Out and About & In and Reminiscin'

A little weekend recap, shall we?

Eamon went on a school trip to New York City for the day last Friday.  They left at 5am and returned at midnight and had lots of fun but boy was he tired the next day.  Youth is not wasted on my kids, as they are always up for an adventure.  I was happy to be home in my pajamas by 8pm :)

On Saturday, Phil had a Confirmation retreat all day, so the kids picked names for their Sibling Swap that takes place on Christmas Adam (the day before Christmas Eve) and I took the littles shopping to find their treasures.  The line at Kohl's was crazy and I'm reminded why online shopping is so much better.  But we had success and it's fun to have one on one time together and see how they want to spoil their sibling.

Maggie went to a friend's house for a little Christmas gathering, including a visit from St. Nick himself!

I've been trying a new treadmill workout where I run for four miles, but walk for one minute of each mile.  I line up the walks with the commercials in my show that I'm watching and I've never wanted more commercials in a show!  Yikes, it's hard to run on a treadmill especially when they keep the gym warmer than I would prefer.  It's mostly the elderly population that uses this gym near my work and while they're working out in their flannel shirts and pants, I'm over here like:

Sweaty Betty

On Sunday morning, I came home from the gym to see this adorable sight:

JP and Andrew and Declan were creating with perler beads.  We sort of forget about these and then they become a big hit again for awhile.  Look what they made:

JP's Nativity

Andrew's Grinch

JP was feeling very grateful because he had an interview last week for a potential medical school scholarship and he heard back that he got it!  The scholarship is called The Physicians Scholarship because it was funded by physicians in the area who donated to give two new med students $25,000 a year for four years.  Can you believe it?  That's $100,000 less in loans and we are sooooo thankful.  JP is still not 100% sure on what school he will attend as he hasn't heard back from most yet, but this one in Maryland is his top choice right now.

On Sunday night, after a very yummy dinner of Maple Chicken (Andrew's belated welcome home from Europe dinner) Maggie was stressing about her AP Bio test and Phil captured this photo of her three big brothers, all AP Bio graduates, helping her study.  

This is the stuff big family dreams are made of and what I prayed for back in the days of dirty diapers and sibling squabbles.  Those days were hard but the payout is so worth it.  Don't give up mamas!  You are doing the most important, often times invisible and thankless, work.  I see you :)