Kelsey's 1st Birthday

This past weekend we went down to my sister's house for an "intimate" gathering of 60 of Kelsey's closest friends to celebrate her 1st birthday. Now, I must pause and admit that we probably had about 40 people at Brian's first birthday party - but most of them were adults since we all know that your first child's first birthday party is all about you, right?

Lou's mom made Kelsey's cake. It was absolutely darling - and tasted even better to boot! There was a ton of yummy food (with only 1/2 a ton left over), and the boys had a great time running around with the 22 other kids at the party. Brian certainly wasn't shy. He made fast friends with an 8 year old boy. They were out leading the "pirate crew" on the "pirate ship".

Now that Kelsey is starting to walk, she and Colin are going to have much more fun together. Their 8 month age difference is becoming less dramatic. It's going to be so much fun watching them grow together.

Happy birthday, Kelsey. We love you!

It's Here!

So, the super secret project that Chris and I have been working on for my friend Elizabeth is finally here.

I know she is totally embarassed to have her name in lights, but I'm proud to introduce...

Elizabeth Foss.com

Chris and I have been working really hard to organize all of Elizabeth's great ideas to make them much more easily accesible in one place. Blogs can tend to get a little overwhelming with all of the "stuff" on the sidebar, and not really knowing where to look for something, and then having to scroll and scroll and scroll through posts to find the one item you are looking for. Now, with this new site, everything is categorized, organized, and just plain pretty!

This is also going to make it much easier for people who have been trying to follow along with the Serendipity lesson plans to find what it is they are looking for. Check out the tutorial on Elizabeth's site for instructions on how to navigate the Alphabet Path.

Books, Dinosaurs & Sleep - what more can a boy ask for?

Have I mentioned before that Sean can read? Not just "cat" and "dog" either - we are talking, full fledged, all out reading. And he's been doing it since shortly after he turned 3. Chris and I are still amazed daily by his reading prowess.

Every night you can find Sean sleeping on top of his books - he spends a lot of time reading by the light of the bathroom {I have no idea where he got that trait from ;-) } before falling asleep.

A couple of weeks ago, this is what we found when we went in to kiss the boys goodnight. And no, we didn't doctor this photo, or set up the shot!

You see why he's going to be learning right alongside Brian?

Boxes are Arriving!

I bit the bullet last week and ordered my "curriculum". The boxes have begun to arrive! (Insert picture of grown woman smiling with glee and doing a little happy dance!)

As I discussed, we are mostly going to be following along the Serendipity trail this year. I've added Handwriting Without Tears for learning to write, Explode the Code for learning to read (not that Sean really needs this since he's been reading for awhile now), Cuisinaire Rods for extra math practice, and for just plain reading fun, Catholic Children's Treasure Box of Books. I've been eyeing these books for a couple of years, and am so glad that I bought them - they are just beautiful!

Looking forward to seeing the UPS guy tomorrow!

Once in a Lifetime

There are those events that happen once in a lifetime. For me, some of those days include:

My wedding day

Brian's birth

Sean's birth

Colin's birth

and now, meeting Bishop John Magee.

While up in Northern VA to help my friend/cousin Daniella & David with their new baby girl, I got to attend Mass at Holy Trinity. Daniella & David had never been to this church, but thought it would be nice to check it out with me up there. We arrived a couple minutes late (new baby syndrome!) and figured out there was a special guest celebrant, but had no idea who he was. When it came time for the homily, this guest celebrant gave the homily. It was a good homily, talking about how the Lord always wants us to come to him, come back to him. I am the Lord and you are my people. I thought this was particularly appropriate since my friends/cousins are trying to come back to the Church. Then after this appropriate homily, the bishop kept talking. He began speaking on the 3 previous popes - Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II. The bishop is the only man to have served under 3 popes. He gave us a history lesson on these three extraordinary men whom he served under. It was long, but it was fascinating to get an inside and personal look at 3 of the men who have sat on the Chair of Peter.

After Mass, we made sure to exit through the center doors so that we could meet "Bishop John". The bishop gave my little cousin Rachel a special blessing on her 1 month birthday. Then I got to shake his hand, and kiss his ring - a ring that Pope John Paul II gave to him.

After getting home last night, I Googled "Irish bishop who served 3 popes" and learned the name of the man who had presided over our Mass - Bishop John Magee. He began his vocation as a missionary priest in Africa. He ended up being sent to Rome and became the personal secretary to Pope Paul VI. After the pope's death, he was cleaning out the study of Pope Paul VI's personal effects when Pope John Paul I entered the room looking for coffee. A friendship was struck up and Bishop Magee stayed on to serve Pope John Paul I. After his death, Pope John Paul II came up to Bishop Magee (who was still a monsignor at the time), hugged him, and told him - You will stay with me!

While not quite as monumental as getting married or giving birth, meeting Bishop John Magee was still an amazing moment in my life as a Catholic.