Christ is Risen!!

...Indeed He is Risen!!  Happy Easter Monday to you all!  And guess who is back on a laptop???  Part of me is relieved to be back in business, but the other part of me was quite happy to be free from the distraction the laptop offered.  But, I'm determined to have learned something from this Lent and I am making the laptop less a part of my daily routine.  I found I had more time to do spiritual reading throughout the day and I had much more peace and patience when I wasn't too tied up to focus on my children.

Anyway, yes, we are now owners of a new Asus laptop.  Just very basic (and pretty cost efficient) but does the job.  We certainly don't need any bells and whistles around here.  Here's to hoping it lasts as long as our last one!

We had a very good Holy Week and a lovely Easter Sunday.  Zenith went alone to Holy Thursday as I knew Friday the boys would be missing naps during the service and then Saturday we were going to the Vigil so I didn't want to push it by being out late Thursday night and messing them up even more.  I was sad not to go.  It's just not the same without it and really mentally prepares you for Holy Week and Easter.

But God knows, and sometimes He asks other things of us as mothers; things like not being able to meditate through the whole rosary because you're making sure a toddler is sitting quietly or feeding a baby, or not paying attention during Mass because you're in and out with a fussy or hungry baby and teaching that same toddler how to behave properly during Mass.  But those are the sacrifices God is asking of me now.  It's all part of my vocation as a mother and can be beautiful when all done in the light of charity.  Sure, I'd love to say prayers before, during or after Mass with no distractions.  But offering those distractions and frustrations to God with resignation and love will gain more merit and graces than if I had disregarded my duties as a mother and let my children do whatever they wanted.  They need to be taught how to behave so that they can learn how to properly attend Mass and grow in love of Our Lord.  It's a beautiful duty, really, and a huge honor.  If we as parents don't, who will?  We'll be responsible someday for their utter disregard of the Faith if we haven't done what we could to foster it.

Ah, but I digress.  Anyway, I was able to do what I could Holy Thursday and read through the missal and sang the chants from it.  Good Friday was a bit difficult as Zenith was singing in the schola so juggling the boys was challenging, but we made it.  Didn't help that I hadn't eaten much so as my blood sugar dipped, so did my patience and mood. :P

Speaking of Holy Week, here's a clip of William reading through his Easter book.  We've been talking about what Holy Week means and what happened to Jesus on the cross.  He looks very concerned and when I ask him how to make Jesus feel better, he smiles and blows him a kiss.  It's so precious!

Easter Vigil was beautiful as always.  It never ceases to amaze me when they bless the fire and light the Pascal candle.  I get goosebumps thinking of the significance that the one little light represents; Our Lord is the light of the world, and as that candle leads the procession back into the Church, all being dark except that one light, I was thinking back to the night when all was quiet until at midnight, in what I imagine must have been a flash of light, Our Lord freed His Body from the tomb and rose from the dead.  As we sang the Lumen Christi, I thought of Our Lord, conquering death by His Resurrection, having shed light on the whole world through His life, Word, and example. He is the Light and Life, and our only means of salvation.  After the sadness we go through in the liturgy of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, remembering and meditating on the Passion and Death of Our Lord, my heart is so lifted at the Vigil by the thought that He has defeated sin, and His love and sacrifice, through the Passion, has conquered all.

William did fantastic despite it starting at 10:30pm and finishing at 1:30am.  He was a good boy, and listened pretty well.  Marcellus on the other hand...well, I suppose it was after his bedtime so I can't blame him.  Once again, Zenith was singing for part of it so it was a little challenging but went better than I thought.

Sunday we went to Mom and Dad's with my two sisters and their families and we had a lovely day.  Sun was shining and it was a beautiful Easter.  And without further ado, pictures!

We'll start with St. Patrick's day...this little Irishman had green milk (almond milk with honey and green food coloring :P) and loved it!  Mom and Dad cam over later and we had a lovely dinner of corned beef, sauerkraut, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and Paleo Irish Soda Bread (made by Mom).

This little leprechaun was just too sleepy to stay awake 

Easter Baskets for the boys!  Can you guess which is which? :P  My sister Jess over at Little Family Blessings has this great tradition (I don't think she's posted this year

s yet, but you can see last year's here) where she puts the empty Easter baskets out on top of her mantle on Holy Saturday and covers them with a purple blanket.  On Easter Sunday, the kids find the blanket still there but no Easter baskets under it (to symbolize the empty tomb) and they run to their Daddy to ask where they are, to which he responds with a quote from the bible: "Why do you seek the living among the dead, He is risen!"  When they hear the word "risen," it's their cue to go on a hunt to find their baskets.  I can't wait to implement that when William is older.  I just love all the Catholic symbolism behind it!  She turned something secular (with all the Easter bunny stuff) into a beautiful, Catholic tradition!

This year, however, it was just a matter of putting baskets on the table.  William doesn't really "get it" yet and I don't have the mental energy (or physical) to be doing a lot of "extras" right now.  

He was quite excited regardless!

Easter basket!

He was quite excited about his boots!

Easter Sunday, egg hunt!

Followed by the Resurrection Egg hunt where the kids find the eggs inside and open them in order and have to say what the symbolism inside each egg is.  There are different things representing Our Lord's Passion and Resurrection and the kids all did great guessing what symbolized what!

It's time for...

Tractor rides!!

Hanging with Bumpa :)

Daddy's turn

All the cousins hanging out!

My sister Kaite and her family on Easter.  Unfortunately I didn't get one of my sister Chrissy and her lovely family. :(  I didn't realize they were having their family picture taken outside.

Me and the boys...I just love my little guys!

Well that about sums up our Easter.  I hope you all have a lovely Easter week.  It's currently rainy and cool here but I guess there would be to May flowers without April showers. :)

Just a couple more videos.

I have more videos of Marcellus but I think they're on Zenith's phone so I'll try to post them soon.

Happy Easter!

~From the Family

Computer Problems

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that the reason why I haven't been blogging much is because our computer has sadly kicked the bucket. After seven good years with Zenith, it finally decided it had had enough and fried itself (more likely that it's just had enough abuse from me since anyone can tell you that I am not the nicest to my electronics). ;) Our new laptop is on its way and due to arrive sometime this weekend so after we play around with that and try to set it up, get our old documents and such switched over, then spend another few hours to figure out how the heck I hooked up are wireless printer, that I have no software or connecting cable for, to the laptop, and then try to figure out how to navigate through Windows 10 since our old laptop had Windows 7, we'll be good to go! Can you tell that I just love change? ;)

William is completely potty-trained at home and almost potty trained while out. He still wears a diaper just in case we can't get to a bathroom while out and about. Marcellus has been rolling over more now and has finally discovered his feet. He's so cute rolling on his back and grabbing his toes. We tried to give him his first taste of solid foods last night. I'll let you see his reaction for yourself.

Obviously not a lot of success, in fact no success. My hopes of being able to sleep through the night and not wake so often to feed him have been dashed. The little stinker has been up lately more than usual to eat, I think it might be because he's going through another growth spurt. Then again it could be because of teething. Then again it could be because of anything. Regardless, I was hoping that having some solid food would help him stay satisfied for longer than if I was just nursing him. Oh well, I guess this isn't the time yet. He'll eat solids when he's ready.

I normally wouldn't push him so soon to start eating solids, but I need to wean him off the breast feeding as I plan on starting treatment for the Lyme next month. More recently I've actually been feeling okay. I've been very careful with my diet and eating as natural and whole food as possible. It's been making a pretty big difference. I also now have a personal sauna that I have been using regularly to detox, which I think is also helping.

Marcellus seems like he's doing fine after having been treated for Lyme disease. He's a very happy baby and loves to smile. He's definitely more active than William ever was, but then again I can't really compare the two since every child is going to be different. It's so interesting to see the differences between the two.

I just looked up from where I am writing this and noticed that William is driving his little car all around the couch. He hasn't really played with his little cars on his own much so it's interesting to see him reach a stage where he now can pick up a toy and play with it on his own. It's adorable to watch his little imagination running. It seems like it's just something that's so ingrained in boys; to just pick up a car and drive them around anywhere they can go, while making the noises cars make. He loves to try to figure out how things work. When we're out, he has to study everything different that he sees. Recently, I was in a cafe and noticed he was trying to look under the refrigerator case where they had all the drinks. I realized that he was just trying to figure out where the sound came from and what was going on inside. He's a little engineer!

Speaking of which, this video shows him at work with his choo choo train.

Since I don't have a laptop, I can't upload the pictures from my camera, not that I have many. I'll try to get some more pictures on Easter and upload them to our new laptop and then hopefully get a new post going soon. But for now that's all I leave you with.

I hope you all have a good Holy Week, and a happy Easter on Sunday!

~Lindsay

Pictures, videos, and updates!

Is Lent already halfway through? I can't believe how fast the Advent season went and then Christmas came and went, and now we're already in to Lent approaching Easter! The focus of lent this year for me is a bit different than it usually is. Usually it's a matter of giving up something food related, but this year I'm trying to think outside the box in terms of penance and also trying to incorporate more of the spiritual aspect into my everyday household duties. If Our Lady could make being a wife and mother perfect by completing every chore, every duty for and with her family, with perfect charity, then that's something I would like to shoot for as well. In several books on motherhood that  I've read, the vocation of a wife and mother is something that can be beautiful when done with perfect charity and in accordance with the will of God. This is something I think most of us know, but I've never thought of it in terms of having my own rule of life, just as someone in a convent or monastery would have. Instead of always feeling like I just need to get through the day to get to something else, I want to live every moment of the day as perfectly as I can and for God. Every little thing that happens throughout the day is an opportunity for me to offer some small sacrifice or penance to God. I find so much more joy in my everyday life when I view it in this way rather than it just being a chore or something that I dread. This is a goal I'd like to strive for at least!

Last month, my Lyme symptoms flared up pretty badly so I decided to take drastic measures. I decided to do a 30 day diet I knew to be pretty effective in fighting the Lyme bacteria which means I wasn't eating any grains, sugar of any type (except for that which is naturally in fruit), Dairy, many additives and preservatives that are chemically based, legumes, and limited nuts.  So yeah, it was basically water, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish and some spices and herbs thrown in.  It was actually quite nice to get down to the basics and appreciate the flavor of food rather than masking it with lots of sugar, sauces, and condiments.  It was a hard 30 days, but really worth it as my symptoms definitely decreased and I'm feeling better than I was.  Amazing what happens when you eat the way God intended, eh?  Between the genetic mutation and the Lyme, my body just can't handle the toxins, GMOs, and other junk that is in a lot of our processed food nowadays.

Well there's a quick update on the Lyme...not much else has changed.  I plan on weaning on breastfeeding in a couple months when I start Marcel on solids so I can start more rigorous Lyme treatment.  Time to buckle down and get this thing taken care of!

Moving on!  I have been just awful about updating the blog.  For awhile it seemed like not a lot was happening and then all the sudden things picked up and I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and do up a post.

Our friend, Tess, was here for a week which was really nice and we both thoroughly enjoyed the company.  I guess I'll continue with pictures and explain as I go. Onward!

One of only a couple snow storms we got this year.  There's really nothing better than being all toasty warm inside, making dinner, and then looking outside and seeing Daddy and his buddy playing out in the snow.  The view doesn't get any better than that! (they're with our landlord, by the way...she loves to play with William whenever she gets the chance!)

Mummy and the boys :)

Zenith was able to take Friday off when Tess was here so we took out library passes and went to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth.  It was so much fun to see William interacting with things!  He was just old enough to start appreciating everything.  Of course any wheels that spun got the most attention from him. ;)

"choo choo!"

Sorry for the poor quality...we forgot out camera so the majority of these are from our phone.

Because most kids would rather play inside a box anyway!

Peek a boo!

On Sunday we were able to get another library pass to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston.  It's an old historic house that was owned by a woman who loved to collect all kinds of artwork.  When she passed away, she left the house and all the artwork to the public, under the condition that nothing be changed.  It has a beautiful indoor courtyard that made us all long for Spring!

And then there's this happy chap. :)

And other random photos...

Marcellus has already rolled over a few times and is becoming more content to just lay somewhere and watch all the goings on.  He's a very happy boy and smiles at anything.  

I'm really behind on videos but here is one from William's birthday of him opening his e-card from Nonno and Nonna.

Reading his Mother Goose book from Nonno and Nonna

Potty training!  Sometimes you just have to watch a show to help things...move along. ;)  And of course you need your brother for support.  (He's actually pretty much potty trained now, woo hoo!)

William's new chore

Practicing schola with Daddy

Just chillin



Giggling boy

I don't want to overwhelm you with videos so I'll leave it at that.

Happy Friday!

~Lindsay