February Vacation: Days 1 and 2

The plane ride to FLORIDA!

The first morning at the resort, we went to a breakfast buffet.  The kids were so excited to pick out their own food and create their own omelets.  There was also a random raccoon character and someone making balloon thingies:

We went to Downtown Disney and strolled around:

Woody made out of Lego's!  Some people are so strangely talented!

Looking at the mechanical crocodile/alligator outside of the Rain Forest Cafe:

Just to prove I was there ;)

So Eamon obviously doesn't like Buzz very much ;)

This statue was outside an Irish restaurant.  It's of an Irish poet (whose name I can't recall) so my Irish Dad posed with him:

And J-P had to join in on the action too:

They had quotes from Walt Disney all oer the place, and this one sums up John-Paul's personality to a tee!

I swear my Mom only goes to Downtown Disney to get a sundae at Ghiradelli's:

This was her lunch that day!  Actually we all had ice cream for lunch.  Don't judge, it was vacation!

Dominic's Baptism

 Our friends Andrew and Katie had their first baby, a handsome boy named Dominic, and asked us to be his Godparents. We are so honored!  Two of Andrew's sisters actually had babies all at the same time, so it was a triple Baptism.  Phil's father is a Deacon, so he was privileged to baptize all these little saints.

 Poor Dominic cried through most of it....I think it was the dress ;)  Actually, he was probably just praising the Lord!

Welcome to the Church!  We love you!

Hi Lo: February 18th

HI's:

1) Today feels like Spring!  Ok, it's only going to be in the 50's here, but compared to the snowy winter we've had, it feels so wonderful!!

2) My parents called from Florida (they've been down there for three weeks) saying that it's been in the 80's, so we're very excited to spend our days in the pools.

3) Tomorrow is our Godson's Baptism, which we will be able to attend in MD.  God Bless Dominic! 

4) Sarah is due any minute!!!  Praying for a safe and quick delivery!

LO's:

1) We have been busy planning, packing, and cleaning because we leave for vacation tomorrow at 4 am.  I like to leave the house spotless so when we return with all our luggage, it doesn't seem too overwhelming.  It makes leaving stressful, especially since all the kids are too little to pack for themselves yet.  But I know it will be so worth it in the end.

2) Praying for a friend who suffered a miscarriage.  She has a wonderful outlook on the whole experience, but of course is aching for her baby.

3) I got a comment yesterday from someone suffering from infertility that was hurt by what I wrote about what I believe are immoral ways of having children.  I feel so badly for hurting someone, as that is never my intention, but I also feel strongly about my Catholic faith and beliefs, and wouldn't want to lead anyone astray. 

How were your weeks?  Any highs and lows?

Motherless: A Review

Motherless is the second in a series by Brian Gail, the first being Fatherless, and the third (due out this fall) will be Childless.  Fatherless introduces a number of characters and is set in the Eighties(ish), and then Motherless continues following the lives of those characters in the 2000's.

Let me start off by saying how much I have enjoyed this series.  The characters in these books are normal (mostly) Catholic businessmen, parents and children who are somehow linked to a common Priest, named Father John Sweeney.  Ironic, since that is my father's name!  Anyway, through the journey of this priest, and the struggles that occur in each of the character's daily lives, the reader really finds himself rooting that they make the right (read: moral) decisions and choose the correct path.  But, like so many of us in the real world, that doesn't always happen.  Life gets tricky, situations are more gray than black-and-white and feelings get in the way of distinguishing between right and wrong.

I truly found myself empathizing with the character's choices and consequences of those decisions.  Phil read this book at the same time (we had to fight over who got to pick it up at times!) and we could NOT stop talking about it.  The characters became like old friends.

While the overall theme of Fatherless had to do with contraception and the effects of it, Motherless had to do with creating life outside the normal, morally acceptable means.  So this book deals with IVF, sperm donors, egg donors, surrogate motherhood, embryonic stem cell research and eventually creating the "perfect human" without any need for God's creative design.  The only downside to these books is that if you already "in the know" about these issues, the facts and data can seem a little forced.  However, considering myself  someone who is knowledgeable about these matters, there was still a lot for me to learn.

I strongly recommend this Trilogy to everyone, and don't be intimidated by the length of these books, they are fast and easy reads.  I can't wait until Childless comes out!

I was lucky enough to receive this book in exchange for a promised review from The Catholic Company.

(Sarah has a better review here.) 

Wordless Wednesday: Cravings......Don't Judge!

The Middle

The Middle - not the tv show (which is great by the way) - but I'm talking about middle children.  Right now we don't have a middle child.  We have the "big boys" (John-Paul and Andrew) and "the littles" (Eamon and Maggie).  But when Baby Boo arrives, we will have a definitive middle child. 

Eamon. 

 

And boy oh boy, Eamon is probably the one child of ours that will do poorly in this role.  He already has it hard not being a "big boy" like his older brothers, and instead gets clumped with Maggie all the time.  While the big boys wear uniforms to school, play on various sports teams, can swim without floaties, read books, and are tall enough to go on the cool rides, Eamon is stuck in the group with Maggie that goes to preschool, is too little for sports (except track), needs help swimming, requires books being read to him, and is forced to take naps on the weekend.

He doesn't quite get it, because he's convinced he is one of the boys, and every time he gets left in the dust, he takes it really, really hard.  He also barely ever gets anything new for himself.  He wears hand me down clothes, plays with hand me down toys, and sleeps in one of the old beds that became his when the older boys got a bunk bed.

If I buy someone else in the family a new pair of shoes, or item of clothing that they need, Eamon's eyes will inevitably fill up with tears as he asks, "But what about me?"  I don't know what to do, since I can't buy him a special treat every time somebody else gets something they need.  We try and explain that so-and-so needed the item, and when he needs something, we will provide that too.  But his sad little four-year-old mind just gets wrapped up in the feeling of being left out.  My other kids don't really feel this way, the older boys "get" it, and Maggie is a little too young too care, but Eamon takes it especially hard.

I fear that when number five comes into our family, the middle child syndrome will only makes things worse.  But maybe I am just worrying for no reason (so like me).  Maybe middle children only truly feel like they don't belong when there are three children in the family.  Maybe in a big family, there are a few "middle children" that can bond together. 

I was number 5 of 6 kids, but because my next oldest sister was six years older than me, I felt like an oldest child with my younger sister two years below me.  I paved the way in several new school systems that my older siblings never attended, and nobody knew me just because of my last name.  Yet, when our whole family was together, I was just one of many kids who could sneak by without getting too much attention.  I loved my family position.

Are any of you middle children, or have middle children?  What can I do to help my Little E?  He's such a joy to this mother's heart, and I hate to think of him upset in any way.  Maybe the answer is just to have an even number of children so there is no one middle child ;)