Valentine's Love

Love is in the air.....

I left Charlie in his play area the other day and when I went back he was gone. I heard laughing from my bedroom and heard these two laughing and snoring- (I'm still getting used to the idea of having kids big enough to pick up a baby and carry him around)-



Is that a happy baby or what?!

For Valentine's Day I got each of the big kids a new book, which they enjoyed.



We read a stories on the life of St. Valentine and colored a picture of him. We made chocolate chip bread for our homebound neighbor and gave them Julia's picture of St. Valentine. Daddy brought Julia a rose home from work. She was so excited- Mommy got many roses (and a spa day!), but Sissybug was so happy to have her one rose and put it in her room. Sweet girl with a sweet Daddy.

Today we worked on Valentine treats for their Valentine party at art tomorrow (yes, it's a late party). Marky made chocolate covered pretzels for his valentines- we just dipped the pretzels in chocolate and then sprinkles- easy peazy.









Sissy did the same thing for hers- but she used Oreos and dipped them in white almond bark- YUM!





Then for the snack for the class we made Valentine Dots. You just put the oven on 200 and melt Hershey Kisses on small pretzels and once they are soft (5-10 min)- you push an M&M on top. So cute and very delicious! (I've seen these done with Rolos and pecans to make them fancier!) Here's Sissy after she put the chocolate kisses on-



Ta-Dah!



Today also happened to be the day we celebrate Tucker's initation into the Church by baptism! He alone got a special cupcake at dinner and we sang Happy Baptism Day to you. :)



Super sweet week over here at A Academy. Weight Watchers- I'm taking this week off. :)

Song Lyrics

Marc and I debate about song lyrics all the time. I have had a good track record, but lately I have REALLY been off. Two examples:

"How Can We Be Lovers if We Can't Be Friends?" by (the man, the legend, the mullet) Michael Bolton

Real Lyrics- how can we be lovers if we can't be friends, how can we start over when the fighting never ends, how can we make love when we can't make amends, baby, how can we be lovers if we CAN'T BE, CAN'T BE FRIENDS.....

Donna's lyrics ".....how can we make love when we can't make amends, baby, how can we be lovers if we CAN'T BE HAPPY FRIENDS.

We were in the car and Marc said, "did you just say "can't be happy friends?" and I was indignant that I was correct. Then tonight....

"Arthur's Theme" by Christopher Cross

Real Lyrics- "When you get caught between the MOON and New York City....I know it's crazy, but it's true....When you get caught between the moon and New York City...the best that you can do is fall in love.

Donna's lyrics- "When you get caught between the ROAD and New York City...."

On this one I explained how the songwriter was a road musician and was always on the road and how obvious that was from the context.... I was just SURE. I got served some humble pie when we googled the lyrics.

This whole situation happened in reverse last month with Marc saying the lyrics wrong, but of course tonight nobody can remember the specific song. The thing is usually Marc doesn't know what the lyrics are or what they mean, and I can't enjoy a song unless I know what it means. For instance, our girl Whitney Houston's song "Saving All My Love for You" is about an adultress- so I can't get behind it even if it's pretty. And couples who dance to "I will always love you" at their wedding- you know that is a breakup song right? I remember going to a 10th grade dance that was themed "Set the Night to Music" and they played the song several times during the night. That song is about one thing- and it isn't about 10th grade. A sample lyric, "Find a rhythm all our own, melt into it nice and slow." Alrighty. And then there's the infamous, summertime easy listening "Into the Night" that we hear every year that begins, "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone they say......". Yes, leave her alone. All I'm saying is that you don't always know what the lyrics are about. And, apparently, neither do I. :)

Weekly Update :)

Just realized I didn't blog much this past week. It's probably because BB and Poppy moved up here Tuesday! We are so excited to have them in town! Charlie had his 6 month check up on Friday he is OFF the chart for length and head size and in the 90% for weight. He is Marc Jr. all over again. Marc found this scene the other day- Tucker had brought his bathroom stool in so he could have a good chat with Charlie-



In other news, Marc started a little boys club (like Julia's Little Flowers) that focuses on virtues- it's called the Blue Knights and its run by all the dads-



Marc had his final basketball game on Saturday and BB and Poppy were here to watch- he got the first goal for his team- we were so excited!



We've now moved on from basketball to lacrosse- we don't know anything about it- but when Marky saw the helmet and pads he was in!



Although- his little brother kind of harasses him at practice- this pic shows how little Tucker is by Marc- it's so cute-



So that's about it for us- I leave you with Sunday pics (the blurry edition)! :)

Almost crawling....and so it begins.....

Little buddy turned 6 months last week and he's already doing the froggy hop accross the floor. The strategy: he gets up on his knees- rocks- then hop! He's pretty proud of himself!



"Hey Mommy- why did you move my toy?"


"I gotta go get it! First- up on my haunches" Rock, rock- Hop!


Ha, ha, ha! I did it- I'm getting closer!


Up on my haunches again! Here I come!


Victory is mine! I have you now wittle toy!


Time to chomp.

Pray for Noah!

Noah has taken a terrible turn for the worst. Watching your sister and brother-in-law endure this long, extended suffering is horrible. Watching your nephew have his happy childhood turned into years of awful treatments only to get worse is horrible. Lord, have mercy on this precious family. From Amber:

My Angels bad cells are growing and spreading throughout his brain – spread a lot since December. My heart and soul are breaking, but our Heavenly Father is keeping me strong. This has been a very hard month, because this is the first time that Noah has taken me aside and said “Mom, I think this tumor is back.” He looked so scared. For the first time. Numerous times. Took my breath away… but I held him and said “No…It’s not, but we are still fighting the bad cells and they are bad, but you are a Jedi.” He also talks about Heaven almost every night. “Mom, what direction is Heaven?” (Thank goodness he still ends with “Are you going to miss me when you are in Heaven?” Praise the Lord!

...

Noah says every night “I love that we are going to be together FOREVER. And you know Mom, hell seems like a really ugly place.” I believe it is baby. God Bless You Noah.

Thank you for your love and prayers. We need them more than ever. Thank you God for holding us up. (Even if I want to fall.) There are no guarantees in life that we will not have pain, but we do have the unconditional guarantee of love, strength, guidance, and more strength. Thank You Lord. My baby.

He is going to start a five-drug intensive treatment to buy time until the Houston experimental treatment is ready to go. Please, please pray for them as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

This, That and the Other

This week has been pretty tame. The biggest news of the week- BB and Poppy sold their house (in 3 weeks no less!)! As in- they don't own it any more- they closed on it yesterday. Mobile's loss is our gain. What selfless parents I have to uproot their whole life to start over where we are! We are beyond excited and thrilled! Thank you BB and Poppy!

We are homeschooling still- even though I don't mention it that much. We've had some exciting feast days recently. Last Wednesday was the "Conversion of St. Paul". The kids loved learning about Saul becoming Paul and how God used him to reach the Gentiles.



Then yesterday we had the Feast of the Purification of Mary (or Candelmas) where she and Joseph took Jesus to the temple 40 days after His birth to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and came upon Simeon and Anna-



Marc has started cursive writing and is great at it- it looks better than his print and he loves to do it. "Can I please do some more cursive writing, Mommy?" "Um...I guess so...if you are good." :)



Julia is doing great in math and adding and subtracting now as well as counting money. She surprises me every day with how much she can comprehend. This year has been her big turning point from baby girl to little girl.



Here's a favorite Julia quote from the week-

"Mommy, when Charlie grows big I want you to have another baby. I love having a baby in our house. It's a blessing." (my kids love babies!)

And one from Tuck Tuck-

Mommy driving car: Tucker can you say the days of the week?
Tucker smiling big says loudly: THE DAYS OF THE WEEK!


As for Charliehorse, he is feeling a big better, although the poor thing can barely breathe. We're doing all we can to keep him comfy. BB discovered while babysitting that Marky is strong enough to carry Charlie around the house. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it. He gets him out of his crib and takes him to the playroom when he wakes up. They are buddies!



And you can see he looks a lot better. Even though he's still wheezy- he can smile when Mommy gets his tickly chins!

Wednesday Report

Well things here have been busy this week. A cousin of my mom's passed away and mom and dad and my aunt and uncle all came to stay at our house and go to the funeral on Sunday. Charlie also turned 6 months old over the weekend! Then the poor wittle guy got bronchiolitis and two ear infections on top of teething. Here's my so sick baby-



I took him to the doctor yesterday morning. I had to take the whole circus with me. I called a sitter who couldn't come and Marc had a meeting so off we went. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did- the two big kids were perfect. Tuck Tuck chatted up the doc through the whole exam- it's just not his style to be silent. :

After the doctor I dropped of the perscriptions and had to wait TWO hours for them to be filled. We went to lunch and then to the park. I forget to take the kids to the park- I'm glad it's back on our radar now-

















Today it rained all morning and the kids grabbed their boots and got to work-







"Mommy, can I sit down in dis water?" "NO- YOU ABSOLUTELY MAY NOT SIT IN THE WATER" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"


"See, I sit down in dis water!" Sigh. (See his face- he's not sure yet how much trouble he's in- he's trying to judge my expression- getting the camera should be a clue that I'm in a good mood) :)