Lenten Happenings

So much has happened over the past six weeks.  Here's my Lenten diary!

Every Lent, I try to approach it with the attitude of, "I'm not giving up something without gaining from God in return."  It's not about what I sacrifice so much as it is what graces I receive for giving something up.  Make sense? 

Therefore...during Lent, I prayed to St. Joseph for a special intention.  We prayed a decade of the rosary and the "Come Holy Spirit" during bedtime prayers.  The rosary is for our family, and the Holy Spirit prayer was for the election of our new pope.  It's rather exciting that my kids got to witness the election of a pope, especially since the younger ones are being homeschooled now.

Theresa turned 2 on February 14...sniff sniff!  She was 21 pounds, 12 ounces, and 31 3/4 inches tall at her checkup.  And she just got new, size 5 shoes.  Still our teeny little girl!

And Gabriel turned 6...my sweet little man!  We got to tour the Ponderosa Fire Station #42 on his special day...and he had so much fun with his buddy Caleb.  "Mr. Daniel" treated the boys to the VIP treatment.  They saw everything, the control room, bunk rooms, kitchen, and all the equipment.  He even let them hold (very carefully) a hand-held thermal imaging camera.  My...they thought it was TOO COOL. :-)

Daddy escorted his two older girls to a Father-Daughter Dance sponsored by the American Heritage Girl Troop at Prince of Peace.  I did their hair and nails...and they had a blast.  I even got corsages made by Theresa's godmother, thank you LZ Floral Design!

 David turned 39 on March 26th...thank you darlin' for being 5 months older than me. ;-)

I gave up sweets, desserts, Facebook, and Pinterest...but not Downtown Abby.  Oh man...why did Matthew have to go?  Boo hoo.  I promised I'd only be upset one night...and not think about it again until season 4 starts...10 long months from now.  :-(  But seriously...he was dreamy, wasn't he?

Joshua had a stellar progress report his 3rd, nine weeks.  His 3rd nine week period...straight A's.  And...he was invited to join the National Junior Honor Society.  Wow.   It's a relief to know my son is smarter than I was at his age.  (Ahem...I was not in the NJHS in middle school).

I lost one of my most-loved gold earrings.  They meant a great deal to me.  My favorite Aunt (great-Aunt Mary) bought them for me when I graduated from Texas A&M.  They weren't valuable...but still...I mourned a little.  Still am.  Boo hoo.

Update:  I FOUND IT!  Rather, someone else found it in the choir practice room and I saw it on the work counter. I must have lost it when dropped off the kids one time.  I'm so happy! 

We make it a point to go to Reconciliation during Lent, and we did one bright, cold Saturday. It never fails to amaze me, how great the love our God has for us, and the graces he bestows with the Sacrament!

My brother is still over in Afghanistan.  I was able to chat with him on Facebook for about 1/2 an hour back in February.  He asked if I could send him some healthy food.  This was quite a challenge, because he wanted low-sodium meals you can heat in the microwave.  And...convenience food are definitely more expensive too.  But I really wanted to try, since he told me they're down to one hot meal a day.  Ugh!  He's in the mountains...it's snowing, and therefore COLD...and they only get hot chow once a day!  So...I asked my local Kroger if they would donate some healthy, microwavable, and other non-perishable foods.  They really came through...a big THANK YOU to Justin, the manager at Kroger, who told me to go get whatever I wanted.  Look at all the great meals I was able to get, plus oatmeal, rice, dried fruit, almond milk, popcorn...WHOO HOO!  I was so happy!

If only I could send him some of the homemade beef stew and cheese grits that I had made that night for dinner.

I started teaching a sewing class in January, and it's been fun.  Exhausting, but fun.  I couldn't afford a sitter, so I had to work around a busy 2-year-old.  Oh the joy!

But look at what the girls made in 8 weeks.  Not bad, heh?  Tomato pincushions, reversible headbands, gathered skirts.  They said "this is really fun!"  So happy I finally made the time to teach my older girls how to sew.

I've been sewing things here and there too, like these cute little nightgowns for Theresa.  It is a real challenge to find clothes that fit her.  Bottoms (like shorts, pants, jeans, skirts) are always too big.  I had to take in all her 2-piece pajamas last year.  So I remembered this tutorial for a peasant dress, and instead of making long sleeves, I made the sleeves short and used soft cotton flannel (which was 50% off at Joann's!).  So each nightgown cost only $3.50 to make.  Sweet and cheap! :-)  And...they FIT!

Rebecca has been busy sewing too.  Now that she can thread the machine and even refill the bobbin all by herself, she whipped out three more headbands all by herself.  Dang...such an overachiever!  ;-)

One thing we were hopping NOT to do over Lent was get ear tubes place for Theresa.  She's had so many ear infections though...poor baby...and all of them have been double ear infections.  We'd had her on so many different antibiotics, I lost count.  And she'd been getting back-to-back infections since October of last year.  After 3 round of antibiotics failed to clear her last infection in February, and three trips to the ENT, we finally threw in the towel and Theresa had the surgery on March 13.

We had to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the surgical center by 6:45 AM.  The surgery was scheduled for 7:30, and she was done by 8:00.  Thankfully it went without a wrinkle, and our sweet girl was chowing down on cereal and juice in the van on the way home.  After all, she'd had to fast since midnight, so she was hungry!

Here is she with Daddy pre-op...he entertained her with his phone.

The only dismaying this about this whole ordeal was the cost.  Sure...I knew it wasn't going to be peanuts, but I was frankly shocked when the surgical center called and told me how much the surgery would be.  For your reading pleasure, here's a breakdown.

4 Trips to the ENT at $55/visit = $210
2 prescriptions for antibiotics (that didn't work), $40 and $10 respectively = $50
Doctor's surgical fee = $285
Little plastic ear plugs to keep water out post-surgery = $10
Surgical center fee (brace yourself) = $1,008.00

Grand total:  $1,563.00

Yep.  $1,563.00 to get our little one checked out 3 times pre-surgery, once post-op, meds, the surgery itself and ear plugs.  Lord have mercy.  I can't believe it cost $1,008 for the surgery alone.  I mean, I know they had to put her under general anesthesia, but really?  I bet those darn tubes cost $2 bucks to manufacture.  Sigh.  Oh well.  I am grateful, believe me...that only one of our kids has needed ear tubes.  And we do have medical insurance to cover most of the cost.  I don't wanna even think about how much it would be otherwise!

Theresa really did great though...what a brave little girl she was.  I handed her over to the nurse, and she didn't fuss one bit.  We only waited barely 20 minutes before she was in, out and in recovery.  She did cry a good 5 minutes  while coming out of the anesthesia, but we held her, and after some juice, she seemed to come around.  And gracious, she was hungry.  I filled a container with cheerios for her, and had to refill it twice on the way home (no wonder, since she hadn't eaten but a very small dinner the night before).  Once home, she was off running around playing with her toys like nothing had ever happened.  Praise be to God.

Update:  One of the ear tubes (the left one) became clogged with dried blood.  So we're on antibiotic eardrops.  Only I don't think they're working.  Sigh...will this ear saga ever end?!

That same day, we had EWTN turned on nearly all day to watch the announcement of our new pope.  Even Joshua was able to watch it live because he was home for Spring Break!  Already, I deeply admire and respect our new "papa."  He took the name of a poor saint, who was the humblest of men, who listened to God when He said, "Frances, rebuild my church!" The first time he spoke, it was with great humility and he asked the people to pray for him with a moving moment of silence. Wow...I cried tears of joy!  The kids were in awe too...how wonderful they were able to listen to our new pope's first words of greeting!

2 days later my gorgeous cousin and I went together to the Penatonix concert at House of Blues. Y'all...it was ridiculously good. Seriously...I can't remember the last time I went to a concert. I feel old, especially next to Joyce who is only 17 years younger than me. ;-) But we both loved it. We hit Mia's afterwards... I was starving. I can't remember the last time I went out on the town and ate a late dinner either. So glad I was able to go, and happy Joyce could go with me. Hopefully we can hang out some more together!

Image courtesy of music.yahoo.com

We took all the kids to College Station 2 weeks ago for the Aggie Youth Experience with the Texas A&M football team. We had a blast...and it's a whole post of it's own.  Read about it here!  

David's brother Matt, my SIL Toni, and their kids came into town for a day, and we went to the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas.  The kids loved roaming all around the battleship.  Of course, one little boy had to go to the restroom...and we were in the lowest level of the hull!  I got a nice, 15 minute trek to and from the bathroom, since the closest one was back on shore!

And that's all folks.  We had a busy Lent...and this week should be nice and relaxing.  The girls and Gabriel are on Easter break all week.  Joshua is back at school.  We have a fridge full of ham and other yummy Easter leftovers, so no cooking for at least a couple of days...yeah!  

There's never a dull moment at our house!  I hope your Lent was just as eventful as ours.  Or not. ;-)

Happy Easter

From our family to yours, may you rejoice in our risen Lord! ALLELUIA!

Aggie Youth Experience

About 2 months ago, one of David's co-workers told him about an event at Texas A&M for kids...the Aggie Youth Experience.  500 kids get to spend 3 hours watching a scrimmage and doing drills with the Texas A&M Football team...for free!  WHOOP!!!  Where do we sign up? 

This morning, we loaded up the van and headed out to College Station.  I've only been back to my beloved alma mater a handful of times since I graduated, but when I do, I get a feeling only an die-hard Aggie can explain.  There's just somethin' about it...the "Spirit of Aggieland."  I love it.

We got to Kyle Field early, so we walked around campus and showed the kids a few points of interest, like the Memorial Student Center (MSC), Rudder Theater Complex, the "Quad" (where the Corp of Cadets live), The Commons (where my dorm was, but I also lived in the "Quad" for 2 years), the Sterling C. Evans Library, the Academic Building, and The Century Tree.  This was honestly the kids' favorite.  They'd never seen such a huge oak tree where the lower limbs rest on the ground.  Many a marriage proposal has taken place under the widespread canopy.

Image courtesy of Flickr

David didn't propose to me here 14 years ago, but today we though it was the perfect place for a kiss. :-).  For once, I don't mind getting my picture taken by my 11-year-old daughter...I think I look skinny for once, LOL!

My...what memories I had walking around campus...pointing out other buildings to the kids where I'd gone to classes, eaten lunch/dinner, and studied all night in the library.  Hopefully we have 5 future, 4th generation Aggies in training!

After all that walking the crew started getting hungry, so we headed back to Kyle Field for lunch.  The program provided the kids with sausage dogs and water...but we'd brought extra snacks too.  David made a run to a nearby Walmart for sweatshirts and some lunch for us.  Although the day was mild, the wind had a chill to it, and we didn't bring jackets.  I wasn't too worried about the older 3, since they'd be running around, but the younger two had on short sleeves.  David found what we needed on clearance...each shirt was just $2.00!  Score!

He made it back just in time to watch the scrimmage.  

Gabriel and Theresa happily inhaled chicken nuggets and french fries while we watched.  Theresa was fascinated by the action on the field and kept pointing at the players, saying "Aggies, Aggies!"  Too funny!   

All the kids were then divided up into 7 groups acccording to age.  So David, Gabriel, Theresa, and myself had a fun time going all over Kyle Field to watch our kids.  They were in 3 different groups, so believe me when I tell you we got our exercise yesterday. ;-)

Here's Joshua...

Rebecca....

and Christina!

In between rotations, we caught a glimpse of Johnny Football himself and Coach Kevin Sumlin.  My goodness...it was amazing to be in the same arena as them...the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and the best coach Texas A&M has had in over a decade.  We hoped for photo ops with them, but knowing they were really there for the kids, we just took pics from a distance.  Honestly...it was good enough for me.

David taught Gabriel and Theresa how to do a 3-point stance.  Oh my goodness, just look at these 2!  I laughed so hard.  They were too young for the drills, but they had plenty of space to run around the field.  The girls taught their little sister how to say, "Gig 'em" and "Howdy."  It was adorable.

One very tall young man, Nehmiah Hicks (#81) saw Theresa and said, "Aw...she's so cute."

 Can I just say I had the cutest little Aggie out there today?  So glad the dress I made for her last year still fit after I let down the hem.  And she finally has enough hair to keep a hair bow in! 

Nehemiah let me take a quick photo with Theresa.  He was a tall 6' 4"!  It was really nice of him, and when I said, "Thank you, " he replied, "Yes ma'am, you're welcome."  Such nice manners too!

After all the rotations were done, Coach Sumlin spoke a few words, saying maybe in 10 years, a few of the kids today would be playing football for Texas A&M on Kyle Field.  Lots of applause, whooping, and cheering.  He's a great speaker, even without a mike! 

We shook hands with a few of the players...got a couple more pictures around the south end zone goal post...

And that was it.  The kids said they had FUN.  We seriously had a blast.  Thank goodness we were able to come, since the upper age limit is 13.  That means Joshua will be too old next year.

After leaving the stadium, we drove over to St. Mary's Student Center (where David and I met) to see Kristine Cranley, Gabriel's godmother.  At one point, she was a novice with the Sisters of Life in New York, but eventually left the convent, went back to school for another degree, and is now working as a campus minister at St. Mary's.

We hadn't seen her in over 3 years, so it was great to just sit down for a while and catch up.  I made sure to get a picture of Gabriel with her.  I know she is always praying for our little boy.  There is just something special about Kristine.  And I think Gabriel senses it.  He's not great about taking pictures...and often won't look into the camera...but every time I've taken his picture with his godmother, it turns out amazing.  

See what I mean?

Around 5:00, we said our goodbyes with promises to stay in touch, and took the kids to Double Dave's for dinner.  Luckily I had coupons in my purse, and we got 2 large pizzas and a half-dozen pepperoni rolls for just over $30 bucks.  Yee haw!

We drove home in the twilight, admiring the millions of bluebonnets along Highway 6 and 105.  I wanted to get out and take pictures of the kids in the flowers...but they weren't having any of that.  I guess they were too tired.  Oh well...maybe next year.

It was an eventful day, but everyone held up great, even the baby who dutifully took a catnap in the van 2x (going up and coming back).  Yeah!  

A day with the Aggie Football team, and Gabriel's godmother...what could be better?  Here's hoping we can do both again next year!