Summer 2010

Time flies when you're having fun!

Where has the summer gone?

It's almost over. (sniff)

Here are a few highlights from our summer.

The biggest highlight, naturally, is the presence of our new little guy.

Tommy, we adore you. You are a chunk of delicious love.

Hoopes Girls Visit Connecticut

Anastasia

Drawing Class with Kathleen Murphy

Franciscan Summer Camp

Cousin Ava's Baptism

Caroline's 10th Birthday

Family Pilgrimage to The National Shrine of Divine Mercy

Introducing.....

Thomas Robert Benedict Christie

born on

Friday, April 16th, 2010

at 7:16 p.m.

You have been given many affectionate nicknames already.

Tommy, Tommah, TomTom, Suh Suh Suh, Chub, Tuddy Chud, Spoo

(Don't ask us what they mean, but they're all given with LOVE.)

You are the world's sweetest little boy & we're thankful to God for blessing us with a son.

Now, listen up kid!

You are surrounded by four adoring sisters, which means...

Lots of kisses

Lots of cuddles

and

Lots of getting bossed around!

(So good luck with that!)

Little "Tommy Christie"...you have brought us such joy already.

Your Papa Tom Christie is smiling down upon you with great happiness, no doubt.

Happy BIRTHday Thomas!

(Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI!)

You were just baptized by a wonderful priest and good friend,

Monsignor Frank McGrath.

Welcome to the Church!

One day you will confirm your faith yourself when you are old enough. For now, your faith is entrusted to us and so we claim you for Christ!

~Your Baptism~

St. Joan of Arc Church in Hamden, CT

Saturday, June 12th

Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

St. Robert Bellarmine, pray for us.

St. Benedict, pray for us.

Julia the Great...turns Eight!

Julia had a marathon birthday this year...

It began in the morning...

with a french toast breakfast and a gift opening afterwards.

Lots of packages were delivered from grandparents, cousins and friends. Julia had lots of "helpers" trying to open all of her gifts.

In the afternoon, we took her to get a "manicure" at Julie's Nail Salon. Happy, but somewhat envious onlookers, stood by.

When we came home, the birthday girl finished baking and decorating cupcakes to share with her Catechism class.

But it didn't end there...

The celebration continued the following day, when our good pal, Indeg, picked Julia up and had her over for a special birthday dinner. They came back here bearing Indeg's famously fattening carrot cake for dessert and more gifts to open! Thank you, Indeg. You're so good to us.

Day 3 of the birthday marathon continued as we got to eat the heart-shaped cake that the girls had prepared for their sister (on day 1).

And it's still not over...because Julia intends to have a sleepover with a few of her friends after the new baby arrives. But please, Julia, no more cake!

One special thing we will remember about Julia's 8th birthday is that her namesake, Aunt Julia Christie, passed away just one week earlier. Aunt Jul would have been the very first one to call in the morning to send her birthday wishes. She was always the first to call. We miss you so much, Aunt Jul.

Happy Birthday Julia Noel.

We love you and are so proud of you!

Balloons for Papa!

Last weekend, we went to Wellesley for a baby shower

given for Mommy & Auntie Tania hosted by Aunt Julia and Dabada! (It was nice to be "showered" again after four babies.)

Aunt Trina was there and brought these big giant balloons.

We brought a few home with us and Mary asked me

if we could send them up to heaven to be with Papa!

Great idea, Mimi!

So we printed big letters on each one to spell out P-A-P-A.

The girls had great fun kissing the balloons goodbye, sending them up to heaven & watching them disappear into the bright sky.

Ania is almost stunned with excitement...

...Mimi is so proud that her idea was such a popular one...

...and it was a really sweet moment for me when I realized that this might be our little way of letting Papa "Tom" know that we are having another baby!

Lent

Here are some traditions we have acquired over the years

which help make our Lenten journey more meaningful,

especially for the girls.

#1

Jesus' Crown of Thorns

Our Table Centerpiece during the Lenten Season

This crown is made from a simple recipe of flour, salt & water.

Julia used whole wheat flour this year which gave an earthy color to the crown.

The dough is braided and then formed into a crown shape.

Mary & Caroline cut thorny branches from our rose bushes.

40 small thorns are inserted into the crown before it is baked.

Each evening during the 40 days of Lent,

we remove one thorn from the crown to represent

the small sacrifices we try to make in imitation of Christ's great sacrifice at Calvary.

#2

Lenten Sacrifices Box & 40-Day Paper Chain

Caroline & Julia made a purple paper chain with 40 links.

On each link, they wrote down a sacrifice that they would do together for that day. The little girls pick more simple sacrifices out of the 'sacrifice box' each morning.

Everyone tries to do their personal best for that day.

Mom tends not to utilize any of this variety when it comes to

selecting different sacrifices as her daily struggle and mantra seem to remain the same...

"Today I will be calm. I will not yell or parent out of my own emotion.

I will embrace all small sufferings and setbacks out of love for Christ."

Sigh!!

#3

Alms Giving

Mary Katharine made this simple wooden collection box in her

Rose Buds Club last year.

The girls are collecting coins and dollars in this box

and will make a donation to Haiti through MWTS.org

This is Ania's favorite activity by far.

Emptying and refilling the box is a daily activity.

#4

Ash Wednesday Prayer Pretzels

These pretzels are a great snack...delicious and easy to make.

The significance of the pretzel is in its shape.

The criss-cross pattern represents our crossed arms

in a spirit of penitential prayer.

Caroline cuts the dough into long strips with a pizza cutter.

The girls have fun shaping, dipping, twisting and baking.

They even made a little bitty one for the unborn baby!

Ash Wednesday (with a twist of "Weird Al")

Caroline & Julia were in this music video of Nick Alexander's

which was filmed at our parish last month.

It's a knock off of the 80's hit by The Police, "King of Pain".

I think we were all shocked when we saw that it had gotten over 35,000 hits on youtube!

A little goofy, but nonetheless fun!

First Time Skiing!