Siblings

We have entered into a brand new phase of the sibling relationship here. I love being able to see this unfold! I feel so blessed to watch God's handiwork and see why He choose these two little personalities to enter into this little family specifically. I know I will never fully understand it, but occasionally I catch a glimpse and I am so grateful for whatever His plan may hold for us.

The art of "playing together," is becoming a regular, and even fun activity for everyone. I love watching the games the two of them come up with now. Samuel brings fresh fun to old games for Rose Marie because he plays so differently than she does. They even have inside jokes now and I love hearing the crazy laughter that floats out of their rooms.

The most interesting thing I have noticed recently is how Sam's fearless nature and Rose Marie's cautious nature complement one another. They are unknowingly tempering the other one's natural tendencies. Samuel has a new game of climbing on the couch, yelling, "Three!" and then jumping/falling off. Luckily, cautious Rose Marie, gives Mommy a fair warning or she is next to him and holds his hands so that his fall is a little less painful. She is always there guiding him and gently ensuring that his little escapades don't end in complete disaster. On the other hand, Rose Marie has always had a fear of the vacuum cleaner. She has always been so fearful that she has to be sitting on her bed, with the door closed while I vacuum the rest of the house. Needless to say, vacuuming has not been high on my priority list, because it is always so hard for me to see her be so frightened. Yesterday, thanks to Samuel, we had a HUGE breakthrough! Unlike his sister, Samuel has no fear of the vacuum and he follows me around the house watching me and blowing me kisses of encouragement. Low and behold, I turned around yesterday to see Sam AND Rose Marie holding hands and following behind me as I vacuumed. I was shocked! I asked Rose why she had come downstairs and she said she wasn't afraid anymore because Sam was with her. (Yes, I bravely held my tears back!) Sam did what I couldn't. In his innocence, he had given her courage. Thank You, Lord for the blessing of such different and beautiful little personalities! I am so blessed to be an observer of Your plan.

P.S. I am thrilled to finally have cleaner floors on a regular basis! Thank you Sam!

Fridays

Daddy's Work

My amazing husband, turned to me this weekend and said, "I have an idea of a work I want to make for Samuel." I sat there, stunned, and then said, "Okay!" So we all got ready and went out to "The Man Store," a.k.a Lowes. It meant so much to me that Jake wanted to actively participate in putting together a Montessori inspired work for the kids! He knows that it is something important to me and he knows that I try very hard to make my materials as economical as possible, so it meant the world to me that he wanted to help. Here it is:

Needless to say, Sam LOVES it! He sat there forever putting it together and taking it apart. I was really amazed at how he was able to put the sizes together correctly. It is also pretty amazing watching those little fingers deftly twist the screws in place. I think it made him feel pretty manly. :)

Refreshed!

I am so eternally grateful for the man whom God choose for me to be with. As sappy as it may sound, I do believe in soul-mates. Thankfully God led us to one another. It is incredible how after 41/2 years of marriage we are still best friends. I think it explains why I feel such a vacuum in my life when he is gone. This past weekend we had plans to go and "do things" together...get out and reconnect. That never actually happened because time flew by just being near each other at the house. We didn't watch TV or a movie, we didn't go out, we simply enjoyed being together. It is amazing how after that much time together we still manage to fill an evening with laughter, amazing conversation and fun. I was reminded again why we focused so much on the "friendship" aspect of our relationship while we were dating. I am so glad we did. Thank you Jake for being the man in my life, and especially for being my best friend. I love you. God is so good!

Not Feeling the Fun!

Okay, so here is an honest I-am-just-having-a-hard-time-with-this post. :) I miss my husband, my kids miss my husband, I don't feel fun after 5:00 pm, I really miss talking to an adult especially after 5:00pm and just blah! There I said it! We have been having good days, lots of sunshine, playtime, good food and dancing, but I just feel his absence...especially around dinner time. Sigh. Sorry for complaining, but it does feel better to get that out there. :)

Prayer Buddy Revealed!

Thanks to a lot of encouragement from my sister-in-law, I decided to participate in Lenten Prayer Buddies this year. I have been so blessed by this!

First of all, I feel so humbled to have had "Frustrated Musings of a Seemingly Calm Gal" praying for me. Your prayers have been incredibly powerful for our little family. I feel like those prayers must be where this peace is coming from. I had been so worried about this time apart, but we are more than a month in and the peace is still strong! That alone, has been more of a blessing than I could ever express! Thank you!!!!

I was blessed to have been able to pray for Kate, over at Chasing Joy! During the first part of lent, I thought of her often and I felt like I just wasn't able to pray enough for her. It was hard to find the time to sit and pray a rosary, so I simply began offering up my days, my chores, difficult moments, especially times I was missing my husband for her. I think my heart all but fell out of chest, when I read her post that she is pregnant!!!! Congratulations!!!! I am so excited. I definitely began praying harder and I promise to continue to do so. Grow baby, grow! I have a little package ready to be sent your way, I hope to get it in the mail this morning. God bless!!!

Washing of the Feet

We slowly read the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Then, Mommy had the privilege of washing these delicious little toes! Look at those chubby little things! (And they got a few kisses as well)

Then these big girl toes, curled up in anticipation of the water. :)

Holy Week

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being Catholic! I love being Catholic in this Lenten season. Honestly, this year's penances that I intend to keep were fairly good (I wasn't as good as I wanted to be) but more importantly, by God's grace, I am feeling closer to Him. I realize that this has NOTHING to do with any of my efforts, and this nearness is pure gift, and I am incredibly thankful it!

Palm Sunday was one of those Masses for me, where I felt so near to Our Lord. This was due in large part, to my husband volunteering to take newly-walking Samuel out during Mass. Rose Marie and I were able to be there together and that is ALWAYS precious. I was so grateful for the opportunity to sit and listen to the Gospel and then the Homily and to actually be both physically AND mentally present during the Consecration. I know that every Mass is grace-filled and I am so blessed to have children to chase around outside of Mass...but occasionally it is an incredible gift to sit in the Presence of Our Lord and speak with Him. So, thank you to my amazing husband for giving me such a great gift on Sunday!

Rose Marie, has once again led me through this season of Lent. It is the little ways that she views things that gives me pause, and makes me see our faith through her wonder-filled eyes. For example, she has her "Station Matching Work," but she affectionately calls it, "Mary's Work." She calls it this, because to her, the most important parts are the stations that involve Jesus and Mary together. These particular ones, touch her very deeply. Her little flower vase, that we began on Ash Wednesday, is full to the brim with beautiful flowers! I didn't know she would take to that with the enthusiasm with which she has. I have to admit that there have been a few Fridays that have come, and I did not exactly "feel" like doing Stations of the Cross. But Rose Marie looks forward to it with so much excitement and after we do the Stations together I am always blessed beyond measure from her reflections. So, to you little daughter, thank you for being my guide this Lent! Truly, you are my angel, leading Mommy gently by the hand closer to Jesus. Thank you!

I hope you all have a prayerful, grace-filled Triduum! God bless!

P.S. The photos above are from my Junior Year in College, when my future husband and I were in Rome for Holy Week. The memories from that Holy Week will be with me forever. The first photo, is of Jake and I with our brothers who came to visit us, sitting on the steps of St. Peter's after the Easter Vigil. The second, is a photo from the Sacred Steps...the same steps that Jesus walked up when he was condemned to death. The last photo is of all of us at the Coliseum for the Stations of the Cross led by Pope John Paul II. Such amazing memories!!!