Happiness. Lately. February 2015 (vol 9)

Happiness.  Lately.  February.  My monthly collection of "Happiness" - appreciating God's goodness in the little things and seeing his grandeur in the simplicity of my life and "Lately" - what I've been into and up to...  (wherein I reveal that much of February revolved around equal parts snow and James.)

Happiness is...

this face.  I just want to squeeze him and eat him up!!!

the things I find around the house that make me smile and say, "let me get my camera!"

lavender hot chocolate.  Ohhhhhh, this was such. a. treat.   It was rich, decadent, aromatic, and delicious... everything a gourmet hot cocoa ought to be.  And I made it myself!  

clean up time with a handmade dish cloth ;)

big brothers, little brothers...

days that are above ten degrees and Dad's snow blowed a path and Mom lets us get our bikes out??  I guess.

Ruthie was a little teary eyed because she kept falling :(

colored pencils.  And pictures of colored pencils.  I love colored pencils.

when all the neighborhood is out in the mornings.  Snow storms build camaraderie. 

a pretty cookie-making picture...

and happiness definitely is when the kids actually let me get a nice picture of them!!

Lately...


James is weaned.

and James is walking.  Yep.

And because this is my blog and he is the cutest ever and I can do whatever I want, here are even more pictures of Sweet Baby James.  Sorry. 

Dominic made his First Confession!  It truly was an answer to prayer that he was able to receive the Sacrament when he did.  We were hesitant to have him receive the Sacrament amidst all the other kids in the parish religious ed class.  We were given permission to come on the first Saturday of Lent at our parish's regular Confession time - Dominic made his first Confession with our pastor, and then Russ, Aaron and I were able to go also to kick off Lent (so to speak...)  It was just what we had prayed for. 

You can see how laden down with sin Dominic was on the way into church ; Or was that just the cold and snow?  Well, either way, he came out squeaky clean!  And then we had ice cream sundaes that night to celebrate!

We celebrated Ruth's fifth birthday!  She said she wanted a cake that was "the part of the meadow where the grass stops and the wild flowers start and it all blends into the sky. " Not like she has a flair for the dramatic or anything...

I have very limited cake decorating skills, but I think I did ok :)

Aaron built a Lego model of a cargo ship from Ancient Egypt for a special event at the study center the boys attend.  Then he had to carry it through a snow storm to the car to get it there...   February.  ugh.

We took a week off of school lessons for Winter Break.  Instead of regular old math, spelling, reading, we did chalk pastels with Nana from HodgePodge, cozy reading, playing, and art (which has been a popular thing around here lately since Ruth got some sketch pads and art supplies for her Birthday.)  We also read about the American Revolution because to me, that's fun!  It felt so awesome to take a break, but it's been hard getting back into the old routine :(

And I've still been crocheting.  It's been a nice change of pace though, as I've finished up several smaller projects and have gotten back to work on blankets for the boys I started last Spring.  I work on one for a little bit then switch to the other.  Working on a long term project gets boring for me if I don't break it up a little.  I'm not sure what happened with my measurements though...  I thought they were the same width, but it looks like Dominic's blanket (the blue/green and cream) is much wider.  Maybe that will become the length?  Not sure yet...

Also, in other over-the-top awesome crocheting news.......  I taught my sister how to crochet!!!!!!!!!!   And she loves it!  It's like all my dreams are coming true - I have someone who's similarly addicted, texts me throughout the days with her progress and latest projects, and gets it when I bemoan the fact that regular daily responsibilities really interfere with the time I'd rather be crocheting.  Housework is so inconvenient when there's yarn fun to be had!   Anyway, I've got a new Instagram hashtag if you want to stay on top of what Sarah and I are making and want to keep us posted on what you're hooking - hang out with us #dontmindmeimcrocheting :)

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Join me in looking back on February and sharing the little tings that were your happiness and some of the things that have been happening lately.

Link up your Happiness. Lately. posts for February here!  (open for a week!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Our First Baptism Day Celebration

Were you reading my blatherings back at the beginning of January??   (And you've stuck with me?  Wow!)  One of the things I had included on a list of goals/ideas for the new year was our intention to celebrate Baptism day anniversaries.  I've always been so grateful that our children have been able to witness the Baptisms of their siblings, our godchildren, and family friends.  It helps them see and appreciate what happened at their own Baptism.  Celebrating the anniversary of the day they became Christians seemed like another meaningful way to help them appreciate and understand the sacrament they received as infants.  

We kicked off our new family ritual this past week.  Dominic Jerome was baptized on February 2, 2008, so we celebrated Monday night, February 2 - which also happens to to Candlemas - the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple, so isn't that neat how they coincide!?!

We began by asking the kids to remind us what Baptism is all about.  At their age, we expect them to be able to tell us that Baptism permanently washes away the stain of Original Sin, that Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ, Children of God, and members of the Church, and that Baptism is God's gift of His grace into our lives.  

Russ offered an opening prayer and Dominic lit his Baptismal candle.  (Can you believe I actually found all of them?!?)  Then Russ led Dominic in renewing the Baptismal promises, then asked the questions of the rest of us.  We closed with a blessing with holy water and a final prayer, and then we enjoyed pumpkin pecan pie because that's what Dominic chose!  

It was a lovely, simple, and meaningful celebration.  I'm looking forward to the rest and hope that this becomes a regular tradition for us!  

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Renewal of Baptismal Promises...

Closing prayer:

God, the all-powerful Father of our 

Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new 

birth by water and the Holy Spirit, 

and forgiven all our sins. 

May he also keep us faithful to our Lord 

Jesus Christ for ever and ever. 

R. Amen. 

The Greatness of Your Mercy and Love... (Aaron's First Penance)

pre-Confession charisma!

also pre-Confession Lego excavator

we celebrated at Friendly's after dinner this evening!

And just like that, he's doubled the number of Sacraments he's received in his lifetime!  

The First Penance service at our parish was lovely. It seems that receiving the Sacrament was special and significant for Aaron, but he's a tough one to read :)  Although, he did tell me that the cool thing about making your First Confession is that now you can go any time you want!  

O Lord! I abandon my past to Thy mercy, 

my present to Thy Love, 

and my future to Thy Providence!

Amen.

(prayer of St. Padre Pio for after Confession)