Wow, it's been quite awhile since I've been on here to write. A lot has changed in two months....not only do we have a new little angel in our home (Sapphire Sweetie), but mommy has begun sewing again and that has taken up most of my free time.
Remember my post a couple months ago where I said I was going to give sewing a try? Well, it has developed into a frequent past-time, and by that I mean making gifts and costumes in order to save money. ;)
I'll give a quick re-cap of what we've been up to...
Ruby Red started dance classes in September and is loving them. I have to admit, her eagerness and energy in her class often leave me anxious so I don't usually watch and just let the teachers work their magic, but I think it'll be good for her. She's learning how to interact with other kids and listen to other adults. She's my little "spitfire" so this, my husband and I believe, is essential! She's also becoming moe coordinated, which means less bumps and bruises....well, maybe.
We have also joined a Catholic homeschool group. Our girls are still very young but they're meeting great friends and we've met some amazing families!
Baby Blue is our little monkey and climbing on everything! We cannot seem to keep her off the table, no matter how we position chairs or take them away. Even falling flat on her face doesn't seem to keep her from going back...this right now is my biggest challenge with the kiddos. She's finally starting to realize that time out isn't just a "big girl" thing and isn't as fun as it looks... Baby Blue has also started showing a lot of interest in potty-training, much to my dismay. I have to admit that I'm trying to discourage it at this time (mom fail!) but I just cannot commit to it with a very frequent nursing baby over here. I also don't want to discourage it so that she fears it in the future, so she often hangs out bare from the waist down, sitting on her little potty whenever she chooses. It's very cute, although kinda chilly! She has also been weaned from her binki this week! It was done unintentionally (and at a bad time since daddy left for a trip the day after....) but we couldn't find any of hers and thought "Why not take the plunge?!" So far so good, except for every night at 3 am. I have found that giving her a binki (yes, I eventually found one) with the tip cut off to try to discourage her keeps her somewhat calm and is only given at this ungodly hour of the night! It's very cute to hear her babbling in the car now- she and RR are now competing for who gets to talk the most. Needless to say, Christmas carols are helping mommy block out the competition when it gets to be very volumous ;).
Sapphire Sweetie is already getting so big! She's now in 3 month clothes, is our "chubbiest" baby yet, smiles and talks all the time, loves to eat and loves her big sisters! The older two can often be found holding her and wiping the "pook" (puke) off her face, as Baby Blue declares. Our little girl is extremely intolerant of even the smallest amount of gluten, so our whole family is now gluten free. This took some getting used to but we've adjusted well. A post to come in the future.
The girls were all M&M's for halloween. Ruby Red was St Helena and Baby Blue was St Teresa of Avila for All Saints' Day. I sewed all their costumes myself!
In November my niece turned 2 and I made her a homemade gift. I actually like how it turned out so much that I made it again for Baby Blue for Christmas! A post on how-to will be showing up soon in my children's blog.
Dan and I hosted our 1st Thanksgiving this year, and all gluten-free (including yummy stuffing, pie crusts and dinner rolls)! It went off perfectly and even we were amazed at how smoothly it went. We even had time to relax! Below is a picture of our turkey!
I am almost complete with my mom's birthday gift. My fingers, back and knees are so sore from having to pin the rest of it together on the floor tonight but it's turning out awesome and I can't wait to give it to her. Pictures and details will follow after it's been given to her.
My husband has been on the road (or rather, in the air) for his job a lot. In the past month he's been to Cannes, France; Hawaii; and is currently en route to Ethiopia....yes that's right, in Africa. We miss him more than words can say and are looking forward to having him home for more than a week!
My sister has moved in with us while she pays off student loans. She has a job and is also our "nanny". Sometimes I wonder if she regrets living at the zoo but she humors the girls and plays Ring Around the Rosie and Hide n' Seek countless times a day. I don't know what I'd do without her with Dan traveling so much!
Well, for now that's a pretty good summary. I'll try to write more often. I really do miss keeping track of what we've been up to, especially with our little girlies.
For now, may God bless you this Advent and draw you closer to Him!
Showing posts with label long distance relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label long distance relationships. Show all posts
01 December 2011
21 October 2010
My holy example
Day in and day out I struggle to be a saintly wife and mother. It seems as though there's always some new weakness I have to overcome. It can be discouraging. As soon as I feel I'm getting anywhere there's a new "bump" in the road. One step forward, then a few steps back. My husband encourages me by telling me that he's seen a difference in me since we started dating, and indeed I have changed many dreadful things when I look at the big picture. But impatience, intolerance, my opinions and temper seem to be lurking around every corner, ready to bite the bait and cause me to fall. I hold very dearly to my heart many women of the Church who I feel are tangible examples of how to live a holy life. In each of their lives I find solace and encouragement. And, the even better part is that only one of them was perfect! The others messed up just like me. Well, maybe not just like me; I mean, they are saints after all and I still have a long way to go. But the journey is part of it. How can we be examples to others if they only see us as perfect, right? I will most likely be referring to these holy and courageous women often.
St Gianna Beretta Molla. If you're a Catholic the name may be familiar to you, either very much so or only a little. Growing up I knew her story and thought her life heroic. But this isn't what did it for me. We weren't yet "spiritual friends" per say. I didn't look to her for guidance or think of her almost every day as I do now. A household sister of mine (I'll get into households later on....) bequeathed me the book "Love Letters to My Husband" by St Gianna.
Intrigued I devoured it. And then re-read it over and over and over again. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for such a gift that I still treasure. My at-the-time-boyfriend (now husband) was being deployed with the United States Marine Corps. I was a sophomore in college and struggling. Our relationship seemed continually challenged by guys paying me attention away at school and friends confusing me because, looking back I honestly think they were jealous of my amazing find in dating such a caring and Catholic man and wanted nothing more than to mess things up. It's a long and rather taxing part of our relationship and so I will save the details and lessons learned for only the two of us to know about. His deployment worried us. Would we make it through these months apart? I would be studying abroad for five of the months and so correspondance would pose even more challenging as I missed many of his phone calls because I was traveling that weekend or I had horrible reception or no more minutes on my pre-paid cell phone. Yet this book was my inspiration. It seemed as though, through these beautiful letters of Gianna and her husband Pietro, I was nudged to keep going when I just want to melt in a corner and cry. Throughout much of their married life they were long-distance as Pietro travelled for work. They did the whole long-distance thing with three young children and here I would be sulking when I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world with no children left for me to tend to alone. Although his safety and the question of "us" remained at the forefront, I took comfort in their beautiful letters to each other. I wanted that so badly- a life and family with him, that is. Now, five years this past October 6th of his returning from overseas, after three blessed years of marriage and two beautiful girls later, we are back to him travelling often for work. St Gianna is always my little "prodder" and at the center of my thoughts when he travels. That poor book is dog-eared, highlighted and torn and I love it. I love the exchanges between them. Come to think of it, I wonder why my husband and I don't write handwritten letters anymore. I literally have boxes of our handwritten letters from previous years. Sometimes I would like to dismiss this digital age and all of its conveniences of texting and emails for something much more tangible. Hmmm, something to think about and try to put into practice. For now, I will have to leave my thoughts here as I hear the rustle of the girls waking from their naps. As one last thought, obviously I haven't even touched on the well-known reasons why this woman is so great and has been priviledged with the title of "saint". This isn't merely to teach a religious lesson but rather to share as to why I have such a connection to her. I have posted a link if you would like more information on her.
http://www.saintgianna.org/stgiannalife.htm
St Gianna Beretta Molla. If you're a Catholic the name may be familiar to you, either very much so or only a little. Growing up I knew her story and thought her life heroic. But this isn't what did it for me. We weren't yet "spiritual friends" per say. I didn't look to her for guidance or think of her almost every day as I do now. A household sister of mine (I'll get into households later on....) bequeathed me the book "Love Letters to My Husband" by St Gianna.
Intrigued I devoured it. And then re-read it over and over and over again. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for such a gift that I still treasure. My at-the-time-boyfriend (now husband) was being deployed with the United States Marine Corps. I was a sophomore in college and struggling. Our relationship seemed continually challenged by guys paying me attention away at school and friends confusing me because, looking back I honestly think they were jealous of my amazing find in dating such a caring and Catholic man and wanted nothing more than to mess things up. It's a long and rather taxing part of our relationship and so I will save the details and lessons learned for only the two of us to know about. His deployment worried us. Would we make it through these months apart? I would be studying abroad for five of the months and so correspondance would pose even more challenging as I missed many of his phone calls because I was traveling that weekend or I had horrible reception or no more minutes on my pre-paid cell phone. Yet this book was my inspiration. It seemed as though, through these beautiful letters of Gianna and her husband Pietro, I was nudged to keep going when I just want to melt in a corner and cry. Throughout much of their married life they were long-distance as Pietro travelled for work. They did the whole long-distance thing with three young children and here I would be sulking when I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world with no children left for me to tend to alone. Although his safety and the question of "us" remained at the forefront, I took comfort in their beautiful letters to each other. I wanted that so badly- a life and family with him, that is. Now, five years this past October 6th of his returning from overseas, after three blessed years of marriage and two beautiful girls later, we are back to him travelling often for work. St Gianna is always my little "prodder" and at the center of my thoughts when he travels. That poor book is dog-eared, highlighted and torn and I love it. I love the exchanges between them. Come to think of it, I wonder why my husband and I don't write handwritten letters anymore. I literally have boxes of our handwritten letters from previous years. Sometimes I would like to dismiss this digital age and all of its conveniences of texting and emails for something much more tangible. Hmmm, something to think about and try to put into practice. For now, I will have to leave my thoughts here as I hear the rustle of the girls waking from their naps. As one last thought, obviously I haven't even touched on the well-known reasons why this woman is so great and has been priviledged with the title of "saint". This isn't merely to teach a religious lesson but rather to share as to why I have such a connection to her. I have posted a link if you would like more information on her.
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