Contemporary Advent Wreath

After being married for over 7 years and complaining how we just couldn't seem to find a Advent wreath that we really liked....Michael decided to make one. Didn't it turn out lovely? His contemporary design mixed with the classic Advent wreath. Too cool. 12.19.09

A visit from Fr. Chiola

What a tremendous blessing to have Father Chiola from Springfield IL stay in our home not one but two times this year! He stopped by and stayed the night on his way to Colorado for his sabbatical in August and then he stopped in on the way back and got to celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas with us.
Fr. Chiola is the wonderful priest who married Michael and I 7.5 years ago and the priest who baptized Isabella. We had a lovely visit and the kids absolutely adore him, asking me "when will Fr. Chiola come and stay with us again?" soon after he left. For some strange reason Dominic found great pleasure wrestling and fighting with the priest while he was in our home. Fr. Chiola seemed to think it was great fun.....I was a bit troubled by his incessant attacks luckily no one got hurt. 12.6.09

Cobweb Christmas: the legend of tinsel

Our first week of advent we always read about the legend of tinsel in several different books that tell the story of how spiders made beautiful decorations on the tree for Christmas. In honor of the three different books that we read we also make chocolate spiders that are ever so yummy to eat. It is a fun way to start off advent every year. Click here for a picture from last year. 12.3.09

Behind is the story of my blogging life

So I am trying to catch up some of the highlights from this summer/fall. I hope to post some of them before the new year so I can start afresh again. We will see. Since this is the beginning of a new year in the church I suppose this could be my advent resolution? Its a thought. I have added some new posts but I have already put them in chronological order so start at the bottom and scroll up to see them all.

Making popcorn garland

Isabella was determined this year to have strings of popcorn on the tree like they do in so many Christmas books. So I bought some dull needles and gave the two kids a bowl of popcorn and some string and amazingly enough they strung the whole bowl of popcorn! We had enough garland to do most of the tree. I have to say that I kinda like it. Except for the giant popcorn explosion mess that was incurred in the process. (nothing the vacuum cleaner couldn't handle) 12.2.09

Poor little, tired, boy

After spending 5 days at my in-laws and a 5.5 hour drive back to be at a family Christmas party and then several hours at a Christmas party, this is what Dominic looked like the next day in the middle of the afternoon. We were decorating for Christmas and putting up the Nativity set when I looked over and saw Dominic falling asleep on the floor. He slept for almost 3 hours (don't worry I moved him to the couch after he was really out). He ended up with a fever that night but was better by the next day. 11.30.09

How sweet is this?

Most of the time the kids do a lot of fighting at night running back and forth between each others beds saying "mom, Dominic is in my bed again" or "Bella won't leave me alone!" So you can see why this is so sweet to find them asleep together especially with the row of stuffed animals above them.
The kids told Michael once that some times at night they like to play "mommy & daddy" Michael said how do you play that? The kids replied: "you just lay in the bed next to each other and snuggle"--pretty sweet. 11.19.09

Dominic is turning 4

To no surprise Dominic requested a Superman cake for his 4th birthday party. It took a LOT of food coloring to get the vibrant colors worthy for Superman....but in the end it turned out good. Dominic was happy even though the icing was bitter from all the food coloring. He was so cute going around all day asking when his party would be and proclaiming "today I am the birthday boy!" I loved it. He was thrilled with every gift he got and went to bed tired but happy as he clutched his light up batman figure while he slept. This morning I watched him force himself to wake up so he could change into his new Superman shirt and go play with all his new toys. His real birthday is Wednesday so we told him he can be the birthday boy for three more days. I can't believe he is really 4 years old! 11.15.09

Isabella the model

Last year Isabella got to be part of Hallmarks Christmas decor in the stores. She had gotten selected to be a model for their photo shoot after we were referred by a friend. Here are some of the pictures that were displayed in the stores. (we asked if we could have them after Christmas and the manager gladly let us take them home). So in case you missed seeing her in the stores last year here is a glimpse of the photo shoot. How sad is it that it took me almost a full year to get pictures taken of them!! 11.09

Pumpkin photography fun

Having a bit of fun with the shutter speed on the camera. The kids think this is so funny. 10.31.09

Gutting pumpkins

The annual carving of the pumpkins. This is the event that I get to photograph and Michael gets to participate....I think this is a great trade-off. This year's jack-o-lanterns were: Batman, Superman and Isabella made a funny face. We even toasted the pumpkin seeds this year! 10.31.09

The Justice League

Who will win the battle for pumpkin of the year? Will it be Superman or Batman? Tough decision but I think Dominic's face says it all! 10.31.09

Happy All Saint's Day Everyone

The kids were so excited about the all Saint's party. Isabella decided weeks before that she wanted to be St. Therese the little flower and Dominic fittingly chose St. Michael the archangel which is one of the greatest REAL superheros out there! He spent days roaming around the house "fighting the devil" and putting him in chains. Gotta love that! 10.30.09

Halloween at the Library 2009

The library is such an important part of our lives, weekly. We have developed a great relationship with the two childrens librarians. Here are a couple pictures from the Halloween trick or treat and story time event. 10.28.09

Trick or Treating the family

Here are some pictures of the kids trick or treating at my grandparents, my parents, Teresa & Dave's. We seemed to make the rounds. That wasn't even all the stops...just the only ones where we took pictures. You have to love the Super Family photo. Can't say that the adults didn't dress up just a bit...that is about as far as I go on Halloween. 10.25.09

Boo at the Zoo 2009

Going to the zoo in October is awesome because the weather is cooler and the animals are more active. We went late in the afternoon this year and we got to see some kangaroos up close--so close that we could see a baby joey in the momma's pouch! We also got to see a tiger playing with a giant red ball. Normally we are lucky if see part of a tiger while it sleeps. I have never seen the tigers so active. The kids had a great time riding on the carousel and the John Deere riding tractors.10.24.09

Happy Halloween from the Super Kids

Here is a picture from Boo at the Zoo the kids had fun trick or treating the animals. 10.24.09

See how they love eachother

It was a beautiful day out and the kids were having a great time playing in the giant leave pile we had made in the back yard. Dominic was dressed as his famous superhero and he was having fun rescuing the neighbors cat from a tree. I was busy purging junk from the kids room to make room for Isabella's new twin bed. The windows were open and the lovely fall air was blowing through the room as I listened to the laughter of my two lovely children. A few minutes later Dominic came in and plopped down amid the stacks of picture books I was sorting through and started looking at them. Then he looked at me with wide eyes and said "mommy can you read this to me? It is my favorite book." How could I deny that request?
So we went on to read the book: "Do you love me little one"
I could hear Isabella outside playing in the leaves calling for Dominic to come and play with her. I was going to yell out that he was with me, but I didn't want to ruin the moment of the story so I decided I would wait until the story was done since it was a short book. She continued to yell for her brother for a few minutes.
The next thing I heard is the sound of doors opening and shutting as she ran up the stairs and into her room. She burst through the door with tears streaming down her face. My back was facing the door so she couldn't see Dominic on my lap as she pronounced "Mommy, I've lost Dominic, I've looked everywhere and I just know he is gone forever! We have to find him!"
At this point Dominic leans around and says "Bella, I am right here!"
With big smiles on both their faces they embrace and laugh. It was one of the sweetest moments ever. To see the sincere love they have for one another was so beautiful. I am always telling Isabella to keep an eye on her brother when they are out playing so she was ever so concerned that she "had lost him" and ever so happy to know that he was safe. 10.19.09

Science Experiment: fun with snakes

Dominic has a great gift for finding all kinds of bugs, worms, reptiles and animals in our yard. I think it is some kind of special gift God gives to all little boys. The do say something about "snails and puppy dog tails" when they talk of boys and their make up. Dominic found a "Butler's Garter Snake" in our back yard and of course he wanted to pick it up and play with it. After I did some research on the internet to be sure it was a "safe" snake I told the kids they could hold it for a bit before we let it go in the back yard.
What a fun science experiment for us! Even Isabella wanted in on the action (which is saying something since she was shrieking so much when the snake was found--since she was convinced it was poisonous and that it would hurt Dominic).
10.19.09