Stop It! Driveway Net GIVEAWAY!!

When my husband and I recall our childhood, there is one major difference between our experience and what our kids get to experience, and that is the joy of freely playing outside. 

I remember running all over my neighborhood, riding bikes to the country store and only coming home when it was close to dinner time.  Our kids, not so much.  We live on a busy street, and if they want to ride a bike, we have to bring them somewhere to do that.  If they want to play outside for hours, we take them to a park or playground so they can have access to sports equipment and wide open spaces.  

Our yard is very small, and as much as we tell them to "GO PLAY OUTSIDE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" we totally understand that there's not much for them to do out there....nowhere to hide, nowhere to ride, nowhere to shoot hoops.  Besides, one of us had to be out there watching as a certain toddler has made it clear that playing with traffic seems interesting.

Finally after six kids, we have made our outside time more enjoyable for the kids and (more importantly!) for us.  We bought the kids a basketball hoop and gave it to them Easter morning.

It's an Easter Basketball!

We raised the net right after this.

She doesn't always swish the ball, but when she does, she's doing it in style.

They love shooting around, and four of them play team basketball, but because we live on such a busy road, we had never gotten one for fear of the ball rolling into the street.  Over time we researched driveway safety nets and found them to be ridiculously expensive, until we found the Stop It! driveway net.

The Stop It! driveway net is a lifesaver, possibly quite literally.  It is a 23 foot long, retractable, portable, bright red net that stretches along your driveway and prevents balls from rolling out, cars from pulling in, and kids from running off.  My husband said it's super easy to put up and take down, and that's quite a compliment!

We now feel so much safer when our gang is outside playing, and the sense of boundary makes them feel safer too.  The wonderful folks at Stop It! are willing to give away a driveway net to one of my lucky readers.  Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A.D. The Bible Continues - A Catholic Guide

(We received these books as a gift from Sophia Institute, and Phil was happy to review them below)

In our increasingly secular society, Christianity continues to be of great interest.  There are those who love Christ, those who scoff at him, and those who hate him.  But there are very few people who are ambivalent towards him.  He continues to be in our time as he was in his time, a “sign of contradiction”.  Even in our society that has moved further from Christ there is still great intrigue about his life and legacy.  We can see this clearly by the fact that NBC is airing a new miniseries dealing with the beginnings of Christianity called:  A.D. The Bible Continues.  Whenever there are major television and film productions dealing with biblical events, it is a great opportunity for Christians to grow in their own understanding of our faith and to evangelize others. 

As my wife and I sit down and watch these episodes, we have found two resources from Sophia Press that will help us understand the importance and meaning of the events we are watching.  Trying to understand the Catholic faith in today’s world is difficult enough.  Trying to understand what it was like for Christians 2.000 years ago is nearly impossible.  In his book Ministers and Martyrs, Mike Aquilina has made the time of the Apostles and the early Church accessible to all his readers.  This book clearly explains the beginning of the Church, the persecution that Christians faced, and the great heroes and saints of that time period. 

The Catholic Viewers Guide by Veronica Burchard will make a great companion to this miniseries as well.  This would be great to use with your family or friends or even with men or women’s groups.  As a high school Theology teacher, I could definitely use this when teaching about the Early Church.  I love how this book breaks down each episode and identifies the time period being covered and the key characters that you will see.  It gives background information, important vocabulary, scripture references and questions to discuss after watching each episode. 

So if you are planning on watching A.D. The Bible Continues, be sure to get your hands on the only Catholic viewers guide out there.  It will not only make the this miniseries come alive, it will also strengthen your own faith by helping you reflect on the saints and martyrs who gave their life to hand it on to us. 

 Order Online at Sophia Institute (25% off when you order the set!)

Easter 2015

I'll let the pictures tell the story because I'm a wee bit tired.  We hosted Easter for the majority of my family (30 people) and it was awesome - everybody brought a few dishes and it was casual and fun!  We celebrated Declan's 1st birthday and my nephew, JP turns 18 this week.  So the oldest and youngest of my parents grandkids (the bookends of 21) got to share a cake.  Good times all around.  Oh, and the Easter Basket(ball) hoop we surprised the kids with on Easter morning was a HUGE hit.  OK, now for the photos....

What We Wore:

Phil's shirt

Colleen's skirt

Boys polos

Maggie's dress

Declan's polo

Declan's 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweetest baby boy today!  You woke me up at 4:30, which is early even for you, but I honestly didn't mind a bit.  I was happy to sneak in a couple hours with you before work on your big day.  Just don't make it a regular thing ;)

You are such a happy, easy, smily, funny baby boy.  You love when I pull out my real camera and mug it up real good.  But the flash always makes you close your eyes because you're sensitive like that.  Then it becomes a game...I say "Say cheese!" and you "wink"...

I found this shirt amongst all my cleaning and purging, and it must have been a hand me down from your cousin, William, because I don't remember any of the other boys wearing it.  When Xander saw you in it, he said "Awwww, wook at his widdle shirt.  I never saw a birthday truck with a candle before!"

You absolutely love Maggie's monkey, George.  As soon as it's within your reach, you are grabbing, hugging, and wrestling him while squealing with glee.

You say a few words - Mama, Dada, more, cat ("tttt"), and UH-OH, that one is a favorite.  You crawl real fast and furniture-walk but are no where near real walking yet.

You love to sleep (except this morning, apparently...but birthdays are exciting!).  You nap from 9-11 and 2-4 and sleep through the night from 7-6 on the regular.  

You are still a skinny little thing, but you are loving some table foods - scrambled eggs, pancakes, muffins, ravioli, peas, french fries (!),  yogurt, meatballs and mashed potatoes.  You say "Mmmmmm" and "More" when you eat.

You haven't had any sweets yet and because it's Holy Thursday, we are waiting until Easter Sunday to have your birthday cake.  Maggie heard this and said "But can we still like, wish him happy birthday and stuff?"  Yes!  And you will get your present tonight - a balloon!  I know, we spoil you ;)

We love you so much, Declan Kolbe, more than we ever could have imagined.  Happy Birthday to our 6th baby - you may be one of many, but you're still one in a million.