September and October

Has it really been over two months since my last update??  My, how the time flies!  I can't believe we are already in November, and it sure feels like it.  Weather has cooled down and the leaves are almost gone from the trees, but lets start at the beginning.  Where were we...

September:

September was a beautiful month with lots of beautiful sunny warm days.  Temperature was perfect in the mid 70s (low 20sC) with some warmer days thrown in. 

Visit to an apple orchard and farm with my sister Angie and her family:

The girls were much more adventurous than my boys, who kept a very safe distance

The intention was to go apple picking but the trees were full of rotted apples.  We don't know if it was just a bad year or the temperature but we contented ourselves with just visiting the animals and then went back to Angie and Thomas' for supper.

Random shots throughout the month:

The boys' favorite pastime on Wednesday mornings...watching the dump truck come pick up the trash

The boys

Freshly bathed

October:

Grocery store trip

If you look closely you can see Dominic is holding William's hand with his right hand, and his left is on Marcellus leg and he was looking down the whole time as if he was afraid he was going to fall out.  It was pretty hilarious.

Happy 1st Birthday Dominic!

My little baby is one year old!  I can't believe how quickly the time is passing.  What joy that kid has brought to this family.  He is such a happy baby (as long as he's fed, changed and has had proper sleep) and as cheeky as anything.  He follows me around just to be close and watch me work and when I look at him, he scrunches up his nose and gives me a big smile.  He has to keep up with his brothers and crawls around after them, getting into whatever they are doing.  

We had a little party for Dominic at Mom and Dad's house with all the cousins which was fun.

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday

His first cake! Which he loved, of course.

Cousins table

Birthday gift from Auntie Geegee (Angie) which he was quite enthralled with!  She makes the cutest stuffed animals by crocheting!

William "reading" to Marcellus out of their Saint book

Nana reading to the grandchildren at her surprise birthday party

They love being read to, especially by Nana!

<3

Saying prayers to Mary

...and then using Mommy as a playground

What it looks like to clean out and organize clothes for three boys from newborn to almost 5 years old in two different seasons. Not a fun job.  Thankfully its done and packed neatly away in 3 bins!

Zenith with his boys

At a nature trail nearby...they had this jail cell there.  I have no idea what the history is behind it!  It was a gorgeous autumn day walk though!

Riding his balance bike down the driveway

Happy Birthday Zenith!

Birthday boy sporting his new birthday present...cowboy boots!  The boys and I took him out to a local western shop and helped him pick them out and then we went out for burgers to celebrate his birthday.

Of course what's a birthday without a little party...

...and cake! Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting mmmmmm

These boys were pretty excited for cake too

I think he was hinting for something...

We had some lovely foliage this year much to our surprise!  We didn't expect much out here in the midwest but it was even better in places than back in New England!

a little pipe smoke and a beer on a Sunday arvo

I just had to share the cast iron skillet Zenith picked up at a yard sale for $5!  Don't let the rust deceive you...

...once they're all fixed up and reseasoned, they work like new!  I've been LOVING all my cast iron cookware!

Happy 3rd Birthday Marcellus!

All set up for his "Construction Party!"

Birthday pancakes!

Birthday Morning

Birthday cake time!

Radom videos from the past two months

Causing trouble during the rosary

William on his bike

Practicing this walking business

Playing in Daddy's work van while he reorganized

Going for a ride on the Polaris

Helpful little boy mopping

Marcellus learning to keep track on his "beads" during the rosary

Sorry for the long blog post!  I'll try to update more frequently to keep these shorter.

Happy Thursday!

~Lindsay

How they grow!

My boys; my pride and joy.  How blessed I feel at the privilege of being their Mom, and how astounded I am at the responsibility God has given me to raise them.

 Words can't describe how grateful I am to have this wonderful man at my side, to guide us through this life.  I am always amazed at his capacity for love and how devoted he is to me and his boys.  He's my lifeline, my rock, and an amazing role model to these boys. God has blessed me more than I ever deserved. <3

 William 4 1/2 years old:

Ah William...this boy is growing so quickly and what a big heart he has.  He loves his brothers and loves to take care of little ones.  He's Sanguine/Melancholic which makes him a sensitive soul with a focus on pleasing others.  He is a social butterfly, loves playing with other children and stopping anyone who will listen to him chatter on about his new belt, what he had for lunch, or whatever else is prominent in his little world at the moment.  He has a killer laugh and loves books and cuddles.  Daddy is his hero and his favorite thing to do is follow him around "helping" him with whatever task he's on.

He knows his alphabet, how to count to 20, and is now working on writing his letters independently.  He loves to learn, although his mind is often "off with the fairies" so getting him to focus is a different story.  He will be starting kindergarten the next school year and is very excited.

Marcellus 2 years old (3 in less than 2 months!):

Our little Marcellus...he never stops making us laugh.  He is such an active little fellow and is always on the move (and into trouble!).  He's quite impulsive and has a hard time controlling those urges to touch and play with things that he's not supposed to (and somehow those things end up in the toilet).  He's the child who loves to color on furniture and the wall, despite lots of consequences to those actions.  Yet, as I walked into their bedroom and saw the crayon marks on their nightstand, I couldn't help but smile.  I pointed out to Zenith that in a way its a reminder that we have children and there's something special in seeing those crayon marks.  I would rather have those crayon marks than an empty, clean home with none of the joy that comes with those mischievous moments of having children.  Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have angel children who never tested the boundaries and nice clean walls and furniture.  But God sent me Marcellus...He's trying to get me to Heaven! I'll learn patience one of these days.

Anyway back to the little guy.  He's getting to know his colors and shapes, he loves animals and learning how things work.  And whenever this kid is in trouble, his little face tells me how sorry he is.  He is such a sweet little boy and never does anything out of defiance or malice.  He's just a curious little guy with a heart of gold.  Those sparkling blue eyes never cease to bring smiles to us all, and does he love to sing!  He actually can sing quite well too.

Dominic 11 months old:

What a special little guy he is.  Full of smiles and laughter, he brings joy to us all on a daily basis.  The boys can't wait to go in to say good morning and love playing with him.  He has a lot of energy and I think I might be detecting a choleric streak since this boy is persistent!  He has two bottom teeth and finally eating solids along with breastmilk.  His two little teeth must be "sweet teeth" since he only likes fruit and not a lot of veggies, but hopefully he'll grow a "savory tooth" one of these days.  He crawls all around the house, following his brothers everywhere.  He stands himself up on everything and has finally learned how to put himself back down on the ground (it's a long way back down, you know!).  He's just starting to travel a bit on furniture but is much too cautious to try standing in his own yet.  He responds well to "no" and understands when Mommy and Daddy are telling him not to do something, although he still sometimes tests the limits.  He loves to talk and babble and knows some signs by sight but refuses to sign it himself.  He has now once or twice, but that stubborn streak comes out and he will not oblige Mommy on that one.  William was signing at 7 months, Marcellus at 8, but this kid?  He knows Mommy wants it so he just grins at me with a gleam in his eye.

What a job it is to be a Mom...24/7, never a break, minimal sleep, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It has molded me into such a different person and with the grace of God, it will continue molding me toward sanctity.  I've always thought about it as being opposite...we mold them.  We form them into the little people they grow up to be.  But it's a two sided coin and we learn so much from them and from the process.  First I must learn to be stripped down to my core in all the dirty work, struggles and hard times.  Then I can start building back up into a stronger, more grace-filled woman, and only then will I be able to allow God to mold my children through my actions.  

May God always help me to remember that and stay focused on the real focus of life; doing all for the greater glory of God and doing all I can to get my family to Heaven.  These are all but detours along the road...may God aid me in straightening out my path so we might take the most direct road!

My little kitchen helpers