St. Mary's Church ~ New Haven...

Congratulations

Julia Noel Christie

on receiving your First Holy Communion in May.

You prepared your heart well.

May you continue to come to the table of the Lord

to receive Him in this holy way as often as you can

throughout your life.

We love you honey!

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood

remains in me and I in him."

John 6:56

We miss you, BJ!

Water Babies

You two little chickadees are becoming quite compatible lately. Tubby time and bed time seem to be your favorite activities of late. Perhaps you've developed this strong bond because you are roommates! Perhaps it's because you see a great divide between yourselves ("Team Little") and the your older sisters ("Christie Bigs"). Whatever the reason, it's a sheer delight for daddy and I to see you playing, giggling and snuggling together. You both have so much spunk and personality that you must have gotten from your lovely mother.

Now that Miss Marysia has her very own "big girl bed", suddenly her little friend in the crib across the room is very interested in "Mimi bed." So tonight we tried to sing some songs in Mimi's bed together. But there was way too much giggling so Mommy put the littlest of the littles back into her crib. As I walked out of the room, I clutched my heart as I heard Mimi say to her baby sis, "Shhhh, it's time for bed now...lie back down in your crib. Mimi will sing you your songs."

Lord, thank you for these precious moments.

Forgive me for all of the times I'm too busy cleaning.

Julia & Mommy...on Retreat

This past week, Julia and I went down to our favorite place...The Convent of St. Birgitta. It's so beautiful, quiet and peaceful there. I hated to leave! We had the house to ourselves and the sisters gave Julia lots of time and attention...and she loved every minute of it.

Julia, you are growing so quickly. What happened to the little baby with the huge brown eyes? I was so blessed to have this special time away with you. The highlight of the trip for me was seeing you kneeling in the chapel with all of the sisters around you during Adoration. You are so grown up to stay with them all by yourself. They loved being with you. I hope we can go again next year.

This is your belated 5th birthday gift and a special mommy daughter overnight in preparation for your First Holy Communion this Sunday...Jesus is waiting to draw close to you in the Holy Eucharist.

Some Highlights to Remember:

1. Cooking in the kitchen with Sister Gina

2. Mass offered just for you and the other First Holy Communicants in the chapel

3. Going for a walk in the morning before we left

4. The hot fudge sundaes from Sister Floriana

5. Pictures on our private balcony

6. Throwing pebbles into the water

7. Mother Eunice's special gift to you (not to be opened until Sunday)

Christ is Risen!

~Easter Morning~

Daddy with his favorite girls

Thanks Aunt Jul for the beautiful dresses.

At Church with our handsome cousins!

After Mass, we did...well, what we do every Sunday after Mass....we got donuts at the best donut shop around....Whitney Donut Shop. Our cousins from Massachusetts love these donuts too. And it's been said that their father is willing to make the trip to Connecticut just to get the donuts (and New Haven style pizza).

Thanks to all our cousins near and far (and grandmas) for coming to spend Easter weekend with us. We're still eating chocolate bunnies and jelly beans.

Egg Hunt at Papa Bob's

Julia's 7th Birthday

Happy 7th Birthday Doobs!

We love you so much.

You are a GREAT kid.

And we are so blessed to be your parents.

We pray for you as you prepare your little heart

to receive your First Holy Communion.

Only a few more weeks until the big day....

Can't believe you're already SEVEN!

We remember the day you were born.

You were so quiet and so pretty.

Your big sister was so proud to have a little sister to hold.

We love you and wish you a happy 7th birthday.

We hope you enjoyed your special trip to Kid City with your sisters,

your favorite dessert (brownie sundae) and your new HSM sweatshirt from Grammy.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Spring 2009 Activities

Stations of the Cross

The girls participated again this year in the Living Stations

with the AMDG Drama Group up in Avon.

This time around, both girls worked "behind the scenes"

helping with costumes and with the Latin choir.

They also created their own "station" made out of clay

depicting Simon of Cyrene assisting Jesus as he carried His cross.

The Cast of Living Stations

Spring Semester Art Class

All three big girls are taking art class with a few friends at their home on Mondays.

Our art teacher agreed to come to give us private at-home lessons this spring.

Last week, the girls made mosaics and next week, 

they will make and decorate their own terra cotta planter.

Ballet...and Tap Class

Mary Katharine is taking her very first dance class.

She just loves ballet with Miss Debbie and will be learning a little dance to The Nutcracker.

Caroline and Julia are also taking a ballet and tap class together.

This is their second semester with Miss Debbie.

Little Flowers of St. Therese

Caroline and Julia have the good fortune of being a part of The Little Flowers Girls Club here in our area. The girls meet monthly to discuss virtue, hear talks on the saints, do a craft relative to the virtue being studied and work toward earning different badges of virtue that comprise a round nine-badge "wreath" at years' end. 

The virtues for this year's wreath include: mercy, joy, generosity, prudence, wisdom, justice and perseverance. The above picture was taken at our last meeting. The girls presented a recent speaker with a fruit basket in appreciation for her time spent with the girls at the previous month's gathering.

This month the girls also made a Lenten craft...a simple reminder of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. This group of Little Flowers is blossoming quite beautifullly. Our girls are enjoying their third year of the program and we are eternally grateful to the great servants who have worked to bring this great gift into our lives.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Feast of St. Patrick

Highlights from St. Paddy's Day 2009:

Bagels with green cream cheese for breakfast

Mary's special outing with Grammy...eating green cake and doing crafts at the Cheshire Senior Center

Getting to watch the Patrick video first thing in the morning

Making the trinity shamrock craft

...and getting locked out of our car after mass!

Anniversary Surprise!

The breakfast table was set: 

Lenox China, great-grandma's lace tablecloth, napkins neatly fluffed

The food was prepared: 

Scrambled eggs, toast, fresh grapefruit, OJ and brewed coffee

The personal touches evident: 

His & Her temporarily personalized coffee mugs

The occasion:

Mom and Dad's 12th anniversary of their engagement

The kind hostesses: 

Three adorably thoughtful (and careful) daughters

The lucky recipients: 

Two tickled parents & 1 baby sister (who, thankfully, did NOT help with the preparations!)

The "Cozy Corner"

Books. Books. Books. Ania loves books. 

Big books, little books, baby books, her sisters' school books, mommy's prayer books, catalogs....you name it and she wants to flip through it. Ania's favorite book in the whole world is "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed". 

The routine goes like this: Ania enters room carrying said book in hand. She then proceeds to the closest family member (who can read) and plunks her little self down on the chosen lap and says, "bookie...bed". Mary Katharine is a good big sister and although she can't yet read, she wants to feel like an important participant in the event. So she gets out blankets and pillows and creates little "cozy corners" all over the house just to satisfy Ania's love of reading her "bookies". This activity can occupy them for as long as 45 minutes until they realize that perhaps it's time for a "nacky." (read on...)

Ania's other notable favorites:

1. Favorite Food: "oogie" (yogurt)

2. Favorite Drink: "doo" (orange juice)

3. Favorite activity: "nummies" (nummies)  

4. Favorite Song: "ippy" (Itsy Bitsy Spider)

5. Favorite Word: "nacky" (snack please)

6. Favorite Character: "emo" (elmo)

 7. Favorite Friend: "e ah ah" (Maria)  

 8. Favorite Fruit: "oh dee" (orange) & "bamee" (banana)

 9. Favorite Sister: "Lye Lye" (Caroline), "Doo dah" (Julia) 

     "Mimi" (Mary)

Famous Firsts:

1. First Phrase: "Daddy...GIMME" 

    (translation: "How could you take away my granola bar?")

2. First Steps: on her first birthday.

3. First Movie: Annie

4. First Sleepover: at Papa Bob's with her sisters

5. First Major Disaster: Dumping hot pink nail polish on white 

    carpet in family room.

6. First Pet: "It-imm" (Mittens...our kitten)

Clara Barton comes to life!

This beautiful handmade period Civil War dress was designed to be a replica of what nurses, specifically Clara Barton, wore back in the late 1800's. Our very talented neighbor from Spring Glen made this costume a few years ago for his daughter and we asked to borrow it since Caroline recently finished reading Clara Barton's biography.

Caroline breezed her way through the book (said by one who reads at a snail's pace) and she identified greatly with Clara because of a shared love for animals and a desire to help others. 

Caroline's greatest gift, however, is her gigantic imagination! When she reads, the stories really come to life for her. She becomes the characters she reads about for a time (sometimes a loooong time). Laura Ingalls, Jo March (Louisa May Alcott), Clara Barton, Belle, Cinderella....you name it and she can become it. She uses every nick-nack and prop she can get her hands on, and some she shouldn't get her hands on, to create her own little pretend world of play and she can run wild "in character" for hours on end. 

With this, Caroline completed her first "official" book report and did a super job retelling the highlights of Clara Barton's long and accomplished life. We all learned a bit more about this great American woman and were inspired  by all that she pioneered during her lifetime. Caroline even learned that her own great-grandmother, Hazel, worked for years as a secretary at the American Red Cross in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

So, Paul Revere is the next biography in the works. Not quite sure what we'll do for that one! No boys hanging around here to model costumes and mount pretend horses so we may have to enlist dad for help!

A hole in her mouth...a tear in his eye!

Our six-year-old cutie pie lost her third tooth tonight.  She bravely let daddy pull it out before going to bed, so as not to swallow it in her sleep. The space "widens" with three teeth now missing in front. And with each new hole in her mouth...comes a new swell of affection in her father's heart. (I think I spotted a tear in his eye when she smiled for him tonight.) 

She's got quite a special mouth, this little kid. After all, how many people do you know (under the age of 40) who can claim to have not one, but three silver crowns?*

So tonight... 

A plucked tooth lies under a pillow neatly sealed in a ziplock. 

A pad and pen wait on a night stand for a note from the tooth angel.

And a daddy's heart melts with even greater love for his little girl.

A tiny reminder of a Heavenly Father, 

Whose love for her is infinite. 

*Shiny silver crowns - compliments of dentist after plunging down steep hill, chin first while exploring new neighborhood on bicycle (October 2007). Did I mention the stitches in her chin? 

That was another tear in daddy's eye!

For EMILY ELIZABETH

Happy 21st Birthday Emily!

We wish you all the best.

We love you and give God thanks

for a loving auntie, sister and yes...

sister-in-law!

(LOL)

We bought you a new lap top and blackberry

just in case!

Love,

Nick, Sharon and the Girls

Remembering PAPA

Cape Cod ~ Summer of 2005

It's so hard to believe that this month marks the three year anniversary of Papa Tom's passing.

Not a day goes by when we don't think of him, pray for his soul or laugh as we hear his passionate words of advice still echoing in our hearts and minds as we go about the things of daily life.

Affectionate, outspoken, devoted, honest, caring, reliable, accomplished.  Just a handful of words I could use to describe this wonderful man. He was exceptional!

From humble beginnings, he grew to become much in the eyes of many people. But no greater admirers did he have than those closest to him.

During one of my final hospital visits with Tom, I shared with him the deepest sentiment I realized in that sacred moment. With a broken voice and heart, I whispered...

"The greatest gift that a man can give the world 

is to be a good father.

Thank you for giving us the best gift you could give."

Tom with his "Champ"  ~ Taken December 2005

 Poem for Papa

written January 14, 2006

Papa, you're our favorite one

We love you, oh so much

And we feel sad because we'll miss

Your special "Papa touch"

Your kisses were the sweetest

Your hugs - the best in town

You took the time to talk and play

When others weren't around

Your little nicknames made us feel

So special in your sight

And what a treat it was

When you and Babcia spent the night

The goodie bags, the M&M's and all the juicy gum

We think of all the times you laughed 

While we said "yum, yum, yum"

With tenderness you placed upon

Our every little hurt

A band-aid from your big black bag

With a Bacitracin squirt

The tender loving care you gave

each one of us sustains

The image of your gentle smile

Inside our heart remains

And somewhere up in heaven now

You're shining like a star

Playing on your golden drums

You're really not that far

For deep inside each one of us

There lives a piece of you

That we will hold forever close

Dear Papa, we love you

Distributing the infamous "goodie bags" to his beloved grandkids

PAPA, rest in peace.

St. Thomas, pray for us.

St. Christopher, pray for us.

Big Girl Thoughts....

"Mommy, when I'm a big lady like you one day, 

I want to have a baby in my tummy. 

But do I have to get the needle in my back?"

Our Baby Boy!

Gotcha thinking, didn't we? 

Sorry. Well, here he is. "Mittens" Christie. 

He's seven weeks old and is the newest addition to our family. We surprised the girls on Christmas morning with their first and only(?) pet. The girls and dad have been lobbying for a dog for quite some time, but mom continues to put her foot down when contemplating her foreseeable future of vacuuming hair off couches, early morning walks in sub-zero weather armed with plastic bags and pooper-scoopers, unpleasant drooling and questionable smells filling the house! Besides, we still have one adorable little person running around in diapers, so there's no shortage of questionable smells here! But mom partially "caved", giving into the pet idea by proposing a lovely little alternative...a kitten. He's self-sufficient (almost), cuddly, cute and basically non-smelly.

Nick, reading over my shoulder, assures me that we will have a dog one day. He also reminds me that I have been known to "give in" to constant badgering, so maybe it's true. But for now, while there are still so many little ones to clean up after, I'm perfectly satisfied with "Mittens" ~ I think everyone else is too!

The Sisters Make "Sisters"

In memory of two very special friends, Sister Ines and Sister Christina, of the Convent of St. Birgitta in Darien, "The Christie Sisters" decided to create two little dolls in their memory to present to the convent this week. So, we put grammy's old Singer sewing machine to good use and worked together with mom to create two very adorable replicas of our Brigittine friends.

We filled two one-liter soda bottles with rice and screwed on styrofoam balls for the heads. Then we just bought some fabric for the habits and glued on googly eyes and felt cut-outs for the faces and detail on the veils. The five red dots affixed to the tops of each veil symbolize the Five Wounds of Christ. Lastly, my personal favorite was the American Girl Doll eye glasses which attached quite easily to the styrofoam faces in order to replicate the look of both sisters. We confess that we stole this great idea from the seventh graders of St. Rita School in Hamden, who create many of these little dolls for display each year in celebration of All Saints Day.

After we completed the dolls, we brought them down to the convent. Caroline, Julia and I had a nice dinner there with the sisters, who were tickled when they saw the little replicas that the girls had made!

We give thanks for these special friends, who have loved us and prayed for us. They continue to uplift and inspire our family by their simplicity, humility, hospitality and most of all, by their unwavering Adoration to the Eucharist. To me, they "have it all" though they possess so little by the world's standards.

St. Birgitta of Sweden, pray for us.

Sr. M. Ines O.SS.S and Sr. M. Christina O.SS.S, rest in peace. 

Fiesta Friday

Viva Mexico! Last Friday, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fue un gran fiesta en La Casa de Christie! We spent most of the day making tilmas and table decorations in memory of Saint Juan Diego. Thanks to Waltzing Matilda for her ever-ready craft ideas, the girls whipped up these tilmas in an hour or so. We decorated the dinner table with a teal-colored table cloth covered with gold star stickers. Mom wimped out in the Mexican culinary department, but I must say that Amy's Organics makes great frozen burritos, tacos and quesadillas! We wore our Mexican hats and listened to the St. Juan Diego Glory Story while preparing for our dinnertime fiesta. The baby wasn't too fond of the salsa or burritos but she sure enjoyed all of the color, music and excitement of the evening! Like the great variety of music, food and cultures of God's wonderful world, so great too, is the variety and history of the lives of the many great saints in our catholic faith who continue to inspire us to holiness. 

St. Juan Diego, pray for us!  

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Snow in My Shoes!

Good Old St. Nicholas made his way to Guenevere Court on December 6th. We dutifully put out our shoes on the front step. Julia left him a coloring page too and Caroline ensured that everyone's shoes matched...same color, same foot! Mom checked outside at about midnight to see if St. Nick had come...and she gasped when she saw that the shoes were covered in snow - the first falling of the season! How exciting...but how messy. She quickly brought the shoes inside, arranging them in the same way we had left them outside. The notes and the coins got a little wet, but that didn't matter. The next morning the girls did what any smart child would do...focus on the chocolate without ever questioning how it was that St. Nick was able to get into the house without setting off the alarm! I guess he must know our passcode!

Our Little Turkeys

No....not those turkeys! The six little turkeys sitting below the three big turkeys! This year, we simplified all baking and decorating for Thanksgiving.  I saw this cute and easy idea in family fun and I couldn't pass it up. Oreo cookies for the body, candy corn feathers, whoppers candy for the head and white icing for the eyes and beak. Even the littlest hands could create these "gobblers" and mommy's only job was to ensure that we didn't gobble them all up before they could be used for our centerpiece on Thanksgiving Day. The girls (and their cousins) waited patiently before devouring them once dinner was over. I think this may have been the ONLY turkey they ate that day!

Ballerina Girls

Congratulations to C and J. You did a great job in your "Swan Lake" ballet dance and your "Rockin Robin" tap dance last week. We're so proud of you and your little sissies clapped and smiled with pride watching their favorite big girls perform up on stage. You both have grace and poise and if we do say so, you've got talent! But most importantly, the smiles on your faces made us so happy watching you just having fun.  I'm thinking of a Lionel Richie song from my favorite decade...the 80's.  "Ballerina girl, you are so lovely. I can see in you my dreams come true. Don't you ever go away."

Happily Evah Aftah, Right Shweet-haat?

Ladies and Gents...here they are....our very own "match made in heaven". THE HAPPY COUPLE! (They've never gotten along so well...hmmm. Okay kids. EVERY day is dress-up day!) 

The two big sisters were invited to a costume birthday party one week before Halloween. Most kids wore the costumes they'd picked for Halloween. But we didn't want to freak out an innocent party crowd with the somewhat obscure selections we'd come up with for "Holyween" (Saint Maria Goretti, Saint Dymphna and Our Lady of Czestachowa) which may have, in turn, led to some rather peculiar conversations about awkward topics such as beheading! 

So we kept it "light" opting for the bride and groom motif. I think they pulled it off quite nicely if I do say so myself. Caroline was coifed and poised in her First Holy Communion attire (which had originally been Emily's flower girl dress in our wedding). And then there's Julia...what can I say? Is she a dashing four-foot groom, or what? She played the part well...the cigar, the guido mustache and the hip action as she clutched her tall and stately "trophy wife"...our Italian ancestors would be proud, kid!

The party was great fun, but alas...all great parties must come to an end. So the "happy couple" resumed their sisterly roles upon their return home that evening...sleeping in their own beds, wearing their flannel pj's and bickering about who gets first dibs on the American Girl horse game first thing in the morning....I guess that honeymoon is over!

Our Big "4" Year Old Birthday Girl

Yet another "girl" joins the Christie Family!  Welcome Felicity Merriman. You are joined by a host of other females in the house and you are warmly welcomed even by dad! You will be taken care of quite nicely at times and at other times, not so nicely. But don't worry. I'll be there to pick you up when you're tossed in some corner and your hair gets all disheveled. Your shoes will be strewn about and your limbs will be twisted into really weird positions. It's all happened to Kit and Samantha, so I thought I'd break the news gently so you have ample time to prepare. Your proud owner received you on her 4th birthday, which has become the family tradition for the 4th birthday gift. Not sure what we'll do if we are ever blessed with a boy.  Are there American Boy dolls? Maybe I should look into that now just in case. 

Happy 4th Birthday "Marysia". You are so precious to us and we all adore everything about you. Our family wouldn't have that special little spice without YOU! We love you honey!

Our Sweet 3rd Grade Girl

"Linka" is growing beautifully this year in many ways. She is taking on much more academically for one thing. She works quietly on her seat work downstairs in the morning (while the noise makers stay up in the playroom.) She thrives on quiet activity, personal space and routine. Hence, her latest idea of afternoon fun is "quiet reading tea-time" with Samantha, her American Girl doll. She is blowing through all of the Samantha readers one by one and easily gets lost in the stories. It takes some nudging to pull her out of imagination land, but I envy the way she can focus with such intensity whenever she picks up a book. (This must come from her father.)

Another place where this little eight-year-old girl is showing great maturity is in the kitchen! This year, she is in charge of lunch, which primarily means set up and clean up. However, she is far more interested in helping to prepare and serve the food, so I'm not about to look that gift horse in the mouth! One day she decided to dress up mom's same old boring salad. Those little sprays of shredded carrot did wonders when it came time to "sell" the meal. Even the baby bought into it and pointed at the plate until we gave her a few to nibble on. 

As they say... the presentation is half of the meal!

School Days!

Top 5 "One-Liners" from the First Week of School

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5. "Mom, what was Jesus' last name?"

(MKC - age 3)

4. "Mom, can I take a break?"

(CEC - 10 minutes into her first subject on Day 1)

3. "Mom, thank you for homeschooling us."

(JNC - Day 1)

2. "I hate school...it's so boring."

(JNC - Day 2)

1. "Mom, how many more days of school do we have?"

(JNC - Day 3)

Aye!

She's a ROCK star!

Climbing vertically 30 feet in the air is NOT something you'll ever find me doing. I did it once at a summer camp back in 1996 when I was "leading" some high school kids who were challenged to brave this ropes course during their week at camp. Ha! I was completely terrified but stumbled my way through trembling in order to "set the example" so to speak. Well, I'm amazed that Linka (at age 8) was brave enough to climb this wall, not once, but three times while at the Pilot Pen Kid Zone a few weeks ago. Her younger sister (age 6) was right behind her doing the same thing. They were fearless. As for their mother....I thoroughly enjoyed watching them climb as my own two feet pressed firmly into the ground. ROCK-on girls!

"Homeschool Nation"

You've heard the phrase "Red Sox Nation". Well, now for a limited time, you can have a sneak peak at the lyrics to Nick's much talked about rap...."Homeschool Nation"!

"Home-schoolin' home-schoolin' - no we ain't foolin'...we're talkin' bout a holy education" ...beat beat...."makin' saints - that's our vocation...."

Nick's semi-infamous Homeschoolin' rap is being resurrected and sung now that school begins in just a few short days (sniffle, sniffle). I dug up this photo of the two big girls (my two little girls back then) on their first day of school. Linka in Kindergarten and Doobs in preschool. Gosh, how you girls have grown. I can't believe how big you are now and yet, you're still so little. You're now entering 3rd grade and 1st grade respectively and your little sisters are following behind you admiring you in every way. Mom and dad are proud of you and wish you a new year filled with all of the excitement and beauty of learning. I, too, am "home-schoolin" along side of you. (I could never recite the 50 States in alphabetical order until this past year when I learned them with you!) I have a feeling I'm about to learn some ancient history that I didn't pick up the first time around either. 

"Some people say, 'what about socialization?' I say, take a look at integration. The old kids, the young kids, they're all friends. It's not like, 'hey, what grade you in?' and that's where the conversation ends...beat beat beat..."we are the home-school nation!"

So...a new chapter of the school days begins and another verse of dad's rap will soon be written.

Order your copy today!

The Innocence of Youth

During our little visit to Lyman Orchards for blueberry picking last week, we decided to stop on the way out to feed the ducks and geese...there were lots of them. MK noticed that one little duck was favoring his leg and limping quite obviously. We concluded that he was wounded and had injured his leg badly. A few days later, we prayed at night and I asked the girls to offer a Hail Mary for someone in their life. We all shared who we had prayed for and MK said, "Mommy, I prayed for Papa, Father Charlie and the duck." It's in these little moments of life when I truly open my eyes to what Christ meant when he said that we must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. What innocence. What simplicity. What purity of heart. May we never be too busy to learn from children - often times, our greatest teachers.

"ANNIE" Christie

I just had to share this video of MKC, the resident ham bone, just before her 3rd birthday. She's being groomed for a new and current lip sync of an Ella Fitzgerald tune. Stay tuned....

Life's a Beach....

Okay...."Life's a pool!" and the girls are taking full advantage of it. The bathing suits have never gotten so much use and this is the first year that I've bought more than one tube of sunscreen. (They used to last for years at a stretch.) Louie's lessons are over but we keep refreshing her skills in the water...which she's not too fond of.  Kicky is becoming quite the little swimmer at almost four years old.  She begs not to wear her lifejacket so she can show off her water tredding skills, but may only do so if we are right there to watch her! (Not to worry, grandparents!) And the big girls are busy snorkeling and having under water tea parties and breath-holding contests. The best part of all is having friends and family over to join us. It's always a lot more fun for the kids and this means that mom doesn't have to be in the water 24/7. It sure beats the production of going to mediocre beaches of CT. (Rocks are being hurled by Californians who think I'm a snob.) I just can't help it. The "cool pool" is where I'm stayin!

Weekend in Chatham - July '08

We just got back from a beautiful four day weekend in Chatham, which now makes five years of tradition - thanks to the generosity of C&PL and family for allowing us to stay in their beautiful home once again. The seven cousins had a ball together. Highlights included rowing on the little boat through the bay, mommy and daddy's anniversary dinner out at Pisces in Chatham, (thank you nice babysitters), lobster and steamers from Nickerson's our last night, praying the rosary down on the dock as the sun set and the carousel ride in Hyannis on our way home. Low points were....the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory (boring), smashing yet a second glass end table on the patio (first one was broken last summer) and being too tired to make it through even one movie after the kids got to bed! The weather was spectacular - sunny, warm and no humidity! These weekends always remind us of Papa. He would have been so happy just watching all his grandkids running around. We know you're watching from above Papa!

Our Littlest Swimmer

Nickname Update #3:  AJHC was once "Muffin Top" then "Shmoo McGoo". Now she's moving on to bigger and better nicknames like "Louie". (Long story) Anyway, Louie is learning to swim.  Not for fun and not because she shows potential for the Olympics.  She's learning survival techniques developed for infants and toddlers that can save her life if she ever fell into our pool.  Hopefully, this will never happen.

She is in her fourth week of instruction now, each class lasting only 10 minutes. She works one on one with a special instructor who is conditioning her to orient herself in the water and to get into a restful, floating position in which she could remain for several minutes if necessary. This is an incredible resource (ISR) which was introduced to us last year. Louie is doing well, though she's not fond of it by any means. But she is much calmer now than during the first week and she knows full well what she's "in for" as soon as we pull into the parking lot every morning. I can tell she's a little anxious, but as a parent, I'm far more anxious lying in bed at night, praying that we will have another "safe" summer.