Abbie has 3 little stuffed dogs that she has been playing with the last few days. As she was playing with them this morning I asked her what their names were. She told me Jack, Maxie and Paddie. I didn't think anything of it until Bill said "isn't that funny?" It took me a minute and I realized what he was talking about. What's even funnier, is that I don't even call them Maxi pads!

Good news and bad news

1. The air conditioner in the van is fixed, and it cost us $0.00. I guess sometimes it pays to have a Kia with a 60,000k mile warranty on everything! I am running errands today just so I can enjoy cold air again!

2. I do not like earthquakes...never have and never will, unlike my husband who thinks they are "fun." The 5.4 the rocked us yesterday has me wondering if every big truck that drives down our street is the rumble of another quake. I screamed yesterday when it started and scared the kids, so I think I have damaged them forever. My neighbor even came over to make sure we were ok because they heard me. I was quite embarassed :(

3. My sister is leaving in 6 days for North Carolina :( I am so sad that I don't even want to discuss it or think about it. My entire family is going to be so sad. I will be going with Adeleine out there and flying home with my parents to help move her in. The kids will miss her terribly, so will Bill. I almost can't quite comprehend her not being here.

The many faces of Adeleine

I thought it was time for a few pictures of her. She totally melts my heart!

Memorial of Sts. Joachim & Ann

God of our fathers, you gave Saints Joachim and Ann the privilege of being the parents of Mary, the mother of your incarnate Son. May their prayers help us to attain the salvation you have promised to your people. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Spring cleaning in the Summer

So after swim lessons and a play at the park, this is what I will be doing the rest of the day. Cleaning both the kids rooms and washing and organizing Ada's diapers. We have been working with the kids on cleanliness. You would never know though! I think the problem is too much stuff! Part of my cleaning will be purging a lot of junk. I am tired of tripping over plastic princess shoes.

Happy Belated Birthday.

Happy (a day late) Birthday to my wonderful husband. There are not powerful enough words to describe what he means to me and our family. He is my best friend. He is Abbie's hero. He is Jameson's baseball buddy. He is Adeleine's snuggler. He has a faith sustains him and encourages me. I am so blessed just by waking up next to him every morning. I love him dearly!

Thumb Suckers & Alters

My little Adeleine has found her thumb. I know the comfort she is feeling after being a thumb sucker for 13 years! I have mixed feeling about her choosing this way to self-soothe, but I don't think there is much that I can do about it. It does make my life a little easier :)

Keeping me busy these days has been planning our family alter after reading this. It has taken a lot of work, but has been a neat little project for Bill and I. It will be a very special place when we are done. Abbie was kneeling in front of the crucifix this morning praying and talking about how today is Friday and we are sad because Jesus died on Friday. I am so glad that she now has a place to do this so reverently. I am stoaked to go to church Sunday, after attending a different church on Sunday with Bill's family, I realized this week that I felt like I was missing something and I wanted to go to mass. I realized that it was because it has been almost 2 weeks since we had been to Guasti. I never realized that going to mass and receiving communion was such a big part of my life...only 2 more days!

Beach Pics

We went down to huntington beach last Saturday with my parents and my sister and let the kids jump in the water and had dinner, it was a great night!

Quiet

Adeleine and Jameson are sleeping and Abigail is playing quietly in her room. I feel like I can finally take a deep breath and be alone with my thoughts. I was able to take a shower (something that hadn't been done in 2 days) and answer a few emails that I was neglecting.

This time I have had to think was mostly spent pondering my parenting and discipline style. In my homeschool/AP playgroup a discussion got pretty heated and some feelings were hurt. Someone is leaving and I really enjoyed her company and AWESOME childbirth advice (she is a Bradley instructor). I will be sad to not see her as often :( I have learned that how I choose to parent and discipline my children is ok. It wasn't what some would do, or what they wanted to hear, but it is working for us. Our own childhood and relationship with our parents spills over into our adulthood and influences how we are with our own kids (be it a good or bad thing.) Fortunately, my parents were/are great! I love them both dearly and have nothing but great memories and experiences thanks to them. I want to create that with my kids. My parents did not give me whatever I wanted at all. I learned that things were not important, people and relationships are. I hope that I can teach my kids like my parents did me and my siblings.

I am going to go look through the catechism, I have a few questions rolling around in my head.