Family Cradle

Many years ago, my great-great grandfather, James B. Brennan built a cradle for his children to sleep in. I'm not sure that he knew when he built this cradle how special it would become in the lives of his progeny.

The first child to sleep in this cradle was my great grandfather, James Sands Brennan. He was followed by his siblings, Marian, Harold & William.

The second generation of children to sleep in this cradle were: the children of James & Sarah Brennan- Jane, Ruth (my grandmother) and James Brennan; the children of Marian & Harry Hart - Harry, George & James Hart; and the children of William & Elise Brennan - Elise & William Brennan.

The third generation of children to sleep in this cradle were the children of Ruth & Gene McDonald - Gene (my father), Jim, Tom & Jeff McDonald; and the children of James & Janet Brennan - James, Joseph, Joanne, Jeff & John Brennan.

The fourth generation of children to sleep in this cradle were: the children of Gene & Diana McDonald - Cindy (that's me!), Michael, Lori, Kellie & Brian McDonald; the children of Jim & Diane McDonald - Julie McDonald; the children of Tom & Kathy McDonald - Angela, Patricia & Michelle McDonald; and the children of Jeff & Robin McDonald - Amanda & Megan McDonald.

Which brings us to the present and the fifth generation of children to have slept in the cradle: the children of Cindy & Chris Kelly - Brian, Sean, Colin & Ian Kelly; the children of Michael & Jennifer McDonald - Dylan & Allison McDonald; the child of Lori & Lou Roselli - Kelsey Roselli; and the child of David & Daniella McDonald - Rachel McDonald.

I thought I would share pictures of myself and my children all sleeping in the cradle. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family tradition with which to share with my children. I hope one day they feel the same sense of awe that I do every time I lay one of the down for the first time in this cradle.

Cindy Anne - 22nd baby

Brian Lawrence - 33rd baby

Sean Eugene - 35th baby

Colin Andrew - 37th baby

Ian Benjamin - 40th baby

Introducing our newest son

Ian Benjamin

born: June 26, 2009
7:31 p.m.
7 lbs., 4 oz.
19.5 inches

Paul in a Basket

I recently joined the Catholic Company's product reviewers. My first time up to choose a product and I chose Paul in a Basket, which is a musical production created by Rob Evans, The Donut Man. This wonderful compilation of music can be performed by a church group, or just listened to for the sheer enjoyment of the music. Plus, it's a wonderful teaching tool for your children to learn about St. Paul. And, as an added bonus, Mommy gets to learn some things too! :-)

What my kids and I love about this CD is the incredibly upbeat, catchy tunes. Brian's favorite song on the CD is the ending song, "Faith, Hope, Love". It's a short little ditty that drives home the message behind 1 Corinthians 13 - that the greatest of these is Love. Sean's favorite song is "My Name is Paul", which is the opening number. I have to admit, this is one of my favorites as well. The boys like to march around to this song. Despite this being one of my favorites, I honestly can't think of one song on this track that I don't enjoy. I have actually memorized certain bible verses as well - a big feat for this lady!

Paul in a Basket is reasonably priced, and such a wonderful addition to our time in the car, that I would highly recommend it to anyone. Be sure to check it out!

Motherhood and the Chalice

MOTHERHOOD AND THE CHALICE

A good mother’s life is like a chalice. It is a precious vessel dedicated in the deepest sense to the service of God. Sometimes, as with the chalice, its depths are glowing with the wine of joy. And sometimes it feels the tiny splash of a few drops of water that fall into it like tears. Like a chalice, too, sometimes it is lifted up and sometimes brought low. But always it is sanctified by the Presence, undoubted, though unseen, of Our Blessed Savior. Because a good Mother’s Sacrifice can be repaid only by the Sacrifice of the Mass, I send this Mass to you. God Bless! Father Eamon

This was written by our pastor and sent out to all the members of our parish. What a beautiful tribute and reminders to mothers everywhere. Happy Mother's Day!

Benjamin's Box

Today we began working with Benjamin's Box in anticipation of Easter. The book really held the boys' attention, which was nice. I liked how it told the story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday all the way through to his resurrection from the grave - all from the perspective of a little boy. I think that helped Brian and Sean connect with the story.

For crafts, we worked on some crucifixes that I had picked up at our new Michael's. The boys used Do-A-Dots to add some color to the wood of the cross, and then glued on buttons. They both decided that they wanted to buttons to represent different parts of Jesus' body - eyes, nose, mouth, hands, feet, and even the nails.

Next, we used the Do-A-Dots again to make crosses on paper. Unprompted by me, both boys made 3 crosses on their papers. Brian even went so far as to explain to me how the really big cross in the middle of his page was for Jesus and the other 2 were for the other men who were there with Jesus.

Finally, we made our own treasure box, just like Benjamin. We started off cutting some "straw" to line the box with. Then the boys went around and found all the different items that Benjamin had placed in his treasure box. I was rather impressed with their ingenuity!
Brian later went back through the box, and through the box recounting each of the treasures. I was quizzing him on what each treasure reminds us of. He was pretty good at remembering.
Our finished crosses.
It was a good start to our Holy Week preparations. Looking forward to the rest of the week as well.