Time for some more quick updates from another busy and exciting week with the Bissonnettes!
1. Young Families Ministry- Potluck at the Park
Our (relatively) new Young Families Ministry meets every other Wednesday to view and then discuss Christopher West's Theology of the Body series. It's been a wonderful blessing to meet with other young couples to discuss Pope St. John Paul II's incredible theology of the body teaching while our kids play in a room next door (a local parish is providing free childcare services so that we can have this wonderful opportunity and ministry). In addition, we wanted to organize some fun events to get to know each other better outside the more formal evening meetings where we discuss TOB. So this past Sunday we had a potluck at a local park. Everyone brought food and the kids ran around and had a wonderful time on the playground. Unfortunately a good number of the dads had business that took them out of town or were feeling under the weather (see #2 quicktake), so it ended up being more like gathering of the moms, but we had two valiant dads who were able to make it and who cooked burgers and hot dogs for us all. God bless them!
2. The Stomach Bug
We actually had most of our bout with the stomach bug last week. Mid-week, several of the girls were throwing up. Kayla ended up having to come home from ballet early because she wasn't feeling well and then later that night, Sophie woke up throwing up everywhere. Ava had been sick previously and Elise had it on the other end a couple days after her, so we thought we were done.... and then Chris woke up Sunday feeling awful hence why I took the girls to Mass on Sunday by myself. Additionally, as I noted above, he also missed our Young Family Ministry potluck. Boo on sickness, but so happy that it's over and everyone is feeling better once again.
3. Weekly Update
Kayla- She's mastering subtraction and reads CONSTANTLY. She read all four chapter books in the Grandma's Attic series the girls got for Christmas (and is re-reading them), she is reading about a "new" American Girl (one that wasn't around when I was a girl) named Rebecca, and we discovered a Fancy Nancy chapter book series and she devoured the first one we checked out at the library.
Elise- She's really growing up. She'll be 5 in a couple weeks and she is finally showing more interest in learning her letters. She wants me to "teach her school" and she worked on some handwriting the other day and did an awesome job. I also discovered this week when we were at the park that she knows how to pump her legs on the swings. I guess she's been watching Kayla. :)
Ava- This little monkey has been a bear to get to bed in the last few months. She wants someone to "lay with her" and she can come up with a million excuses why she needs to get out of bed just one more time, but the last few nights she has gone to bed without a hitch. Whatever it is, I'm just glad for a few days of blessedly easy bedtimes.
Sophie- This girl climbs anything and everything. At the playground she is constantly running to climb the stairs to get up onto the play equipment. And just yesterday, she sat down and scooted herself to the top of the slide and went down all by herself. And she hasn't stopped since. She LOVES going down the slides.
4. Mass Box
We received a Mass box to try out for Lent and you may have seen a recent post where I recapped some of the activities we have done so far. At any rate, we are continuing to have fun with our Mass box and here is a sneak of some of the fun the girls had this week painting butterflies (more details in a post soon!)
5. Fun Mail
This week we received so much fun mail. I got a letter from my new Catholic pen pal (I joined a group that a gal I met at last year's Catholic CA blogging conference started) and her daughter also sent Kayla a letter. I'm a bit slow so I haven't yet responded, but Kayla sat down and wrote her new pen pal a nice, detailed letter today. Additionally Kayla received her monthly Ranger Rick which ALL the girls love to pore over when it arrives. I also snagged up some items in an online auction from Happy Nest Home Goods and Annerys Handmade. One is a gift for our newest goddaughter and one is a beautiful knitted (or crocheted?) set of roses to pray the Rosary with little ones. It's an Easter surprise for the girls, so there will be a better picture in a few weeks.....
6. St. Patrick's Day
On the morning of St. Patrick's Day we had a Top O' the Mornin' St. Paddy's Day party with some wonderful Catholic mamas in the area. Everyone brought fun "green" or St. Patrick's Day themed snacks to share and the kids colored some pictures of St. Patrick and played together on the green (THAT was NOT planned) playground equipment. :)
I am really really impressed by Elise and Ava's tracing of the words on the shamrocks because though we do alphabet projects and work on numbers and colors and all sorts of learning takes place as we talk and spend our days together, practicing writing is something we have done almost none of with these two. They are growing up so so quickly!
On the morning of St. Patrick's Day we had a Top O' the Mornin' St. Paddy's Day party with some wonderful Catholic mamas in the area. Everyone brought fun "green" or St. Patrick's Day themed snacks to share and the kids colored some pictures of St. Patrick and played together on the green (THAT was NOT planned) playground equipment. :)
(the St. Paddy's Day party pictures above were all taken by my dear friend, Jacinta)
I took this one!
(also taken by Jacinta...though with my camera...haha)
AND this one! :)
Later in the day we had our traditional St. Patrick's Day meal of corned beef and cabbage and red potatoes and carrots.
This year I put did the corned beef, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot. I had planned to add the cabbage at the end, but totally forgot, so ended up grabbing this recipe to use as a starter to quickly saute up some cabbage. I omitted the kielbasa and just sort of threw the spices in without actually measuring, and it was delicious! All the girls had seconds or thirds....or fourths! And of course, we had our pistachio mallow salad.
Kayla read "An Old Irish Blessing" for us after our usual prayer.
I am really really impressed by Elise and Ava's tracing of the words on the shamrocks because though we do alphabet projects and work on numbers and colors and all sorts of learning takes place as we talk and spend our days together, practicing writing is something we have done almost none of with these two. They are growing up so so quickly!
Not surprising was Kayla's lovely tracing of the prayer. She is nearly done with her first grade curriculum already which is a wonderful blessing. We'll be able to get in some fun review and projects before the end of the year and still be done "early". Yay!
7. Chris and Laura updates
Chris has been applying to a lot of jobs lately--some near, so farther. He is also emptying his current stores of home brews and planning the next batches he wants to brew. Last week when we "lost" Sophie's blanket on a walk, he got to spend time doing one of his favorite (sarcasm) activity of running back along our walk route to find it. St. Anthony came through and Chris found the beloved blanket so that we could all sleep, including Sophie. What a dad!
Last night was my turn to go to the Abbey for adoration (Chris and I have been switching off each week) and I spent some of the time reading Story of a Soul. I was surprised and elated to find that St. Therese had a devotion to St. Cecilia (or as she put it, "the real tenderness of a friend" and had this beautiful reflection that "Her life was nothing else but a melodious song in the midst of the greatest trials, and this does not surprise me because 'the Gospel rested on her heart,' and in her heart reposed the Spouse of Virgins!" St. Cecilia is my confirmation Saint and I have always loved her and her connection with music and song.
