Tubby Time

Here is Tommy in the tub.

He loves it.

He hates it.

He loves it.

He hates it.

Make up your mind, Tommy.

Do you or don't you like the tub?

You can't seem to make up your mind.

Tea Party with Dolls

Every little girl loves a tea party!

Last month we hosted a tea party for girls.

Each girl brought her own doll and our friend,

Peggy, who sews custom doll clothes professionally, came to help us.

Peggy displayed many of her beautiful clothing creations around the room. The girls were given buttons to place into a jar beside every item that she liked.

Afterward, Peggy did a sewing demonstration showing how the girls can make simple doll clothes on their own. (skirts, purses, etc.)

Each girl was then given some fabric and they each hand-stitched little purses for their own dolls.

Peggy's signature item is this adorable sleeping bag set with matching pillow, slippers and nightgown.

(American Girl....eat your heart out!)

After the sewing was done, it was time for TEA!

Grammy's super long table wasn't long enough.

So MK hosted her own table for our "smaller" guests!

Our girls are putting their new sewing machine to good use. They've been practicing on spare fabrics and learning to thread a bobbin.

Maybe even mom will learn a few things.

Little Drummer Boy

Tommy playing on his first "set" at nine months.

Papa would be so proud of the littlest new champ!

Our Trip to Arizona ~ October 2010

A few firsts...

Thomas and Ania take their very first flight on airplane.

First time seeing a cactus in real life!

Everyone's first time to Arizona (other than Daddy).

Caroline's first "babysitting gig" (well, mom & dad were down in the hotel lobby, so not really)

Ania's first time on a horse

First time visiting Michelle and Gil at their ranch

Mom's first time driving a Yukon XL

Our first time going to the much anticipated "In 'n Out Burger"

First time (and hopefully not our last) at the Desert Ridge JW Marriott Resort

Tommy...the king of the Castle

Grammy has asked for a list of Thomas' nicknames. Here they are, Grammy, lest we forget in the future.

Tuddy

Daddy Chud

Tawny

Tom Tom

Toma

Bady Boy

Honey Boy

Chub

Champ

Deh Spoo

Spooey Pooh

Tuddy Buddy

Tommy

Suh Suh Suh

and the most frequently used these days...

"Yeden C.J. Sparrow"

(explanation available upon request)

It's a New Year

2011

Mom's New Year's Resolutions

1. PRAY

2. Listen more....talk less

3. Say "Yes" whenever I can

4. Lower expectations

5. Repeat number 1

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!

Mary Katharine turned "5" in October!

We had our usual family breakfast party with daddy's annually requested "daddy/daughter kiss."

Plus she had a very special "baking party" with her little friends. They had lots of fun playing "Pin the Baker's Hat on Mary" and the little bakers were hard at work making brownies and cupcakes. Everyone got their own apron and wooden spoon along with a few little baked goods to bring home.

"Oh Mary, please don't grow anymore", we tell her. "You are so cute just the way you are." "But mom," she replies, "I can't help it. God makes me grow. I'm not doing a thing."

Summer '09 Highlights

Here are some highlights from the Summer of 2009

Our Very First Garden!

We did it...one step at a time!

It started out small....

...but then it grew and grew!

Lettuce, cucumber, tomato, cabbage, chard and lots of delicious herbs!

Our 2nd Annual Homeschool Summer Musical

"Cinderella"

starring Caroline

as

"Eutropelia"

(Cinderella's Mouse Friend)

and

Julia & Mary Katharine

as

"Alethea" and "Artemis"

(Fairies)

Franciscan Summer Camp

Caroline enjoyed another week at camp...

even though she'll miss her buddies Doh-Doh and Be-bet

The Greatest Anniversary Gift Ever

Pictures could never do this justice.

Grammy spent over one month with the girls,

learning songs, dances, making costumes and props

for a special surprise performance of

"South Pacific"

Mommy and Daddy were given fancy cocktails,

special tropical appetizers and

front row seats for our 12th wedding anniversary surprise.

The girls did a GREAT job.

You brought us to tears with your sweet voices,

little dance steps and all that you learned

and kept a secret for such a long time.

Thank you!

We love you so much.

Summer Film Project...our First Movie!

We are so blessed by the talents and dedication of the families in our community.

The girls had the special privilege of filming a documentary

on the life of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.

This project involved over 100 children from CT and Westchester County.

It was a lot of fun and was a fantastic experience

in many ways.

And last but not least...

Caroline's 9th Birthday in August

This year's party theme was a

"Johnny Rockets" Hamburger Party

cutting fondant "tomatoes" for her cheeseburger cake!

Our coolest cake so far (and the easiest one too)

Waiting to greet her customers at the JR Cafe!