Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday!

Continuing our Disney countdown with favorite family memories.....

This pic was taken at the Toy Story ride in Hollywood Studios.  There are scenes and characters from the movies and targets that are worth different points.  The older kids get competitive and Jay doesn't want any of them to beat him, either!  (You can see from the picture that Jay has his 'game face on!')

Peter doesn't really play the game but he really enjoys the ride.  Toy Story is one of his favorite movies!  

Toy Story has always been a family favorite.  Mike and Andrew always loved, and reminded us of, Woody and Buzz when they were little!  "To infinity and beyond" was the phrase 2 yo Andrew would yell from the top of the couch as he jumped off....and Mike was all wiggly, jiggly arms and legs!

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

We had a great weekend that was definitely chock full!  The most special part of the weekend was the Baptism of my new goddaughter, Evie!  It was extra special since yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday, too!

Isn't she such a little cutie!

Today is a very special day, too!  It is Ellie's 10th birthday!  I cannot believe that she is double digits today!  Ellie is such a sweet and loving little girl.  She loves with all her heart and she wears her heart on her sleeve.  She is definitely the most sensitive of all of our kids!

Ellie has big blueberry blue eyes that are definitely her most striking feature!  When she was a baby, wherever I brought her people were just sucked in by those giant blue eyes!  

Ellie as a flower girl in my sister's wedding when she was 3.

Ellie has always been a snuggler(still is:)...and a Daddy's girl!  

Before it turned darker when she was 4, her hair was super blonde.  When we put it into pigtails, she looked like Cindy Lou Hoo!

Until she was two, the only word she really said was 'da da'.  Let me assure you that she has spent the last 8 years making up for lost time!

It's not easy being Ellie sometimes!  With 3 teenage brothers and a teenage sister, sometimes everyone is bossing her around!  Ellie is so tall that the teenagers forget that she's still just a little girl...chatty, loud and excited about everything.  They expect her to act like a teenager and I'm constantly reminding them of the way they acted when they were Ellie's age and to let her be a little kid!

Ellie loves to play basketball, read, sing(all the time), and do crafts with Sarah.  Ellie and Sarah are very close.  Sarah was so happy to have a sister when Ellie was born!  Having four brothers was not easy!  The girls have very different personalities that sometimes make sharing a room difficult!(Sarah is very neat and Ellie, well, isn't!)  But, overall, they get along very well!

Ellie is the best big sister!  She is so loving with Luke and Kate.  Ellie was the baby of the family for 6 years before Luke came along, but she had no struggles adjusting to her new role!  When I was pregnant with Kate, she prayed to have a sister that had blue eyes like her....and God answered her prayers:)

Luke and Kate both love their big sister!  They seek her out and Ellie is very patient with them!  

Happy 10th Birthday, Ellie!

You are a special little girl and we love you very much!

Hooray for Weekends!

I am soooo glad it is the weekend!  It's going to be a busy one, too!

We are starting with First Saturday Mass, then cleaning, then an Easter celebration at the girls' school, then a little mother/daughter shopping for a couple things for our trip and a special birthday gift for a special birthday girl(more on that on Mon.), then more cleaning and food prep for my new goddaughter's Evie's Baptism party on Sunday!

But nothing gets the house cleaner than throwing a party...and our house is definitely in some need of some cleaning T.L.C!

I hope to fit in a walk today and tomorrow, too....somewhere!  (I will be wearing shorts and a bathing suit very soon on our trip!  Gotta walk off those chocolate bunnies!)

And...speaking of vacations...

This is a pic from 2006.  We were in the Animal Kingdom the day after my sister got married in Disney.  Have I mentioned that yet?  I don't think I did....well, my sister got married in Disney in 2006.  It was quite an experience!  Pictures and story forthcoming another day!

In this pic we are standing outside of the Dinosaur ride with Jay and our 3 goofy oldest sons, my cousins, my paternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather(both in their 80's)...a few more cousins and 2 aunts and uncles were with us, too, just not in the picture.  

I thought it was brave of my grandparents to want to go on the rides!

There is a little back history with this ride.  On a previous Disney trip when we were a 'small family' with only 4 kids:), 'Dinosaur' was a new ride.(Actually, the whole Animal Kingdom Park was pretty new!)   Mike was 8, Andrew 6, Jon 5, and Sarah 1 1/2.  Andrew and Jon loved dinosaurs...especially Andrew.  (If you didn't get to read our Dinotherium story on Andrew's birthday post click here!)

My parents had been on the ride on a trip the year before.  (I told you they are Disney fanatics!)  They said the ride "should be fine for the boys...it's not bad at all!" 

 As we waited in line, I started to question whether we were making the right decision!

So, we get on the "car" with my sister, her future husband and Andrew sitting between them in the front row and me, Jon, Jay and Mike in the back.

Well, it's safe to say that my parents were wrong!  It is a bumpy, fast moving ride with several very loud, very large Carnotaurus dinosaurs...that look like this....

Yeah..not pretty!  I had Jon put his head in my lap and covered his ears!  Mike and Andrew screamed the whole time except for one brief moment when there was a big "long neck" dinosaur next to us and Andrew stopped screaming, looked at my sister and said very matter of factly, "Oh, look, an Apatosaurus!"...and then resumed screaming!

I wanted to buy the pic that they take during the ride and offer to you after to show my parents just how "ok" the ride was for the boys by seeing the look of terror on their faces!  

(Don't worry, they weren't scarred for life and it's become a funny family memory!)

To be fair, Jay and I took the boys on a ride that was way too intense for them at Sea World the first day of that trip, too!  Sometimes rides don't seem so bad when you are on the ground looking up!

Which leads me to a funny memory from that particular trip...We were on the "It's a Small World" ride and Andrew looked at me and said,  "Ahhh...I like this ride!  It's nice and slow!"  

Wrapping Up the Week

It's Friday...wooo hoooo!  I'm so glad to say 'hello' to the weekend!  It's going to be a busy one for sure!  But before I jump into that, it's time to wrap up the week:)

1.  Coloring Eggs

We always color Easter eggs on Holy Saturday.  Usually we do it after dinner, but because of work schedules and the boys serving the Easter Vigil we had to move it to the morning.  It actually worked out better!  I love that the older kids still want to participate!

Kate just wanted to hold the one white egg the whole time!

Peter loves coloring eggs!

Mike proud of his 'creation'!

Luke trying an egg that he had smooshed!

2.  Easter

We were blessed with a beautiful day for such a meaningful celebration!  

It was filled with family, fun, and, of course, lots of treats!

The kids enjoyed their candy but my favorite was the white chocolate, raspberry swirl cheesecake that I made...it's a new recipe, but definitely a keeper!

  

....and here are a few pics from the day!

Jon got his new favorite movie in his Easter basket!

Kate loves her big brother!

pretty girls:)

Sarah excited over her new shoes:)

 ...and Egg hunt fun with cousins:)

Two pretty princesses!

Two busy boys....and Jon:)

3.  Easter Clothes

This is one of the few pics I got of Luke before he ate one piece of candy and got huge chocolate streaks down his shirt!

4.  Funny Mass Moments

So what happens when you take a bunch of overtired, excited kids who snuck at least one piece of candy before breakfast?  Umm..ya...wasn't pretty!  When Msgr. was walking down the aisles blessing everyone with holy water, Peter calls out in his 'definitely not an inside voice'(!)......"JESUS SPRINKLES!"
Everyone around us was laughing..and we couldn't help but smile!  Peter may not understand a whole lot deeply, but I think he understands the most simple truths much deeper than us!

5. Preschooler Talk

Is there anything cuter than the mispronunciations of little kids?  I'm not sure..but Luke certainly had a cute one this week!

We were watching 'It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown' and Luke was giggling like a maniac through the whole thing!  It was making us crack up!  

He asked to watch "Snoofy" the next day and any amount of correcting him to say 'Snoopy' was for naught! So "Snoofy" or "Snoof" he stays for this year!

And, speaking of words......Kate now says 'ya' for yes, shakes her head(and sometimes her entire body!) for no and also started blowing kisses all in one week:)

6.  On Being a Godmother

I have the honor of being asked to be a godmother for our friends', Anne-Marie and Dan brand new baby girl, Evangeline Simone..Evie for short:)  Look at this sweetness!

I am enjoying getting my baby fixes with this little girl!  (Although Luke keeps asking me when we are going to get our new baby!)

7.  Disney Countdown

And...last but not least...I continue our Countdown to Disney with some of our past Disney memories!

This pic was taken in the Norway store in Epcot.  Jon was 12 and Andrew was 13.
Andrew loved the Viking helmet  so much that he bought it and wore it the entire trip!
It has come in handy for many a 'crazy hat' day at the kids' various schools!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Funny Pic Thursday!

Joining in for theme Thursday over at Clan Donaldson....

Today's theme was "Funny"....

...and keeping with our Disney countdown I found this funny picture of Sarah.  She was 8 and posing with her "mean face" with a shield at the Lego store in Downtown Disney.  Sarah is all sweetness on the outside but, watch out, because she is the little sister of 3 older brothers and she can hold her own just fine! 

Five Favorites in Honor of the Disney Countdown

My mom is a Disney fanatic, and every few years my parents invite us down to Disney!

Very generous indeed!

With the final countdown on for our upcoming vacation, I decided to link up with....

and share my top 5 favorite things to do in the Magical World of Disney!

1.  The Magic Kingdom

Okay, I know this is pretty broad since The Magic Kingdom is a pretty big place!  But, out of all four Disney parks, it's still my favorite.  To me, it definitely feels the most "magical" and all the classic Disney rides make me feel a little like a kid again.

My favorite is the Winnie the Pooh ride.   I love the colors and the characters.  Winnie the Pooh will always remind me of Mike when he was a very young toddler.  He loved Winnie the Pooh!  We watched the classic Pooh tales so much that he wore them out!  We would snuggle together on the blanket on the floor of our apartment and watch the Blustery Day until he fell asleep:)

...and who wouldn't want to snuggle with this cute little guy!

A few pics from past Disney trips......

Mike's first Disney visit...at a character breakfast with his favorite!

At a toy store in Disney....I was VERY pregnant with Andrew(obviously!)  and about 5 weeks away from his arrival.
The trip had been planned before I got pregnant...but I can't say I recommend traveling that close to delivery!
Especially since Mike wasn't quite 2 and was insecure and frequently only wanted me to carry him!

Jon and Andrew's first Disney trip!  All dressed in matching outfits:)
Mike was 5, Andrew was 3 and Jon was 2.
I don't think they would wear matching outfits now!

2.  Pool Time

There is nothing better than getting to swim in an outdoor pool when it's still too cold to swim back home.  (Which is actually anytime between September and May really...but it still feels nice!)

My absolute favorite time of year to go away is during February vacation.  Why?  Because it's always so cold here that we are stuck inside the whole week, so going somewhere warm is an extra special treat!  

One of my favorite memories from a trip several years ago was eating dinner in our bathing suits by the pool at around 6:30 on a February night.  It was still light out and very warm!  It doesn't get much better than that!

Even though it's April, Spring has been sooo slow arriving here this year that it will be very nice to be somewhere warm for a week.  Our high today is supposed to be 44 degrees....Orlando is 80!  I.can't.wait!

3.  Restaurants

As a mom who cooks almost every meal from scratch, eating out for an entire week is such a treat!  And the food in Disney is incredible.  Every restaurant has a different theme and different cuisine and you could go back a dozen times and never eat at the same place if you really wanted to!  

We always have the "must have" restaurants that are everyone's favorites.  Really, there are more restaurants that we would like to eat at then there are days of the trip!  This year I think the meals we are most looking forward to are at Le Cellier (Canada) in Epcot...they have the most incredible steaks!

 

Another is Via Napoli in Epcot...such great pizza!

The best thing about Disney for us is that they cater to people with food allergies!  It is SOOOO great to be able to go away for a week and know that Peter will have food wherever we go!

(It's also great that we do so much walking at Disney...it helps to balance out all the eating!)

4.  Fun for All

It's not easy to bring our crew of such varying ages to any one place and all have a good time.  We all have a good time at Disney, though!  There's something fun for everyone!

The best part is seeing how the older kids all enjoy the rides and the decorations that remind them of movies and toys from their "younger days"!  Favorites are definitely the Toy Story rides and the Finding Nemo ride!

It's also great to see how excited the older kids get to see the little ones' reactions to the rides and the characters and all the special Disney touches!  They are excited to see Luke's reaction to all the magic:)

5.  Seeing Something New

I have been to Disney quite a few times since my initial visit when I was 4 and a half.  Disney is always growing and changing!  This year, I am especially excited to see the new Beauty and the Beast castle!  Beauty and the Beast is my favorite princess movie!  I  think I've already shared in a previous post that it came out when I was in high school and I bought the cassette tape(yes, I know that dates me!) and knew all the songs by heart!

One of our vacation nights this year is going to be "girls' night".  We are going to eat at Be Our Guest Restaurant....

...and then shop down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom as all the lights come on.  Enchanting!

Spring Cleaning My Inner Closet

Welcome to the Octave of Easter!

Yesterday was a great day!  Easter ushers in feelings of hope and new beginnings for me.  The weather here finally(!) felt like Spring!  God gave us a beautiful 55 degree day that made the egg hunt at my mother-in-law's house even more fun!  The sunshine and getting to play outside was a big hit with all of the kids!

We got to visit with lots of family throughout the day.  It was nice to catch up with everyone.  The food was good...the desserts were even better!  :)

There was only one disturbing part of the day.  I was watching the Louisville/Duke game with Mike, Jon and my parents and one of the Louisville players had a horrific injury.  He broke his leg very visibly...it's giving me a panic attack just thinking about it so I won't go into any more detail than that!   (It was so bad that CBS banned showing any further replays after the first couple of minutes when the injury occurred.  The injured players teammates circled together in prayer and they were in tears, as was their coach.)

It made me feel awful for quite a while afterwards.  It was so overwhelming that I just wanted to be safe at home.  We had been watching the game at my parents and I just packed up the kids, said out thank-you's and good-byes and went home.  (We had already been there for several hours and it was already 6 pm anyway....didn't want you to think I ran out on family!)

My reaction was obviously caused by more than just viewing the horrific break.  The "incident" triggered feelings of not being safe and tons of fear that bad things happen that are beyond our control.  I feel awful for the pain the player was in and prayed for the surgeon that would be operating on him imminently and for his complete recovery.

It's so hard to think that one moment you can be playing in one of the biggest games of your life and the next you are being carted off of the court with a possible career ending injury.

That's how traumatizing moments happen sometimes.  Life is just going along and them...BAM!...one phone call or difficult results from a routine medical test or a car accident (or whatever) happens and your life changes course faster than your mind can process through the details!

I struggle with fear.  Maybe it's because we have gone through traumatizing moments.....almost losing Jay, having had a sick baby that doesn't survive, and having a child diagnosed with special needs.

You know when you watch a movie and you just know that something bad is going to happen...like a "bad guy" waiting around the corner, or an accident about to happen...and you want to just stop it from happening and yell out to protect or save whoever is about to get hurt?

Sometimes I feel like that my life is like that.  I struggle not to let fear take over that something bad will happen.

I struggle to not let my imagination turn my fears into scenarios where my family is hurt in some way or one of them gets a terrible illness.

I guess being through the trauma of losing a child will do that to you.

My fear is more prevalent right now because we are on a vacation countdown!  Which is great...except for the fact that we are flying.  Flying  is not my favorite thing to do:(

No control definitely equals fear for me!  (In reality, I have no control of anything but it's much more noticeable when you are hundreds of feet off the ground!)

I guess I know what I get to work on for my "emotional spring cleaning" this year and I don't think that it will be as easy as cleaning out my bedroom closet...and that won't fun either!

Sorry if this post is a bit of a bummer:(  I want to just focus on all the hope and joy of Easter but what got brought up is just too big to just ignore.)

In reality, I know that even the "ugly stuff" is a blessing from God because, if I work through it, then the healing and peace will be a special gift.

It's like cleaning out my closet...it's not an easy task.  It's tedious to go through all that clutter!  It can be hard to go through material things that hold emotional memories, too.

But, when it's done...whether it's a real or an emotional closet, everything feels and looks great!