School is coming to a close for the year

Though my children were quite dissapointed to learn that we are going to be comtinuing part time over the summer.
I was just looking back at pictures for the year to realize just how much every one has grown and how much we have done over the year.
My eldest made her first communion this spring, in many ways it was such a shock, much more so than my 30th birthday. Though that hit my mother hard, her daughters turned thirty and her eldest grandchild started her more adult journey in the church. Wow.

video games and Life?!?

My family recently aquired an Xbox video game system, it has been an interesting thing to have. The kids really want to be absolutely obsessed with the thing which has in turn lead to some very strict time limitations.

Anyway my husband and I have been playing some too, so now some months later we finished one game, and both came away with kind of a "thats it?" type feeling. Rather disapointing I guess. We collected all the "treasure" and unlocked all the "secret" levels, and it was wholely unfufilling. For what ever reason this started a conversation on the purpose of life, and the importance of religion in our lives. Sometimes life seems that way, doesn't it? We rush around to all our appointments and such and make such a big deal out of making more money and getting more stuff, but all the consumerism tends to lead to trouble, in more ways than one I think. First there is always something more to buy, I mean good grief if you listen to the advertisments you need to buy a completely new wardrobe ever single season, I mean really do you *have* to? Though when you live in an affluent area it makes for great thrift store pickings.

I started thinking about the Holy Fathers condemnation of our consumeristic attitutes, and perhaps something like what my husband and I realized is what he ment. Surely not all possesions are bad, but I think it is the letting them control us that is bad. It takes away our free will, and that is what the Holy Father is condeming.

Another year

Another year has come and gone another year older, how the time flies. Especially when you have 4 children and a husband to manage, and some times the husband is more work than the kids.

I just cut my baby's hair for the first time, she was due for as she is almost 2. Thankfully it turned out fairly well. I guess it just seems a little sad as she is the youngest and in many ways I want her to stay a baby. Any way now her hair is all trimed up so it won't be in her eyes and hopefully won't frazzle so badly in the back.



Granny is here visiting and wanted to get the kids new shoes, they are very excited to get them. Both the older girls picked out pink sneekers, and my son wanted to shoes just like Daddy's, the baby didn't really care, but got pink much to her sisters delight.

My Oldest is getting ready for her first communion, and I sit and think about mine and wonder if I was as little as she is, probably. I think my dress would fit either one of the girls.

Children are very funny

Some children have pacifiers, blankets, or bottles, mine have stuffed animals.

My youngest loves her ponies. I know, I know, mama watch out in a few more years the stuffed ones won't be good enough any more. At this time though she is so adorable with them, She rolls on the floor and says "Neigh neigh, neigh neigh" over and over again. She is just in ectasy over this little stuffed creature. Needless to say it is becoming very well loved.
It makes me wonder how long it will last, my almost 6 year old was the same way, just with ducks, and she still has them and loves them. Not to quite the same extent as when she was 2 but very much none the less.

Goals

Goals are somthing that we all need. When you don't have any real goals you tend to wander aimlessly. A list of goals is something that I am working on this week, and I am trying to put in everything from the day to day, to the long term and really what at this point seems completely unatainable.
I have some to realize that we all need goals, and I think that has been a big problem for us over the last couple years. Years ago when we were first married we put together a list of things we wanted eventually, and amazingly we actually succeeded in that list. So maybe we need to do the same thing again, at least it can't hurt.

Cooking

I never really did think that I was going to have to learn how to cook again. Until the Dr told me I needed to take my son off gluten for 3 months. Cooking with out wheat or gluten is rather hard, at least when it comes to baking. The bread I made looked like some kind of pudding inside a puffy crust. Blech, rather gross.
The brownies turned out well though. I seem to have better luck with the backing powder or soda type breads or cakes. I was thinking about trying some Irish Soda bread.

Back to school

initially when my husband mentioned this my first thought was "are you crazy?". This was about 5 years ago and it was hard for a little while but has brought a lot of benefit to our family, particularly my husband. He is the type that has to be kept busy, and when he mean busy he tends to want insane. Not the type of insane that tends to run in a house with 4 small children, he likes the insanity of a packed schedule full of intelectual challenges. So hes been relatively content for a while, but the monotony of work home work has been getting to him again and so off we are to law school this time. I am confident he will get in, but he is hitting the books and really studying hard for the LSAT, which is this coming weekend, it will be interesting to say the least.
So we just have to manage to stay employed for a few more years. Hopefully that will be something we can do, but one never knows with the economy as it is and all the layoffs going on.