Walking on the Beach

While on a recent family vacation, my ever romantic husband took me for a moonlit walk along the beach. The beauty of that walk was what I needed more than anything else, my husband knew it, and more importantly, God knew it. We stood there with the endless eternity of space above us, complete with the brightest stars shinning with all their might for their Creator. Before us was stretched the unfathomable depths of the ocean. I felt swept away by the beauty that was overwhelming my senses. It has been such a long time I have felt the closeness of God in the power of nature. I stood there being held in the arms of the man I am in love with surrounded, in a powerful way, by the beauty of God's creation. Thank you Lord, for that amazing reminder of how much I am loved by You!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Beach Trip 2009!

1) Touching the sand for the first time...not to sure about that stuff.

2) Just us!

3) Two cute boys in the hot tub!

4) Inside the Lighthouse

5) Getting connected to the water. By the end of the trip, Sam really enjoyed the water. :)

6) Rose Marie and Mama!

7) "Hello!"

8) Wondering...

9) The little family...

My First Project!

For quite some time, I have been coveting the ribbon boards sold at Pottery Barn for Kids. I will go into that store and simply stare at them, wishing I had one for Rose Marie's room. I know she would love it. Finally, I was tired of dreaming and decided that I would not spend that ridiculous amount of money for a ribbon board, so I decided to make one myself. I had so much fun with this project and Rose Marie is thrilled! We are going on vacation soon and she can't wait to print of some photos of her very own and organize them on the board. Rose Marie chose the fabric she liked (pink of course) and I added a few touches of my own to make it special. Here it is!

1) The materials were: an artist's canvas, quilt batting, nails/tacks, fabric, ribbons (of course) and decorative brads.



2) Covering the canvas and batting:

3) The finished product!

The Squire and his...Spoon?

Samuel has become attached to a small blue spoon. This spoon, is now carried all over the house, all of the time. He uses it to bang on EVERYTHING. He hits the coffee table with it, the refrigerator, the Little People, his sister etc. Nap time is now tragic, solely because I do not allow him to sleep with his spoon. Upon awaking, it is the very first thing he looks for. We have come to the conclusion that perhaps it is sword. Maybe this is a boy thing. Whatever it is, I think is absolutely endearing, and hilarious.

Prayer (Again)

I feel as if this is a constant theme for my little blog, but it is something that is on my mind constantly.

With the fall approaching, we are beginning to do "school" in earnest these days. For me, the most important part of my children's education will be their religious formation. I have been feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of this task and my own inadequacies in the spiritual life. There is a large part of me that would rather procrastinate on the religious formation, until my own spiritual life is what it should be.

The reality is that it will never be what it "should" be until after this life. I am so imperfect in so many ways. But a wise mother once said to me, "God gave you these specific children, because He knew that you were the one, who would help lead them to Him. And, they are the ones, that you need, in order to bring you closer to God."

I think I feel guilty that I cannot seem to spend adequate time in quiet prayer. Sam is nursing less, and therefore my quiet, sitting down time is no longer there. I need to embrace, in a more ardent way, the ability to "pray without ceasing." I need to seek Our Lord in the faces of my children. I need to see Him in them as I wash their little faces and their little hands. I need to see His heart as they reach to me for comfort and love. I need to see myself as serving Him, in my little daily tasks such as food prep and laundry. I realize that this is very elementary, but it is something I am ashamed to say that I have lost sight of.

My prayer needs to be a constant looking for and at Our Lord through my daily tasks. I do need to find a way to get closer to Him. I need to accept the enormous task of trying to make Our Lord present to my children, all the while, trying to get closer to His Sacred Heart myself. This is my vocation.

Thank you Lord, for Your gentle reminders.

Watering the Plants...

Rose Marie to unsuspecting Samuel:

"You are such a big boy! You are growing, just like a plant! Maybe we should put you in the bath and water you!"

Mommy to herself: "Keep an eye on that one!"

From His Perspective...

Apparently, nine months is a tough spot in one's life. Things have definitely improved now that mobility has been mastered, but making one's wishes and preferences understood is the tricky thing.

Sam has just discovered meatballs. He is now in love with meatballs. Disgust, aggravation and anger are now regular emotions when he is served anything other than those little balls of ground up meat and veggies. He tries so hard to communicate that, no, a banana is NOT what he wants for breakfast, but meatballs would be perfect. Life is tough that way.

I, the mother, take second place in his order of loves. I come right after meatballs and just before greenbeans. He now follows me around the house calling me, "Mama, Mama, Mama!" Which, I must confess, is rather adorable! He likes to curl up in my arms and "talk" to me. The other day, I was driving around town doing errands when I noticed something constantly moving out of my peripheral. It was Sam, waving at me via the rear-view mirror, trying to get my attention. He waved at me for the rest of the trip. (He also waves at his food when it is cooking, but I like to think that his waving at me had deeper meaning.) The tricky thing here, is that I, the mother, cannot sit in adoration of him all day. I actually have to get things done, which means Sam has to do something other than bask in my presence. Once again, life is tough sometimes.

Despite what he thinks, things are not all that bad. Soon he will understand that food other than meatballs are tasty, and that when Mommy does the laundry he is not being abandoned in a cold, harsh world. Until the, he needs to focus on the happy little things in life, such as being able to sneak up on his big sister when she isn't looking. That always gets a laugh...from him at least.

One of a Kind

There are those people who breeze into your life, bringing with them those seemly lost qualities of a bygone era. Ronald Koenig, my husband's grandfather, was one of those people. He was a man of integrity, respect, hard work ethic and passionate romance. I did not know him long, but for the time that he was in my life, I felt privileged to call him family.

One of my favorite memories of Ron, was at my sister-in-law's wedding. I was only dating my husband-to-be at the time and therefore, felt slightly awkward at such a personal family event. I sat there, at one of the tables off in the corner, eating my cake and watching the family as they mingled and enjoyed the festivities. "May I have this dance?" Ron asked as he stood in front of me, hand outstretched to take mine. I got up and he pulled me onto the dance floor. That dance, was the most amazing dance of my life. I felt as if I had been swept up in the arms of Gene Kelly. He led me around the floor effortlessly, gracefully, full of laughter and smiles. I felt like we were dancing in another time, a time where dances had actual steps to follow and you moved to the rhythms set by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. I have treasured that dance ever since.

This past Friday, I stood with my husband and his family as we buried Ron. He will be missed more than he ever imagined possible. But, those qualities that he was so loved for, can still be found in his children and grandchildren. I am so blessed that his grandson, my husband, looked up to Ron the way he did. I have married a man that was well trained by a true gentleman. Thank you Ron, for the gift you gave me both in knowing you and in having trained your amazing grandson. I am so blessed. God bless you Ron and may you rest in peace.