A Blessed Easter

I sure wish I could say that Easter weekend went off without a hitch, but it didn't. It was a good thing for me that a few days before Easter I read an article discussing how the devil doesn't want us to celebrate the Resurrection, so he'll use every opportunity he can to steal our joy by making us think we've failed if we don't acheive the "perfect" celebration. 

So when I had car trouble on a 600-mile road trip on Good Friday, when two of my outfits for the weekend ended up with major wardrobe malfunctions, and I was missing an ingredient for a recipe for a family gathering, I did my best to just brush it off and not get too worked up about it.  It's only cilantro after all.  My only meltdown was on Saturday when I realized that despite all of my planning, I wasn't going to get away with not washing Mikea's hair.  Washing, combing, and styling her hair from beginning to end takes a minimum of 4 hours, with no interruptions.  And you would be correct to surmise that I've never been able to style her hair without interruptions, so whenever I "do hair" I have to set aside an entire day to get it done. I didn't have that kind of time and for a few minutes I thought Easter was ruined because Mikea wasn't going to have an elaborate hair style.  This is where my super hero of a husband came to the rescue again (the first was on my road trip the day before when he loaded up the kids, drove to where I was stranded, and changed my tire - fortunately I was only 30 miles from home!) He washed Mikea's hair, put 3 of the kids down for naps, and took Rebekah to the store so I could have Mikea all to myself.  After combing out her hair, I only had time for a ponytail - but that's ok, she was as still pretty as a picture. 

All that aside, the best part of Easter was that the oldest three kids finally seemed to understand why we celebrate.  I overheard them at the lunch table prompting each other with, "Jesus is risen!"  "He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!" What a happy sound!  We decorated eggs, enjoyed family gatherings with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and participated in no less than 3 egg hunts!  (Four for Joe counting the one at school.)

                                        

  

                                   

Looking back, it was a blessed Easter indeed!

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans

How do the 500 Babies celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  Well, for starters we made a leprechaun trap complete with instructions for the naughty little guy to disobey (Do NOT climb the ladder!) and money for him to grab and then presumably fall through the tissue-paper top right into the trap.

Presumably.  In the morning we discovered that not only did the leprechaun escape (he pulled the ladder inside the trap and built stairs out of green legos) but we found evidence of much mischief, including a puddle of green glue.

The little leprechaun also turned the dogs' water green and left little green footprints all over the kitchen floor.  At least he was considerate enough to wipe his feet before he walked on the carpet.

The creepiest thing our visitor did was trim his beard in the bathroom.  Mikea was especially disturbed by the bits of beard left behind.  She told me she wanted the pieces of hair "OUT OF THIS HOUSE!"

That evening we dined on a fruit rainbow...

...Pot of Gold soup, all-green salad, and "blackened" sausage.  (Oops.)

Oh yeah - check out Joe's forehead.  I forgot to mention that that crafty leprechaun painted the kids' heads while they were sleeping!

As a footnote to the St. Patrick's Day mischieviosity, this morning I discovered a new pile of hair in the bathroom.  Oh dear.  Oh dear.

 Then, this:
                                  

At first I thought Adrian took the clippers to his own head, but upon cross-examination of all children who are of speaking abilities in the household, it appears that Daniel was the perpetrator while Mikea watched.  Both are guilty in my book.  (But so are the adults for leaving the clippers out - duh!)

Let's just hope that's the end of the mischief, at least for today!

Celebrating the 4th!

It's been a BUSY summer for the 500 Babies!  We just returned from a weekend at camp (more about that later!), and even though we were all still pretty tired we managed to pull together a 4th of July celebration.  I started the day by trying to teach the kids some patriotic songs, but they weren't really into it.  I guess I should have fed them breakfast first.  Hmmm.

The next order of business was to make flags.  It was a little maddening getting everyone to have the proper quantities of glue and correct placement of stripes, but in the end it all worked out ok!

We contemplated making cool firework pictures with glitter, but I'm still getting over the last glitter incident and decided one art project would be enough.

Later on in the day we cooked up a 4th of July feast:  grilled corn, pineapple/chicken skewers, red/white/blue nachos, rocket dogs, and fruit pizza.   

                     

Here's the whole gang ready to dig in!  If you look closely you can see Brad in his regular spot under the table, ready to catch any food that falls his way.  I really owe a lot to Brad and Darcy for keeping my floors clean!

After the meal we headed out to the backyard to pop a few snappers.  Then Dad showed the kids how to draw fireworks on the fence since the real ones were banned. 

                     

My beauties!

All in all it was another great day with the 500 Babies.

God Bless America!

Snapshots of Spring

Even though it feels like all we've done the past 6 weeks is suffer from allergies, asthma, and other sicknesses, we did in fact find plenty of ways to celebrate spring with a little gardening, a little art, and a couple of egg hunts. 

                                

And now, summer's just around the corner! 

Loving Day

Loving Day, as Joe calls it, started off with the creating of Valentine cards for Daddy. 

  

                                
                      
                            

Then I got into a "mood" that I couldn't seem to shake, brought on by a number of things, but mostly expectations for the day that I was unable to fulfill.  Things like Valentine's Day group shots that didn't happen, decorations that didn't get made, misplaced gifts, etc...the "things" that when you get down to it really don't matter. 

Fortunately Daddy arrived home from work ready to save the day and gathered the kids in the kitchen to make heart-shaped pizzas.  And I realized that the good stuff is spending time with those dearest to my heart and how blessed we all are to make these memories together.

My husband also brought me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers...which of course brought a smile to my face.

 I hope your Loving Day was spent with those closest to your heart!

Christmas Preparations

I believe we are almost ready for Christmas.

The animals in the stable have sweetly sung their songs to Baby Jesus. (Though that dove doesn't look too pleased, does he?)

The tree has been decorated and has stayed that way, despite numerous attempts by Adrian to undecorate it.

Family photos have been attempted...

And attempted again.  Not perfect, but much more fun, I say!

And each child has posed for a picture with Santa.

 Now all that's left is to enjoy time with family celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ!

 Have a blessed Merry Christmas from the 500 Babies!