Emerging...

Apparently the way I process enormous life events is to (very psychologically healthy) not talk about it.  I refuse to name the cause of my large hiatus from my happy little corner of the blogosphere, but I'm going to carry on blithely as if nothing happened.  I do "keeping it all inside" really well (except those who know me know this is nonsense).

And just like that, it's Summer!  We emerge after NOT being able to get hair cuts or dogs groomed for two months.  Here's the "after" of Muffin, all shaved down:

Sittin' pretty

 Want to see how bad it had gotten?

 Poor thing could hardly see! She was a shaggy mess.

Muffin and Wilma play every morning. One of my favorite things.

Then, just because I'm lucky enough to have a sister-in-law who is amazing at doing hair, Galadriel and I scored fresh cuts. I cannot believe how long my hair had gotten!!

 But Galadriel's was beyond epic in length!

 I only got a couple inches taken off (my SIL refused to chop it like I asked!)

 But Galadriel lost at least 10 inches!  (Sorry these pictures are so dark and awful!)

We were SO lucky to have another fawn in our forest this year!   I saw the Mama in the forest in the morning, but the kids found the fawn later in the day while playing.

So precious!

Today is gloriously sunny and warm, but not hot or humid (we had a heat wave earlier this week).  My boys are all off with their dad at a golf course.  I bless the day the governor opened golf courses!  It truly got us through *those months* giving my boys somewhere (anywhere!) to go outside of our home.  My husband had given them permission to "hunt" squirrels during the unnamed shut down, but it backfired (pun- ha!) when my neighbors were concerned their dog might get hit (hashtag suburban problems).

For the rest of us (who couldn't golf), we pretty much survived by a) keeping a good home schooling schedule, b) doing noon Mass live stream, which allowed us to at least hear the daily readings, hear a good homily, feel connected to the Universal Church, the liturgical year, and make a spiritual communion daily, and c) going on many MANY walks daily.  Our dogs have never been so happy!

Looking forward to many cheerful summer blog posts ahead!

February

**I found this sitting in my drafts and decided to pop it up on the old blog to fill in a nice long gap!  Plus, I was wondering when I'd have a chance to update the progress in the kitchen: scroll down to see backsplash!

We had some days that felt a bit like Spring and I fully embraced Spring fever!  But then reality hit, and I went ahead and embraced that too: it's February, and we've got lots and lots of snow!

Here's a not-great picture of my new backsplash.  I'd update with better pictures, but my counters are never cleared off like they were when the backsplash was being installed!

So, I've got white appliances, white countertops and white backsplash.  It's significantly brighter and fresher than it felt with my old black and gold color scheme.  Now...lets see what year the floor gets replaced in, and maybe I'll even paint my cabinets and walls!

Baptism of the Lord (Sunday Update)

A 9 inch snowfall was predicted.  We got about 4 inches, which is perfect.  A nice white snow to freshen things up...but maybe not quite so long to melt.

With the warm winter we've been having lately, our house has been invaded by "stink bugs".  They're totally harmless, but last night my kids caught one.  Someone reported that some others were trying to drown the bug.  My husband, without thinking it through, said "guys, just let it go outside".  My 16-year-old son had a wonderful time regaling his father about "saving" the stink bug by tossing it out into the blizzard outside!  Eowyn asked if she could "keep it for a pet."  A quick google search confirmed that they eat fruit and leaves, amongst other things.

Muffin is still the "dumb blonde" of the household.  Still working on house breaking...(sigh).  One tip, which no one but me would need to hear, is that when purchasing a dog, make sure you research it's grooming requirements.  Teddy bear's do not shed, but their hair continues to grow, apparently, indefinitely.

 Since I haven't taken her to the groomer in a month,  Muffin's hair goes straight over her eyes so she can't see.  With four girls in the house, I now am adding doing my dog's hair to my list of girls to groom!

 Cute though.

stress relief

 And on the home front...that backsplash I mentioned last month?  It is supposed to be installed on the 22nd.  But I changed my mind on the tile.  It's kindof a long story, but my old "backsplash" was just the formica countertop that was installed about 8 inches up from the counter (that's where the white torn up wall is in the pictures.  I thought I was only replacing about 8 inches with tile, but when Home Depot came to measure, they measured the full wall space between the counter and the cabinets. which is now normal.

Because I had thought I only had 8 inches to work with, I had to rule out any larger patterns which wouldn't have enough room to show the pattern and I chose the tile below:

 It reflected light and matched the countertop.  It wasn't not my "dream" tile.  I liked it, but I thought that with 20 inches instead of 8, it might get too "busy" for me.  I'm kindof a minimalist, and I want a "white" kitchen.

Yesterday my Mom ran over to Home Depot and agreed with the "other" tile I had seen, and loved, and wanted to change to.  So, we put in a new order and if the new tile comes in before the 22nd, we can still install before the end of the month!  Cross your fingers!

Happy Feast of the Baptism of the Lord!

Happy Sunday!

January

January 1st is one of my favorite days of the year.  It is the Solemnity (high feast day of the Church) of Mary Mother of God.  There is often snow in the first week of January, and after a green Christmas, the fresh white snow seemed appropriate for the New Year.  Snow usually leaves clear skies in its wake, and sunshine streaming from a blue sky, bouncing off of white snow, makes the most beautiful of the winter scenes!

All is calm, all is bright.

All was blue and white, bathed in cold sunshine.  Even the world bedecked itself in Mary's colors of blue and white.

I snapped a picture through a screened window (sorry, I know, why bother) of a morning sunrise sometime this week.   

 Wilma under the tree.

Tree skirt now rumpled and in need of vacuuming.  Needles falling.  I can't believe how quickly the Christmas octave passed!

The board games always come out after Christmas.  The chess board has been on our dining room table as a stable fixture.

My sister's family came in on the 26th.  The girls got to go to a movie, ice skate and have a sleepover in the basement.  The 27th was our 19th Wedding Anniversary, and I got to go on a very special date to a new restaurant with my wonderful husband.  The 28th was a baptism for my new niece.  The 29th my brother, the priest brother, said Mass on the Feast of the Holy Family.  Everything was bustling and busy (I did have one sister whose family was totally laid low with the flu...) ....until Sunday night.  We got a text from my brother-in-law saying he couldn't get ahold of my mother-in-law.

After a flurry of phone calls and texts, we were able to get a friend to my mother-in-law's house to check on her.  She wasn't ok.  She was home, but had had a stroke.  

That night I felt the fever come on.  I got the flu.

I never left the couch the next day.  Or the next.  By day three I was on the road to recovery.  Day four gave my husband the confidence to leave me in charge of the family for a while and fly to see his mom.

Sick, sleeping kids are much cuter than sick, sleeping me!

My Mother-in-law is out of the ICU and in rehab.  It's pretty awful, but it could be worse.  She can move, but she can't really talk.  Apparently the rehab people said they've seen worse, and seen those people leave speaking.  Please help us pray for Gramz!!

November, December...

I'm going to throw this up on the blog, out of chronological order!  It begins with an Advent mantle scene (with our new mantle cloth this year), but tracks backwards to Thanksgiving, when my Mother-in-Law came to visit for a week!

My Mom bought me pieces from the Lennox Nativity every year since my wedding (until I had this much of the set), when I was married two days after Christmas.  There are more pieces that I might start adding myself.  I've got my eye on an elephant and camel!  (Baby Jesus is hiding until Christmas).

Gimli turned 15 and got his annual chocolate cake.  This year it was decorated with candy canes left over from St. Nick's hot chocolate!

We got our new counter tops installed...and we're still waiting for the backsplash to happen sometime in the new year...

Discovered this beautiful "Surrender Novena" (only the outside cover is in French!lol)  I'm working on trust and surrender to God's will and providence in my life.

(Welcome sign for Gramz)

I'll consider this "all caught up"!  Peace and love!:)