well. After getting over the initial period of missing them and getting used to a quiet house, Gustin and I settled into a nice routine. We've played together and gone on walks. He's taken awesome naps. (Generally he's not a very good napper and I'm starting to think that all the noise his siblings make might be part of the reason why. With a quiet house he's done great!) And, I've gotten so much done around the house. I completed some of those "one of these days when I have a little spare time" tasks. You know, when I get some good time to focus, I'm really not all that bad of a housekeeper!

Eric and I even when out to dinner one night and then did a little evening shopping. Even though Gustin was with us, it still felt like a date. Compared to what we are used to, having just the baby was easy.

But, I'm so ready to see my big kids again and to hear all the stories of everything they did this week. I hope they talk my ear off on the drive back.

Any prayers for safe travel for all of us will be greatly appreciated. I'm always nervous when my kids are on the road without me (I'm meeting my mother in law halfway, about a two hour drive away).

Saint Christopher, pray for us!

Blogiversary

Does that title make any sense? I was trying to combine the words blog and anniversary because my one year anniversary of blogging is coming up in a couple of days, but I think most of you probably read that title and said, "Huh?"

I started this blog to help me cope with some of my struggles with being a stay-at-home mom. I needed to be able to connect with other moms and faithful women. I needed to be able to voice some of my difficulties and concerns, things that my introverted nature often prevents me from doing with my "real" friends. I needed an opportunity to be inspired to live my faith daily and to make my home into a nurturing and loving environment for my children. I needed an outlet for some of my creative energies that had been mostly suppressed by the demands of life.

And, looking back over the past year, all those needs are being fulfilled. Some more perfectly than others. But, blogging really has been a blessing for me. I love writing this blog and reading the blogs of so many inspiring women.

So, thank you to all of you who have been on this journey with me. Thanks for your friendship, encouragement and support. I'm a better mom today than I was a year ago.

God bless you! All of you and your families are in my continued prayers.

Rainy day

We're back from a great trip to see my parents. We had a great time and, believe it or not, it wasn't even hot! My hometown even got the best rain they've had all year while we were there. It was wonderful!

On the drive home, we dropped Jonathan and Elizabeth off at Eric's parents' house and they are going to stay for the week. They were so excited and had the biggest smiles possible on their faces as they waved good-bye to us as we pulled out of the driveway. It's hard to cry about leaving them when they are so incredibly happy!

So, today is just me and Gustin. And the rain. Tropical storm Edouard has made his appearance so we'll be staying indoors and watching the weather.

It's funny because I feel like I've been transported back in time about 5 years to when Jonathan was a year old. Back to the time when it was just him and me all day long. It's wonderful to be able to give Gustin some good one-on-one time like Jonathan got, but it's also lonelier and much quieter around here than I am used to. Oh, I miss my big kids already! But I'm not. going. to. cry. Even though the day is wet and gray and far too quiet...

I better go grab Gustin and get a big dose of his smiles to chase away these blues that are coming on. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Picture of the Day: Squirted

Sorry there haven't been any real blog posts lately, just a couple of pictures of the day. We're off tomorrow to visit my family in west Texas for several days. Hopefully we'll have a great time. One thing is for sure, though. It is going to be HOT! Try to stay cool, everyone. Even if you have to resort to squirting each other down with a hose!

Picture of the Day: Girl with the Ballerina Dress

I love this picture of Elizabeth. I'm trying some new techniques with post processing my photos and I kind of like this desaturated look.

It took me a while to put my finger on it, but I finally realized why this photo struck me so much. It reminds me of the Vermeer painting, the Girl with a Pearl Earring. My book club read a great book in which the author created a fictitious life story for the girl in that painting. A movie was also made based on the book starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. I recommend both. But, being the book lover that I am, I think you should read the book first and watch the movie second. But, that's just my opinion. :)

This mouth...

... is going to cost us a fortune!

The orthodontia has begun.

Jonathan's dentist recently recommended that we take him to an orthodontist for a consultation. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but Jonathan has an under bite. It's not as noticeable since his bottom front teeth fell out. I always knew orthodontia would be in his future. But, I thought that the orthodontist would tell me that it would be far in the future. He's too young to do anything now, he needs his permanent teeth first, etc.

I was wrong.

He needs two appliances, expanders on the top and the bottom, plus an extra contraption to push his top teeth forward. Not only does he have an underbite, but his teeth are very crowded and there is no room for the big teeth to come in. We have to act now because if we didn't they would have to pull permanent teeth in the future. Yikes!

What really surprised me though was the price tag. It's costing us more than my four years of braces cost my parents. And, he'll probably still need braces when he gets older.

This is just one more reason to be thankful that Elizabeth stopped sucking her thumb. Maybe she can avoid some of this. But, with the history of orthodontia in my family, probably not.

I need to find room for another line item in our budget: orthodontia.

Picture of the Day: Swinging feet

Tuggling

That's Elizabeth's word for the wrestling/tickling/jumping/pillow fighting/rolling on the floor/craziness that the kids do with their daddy. Elizabeth says, "Daddy, can we tuggle?" and off they go. They clear a big space on the living room floor and then all four of them get after it. Even the dog jumps in sometimes.

It's a blur of motion, very noisy and apparently, lots of fun. I wouldn't know, I make a point of just being an observer of the chaos.

Um, Eric? (squeals and laughter) I think you need to help the baby. (yelling and grunts) Eric? Can you hear me? (no response, more squeals) ERIC! GRAB THE BABY!

OK, sometimes I do freak out a bit and cringe and hide my eyes, but somehow no one has gotten hurt yet. And, despite the look on Eric's face, he's actually enjoying himself.

He would never pass up an opportunity for a good tuggle.