The Cabbage Patch

ESTJ

I found this through the 4Real messageboards:  a prayer to go with each Meyers-Briggs personality.  Ask Ben how accurate it is.  ;) 

ESTJ: God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.

WALL-E

Today, Ben and I took the children to see a movie.  This was the first movie theater movie for my girls.  Brother had gone with his therapists to help him work on overcoming his sensory issues (Thank you, Kris and Liz) a few months ago.  They loved it!  The movie was a lot of fun.  This also was the first movie I had seen at the theater since August of 1999.  A lot has changed since then.

I couldn't believe the price of tickets.  Needless to say, we did not purchase snacks.  We did get one large drink to share amongst us.  We arrived early so we could snag good seats and all in one row--something we had to consider since we are a, by today's standards, a big family.  I also liked how the theater had booster seats for the little ones.  Pumpkin sat in one and could see well and didn't fold herself up in the seat.  My only gripe, and it's a big one, is they started the movie so late.  Fifteen minutes late.  That's the beginning of the previews!  If I were out by myself I wouldn't have worried so much, but I had this fear that all the good behavior was being used up.  I thought that by the time the movie started, the children would start acting up and things would slide rapidly downhill.  I went to complain and not much later the previews started.  Whew!

So, not a bad return to the theater. 

Not Quite Ready

Today, we worked on switching rooms.  Brother's room had a better layout of window and doors for 3 beds so we did the switcheroo.  Pumpkin had been sleeping with me all this time.  The work is not finished but the furniture is all moved in.  We just need to organize the toys.

At bedtime, I put Pumpkin in her bed and said my goodnight.  She told me she was afraid.  I reassured her as best as I could.  I pointed out that her sisters were in the room with her and that Jesus was watching her from above (her crucifix hangs above her headboard). 

In the end she didn't fall asleep in her room.  I guess she's not ready.

That's okay because I don't think I'm ready either.

Road Trip

The weekend started off fast with dress rehearsals for the ballet recital.  Saturday, Sister performed in the first performance--there are two performances as they school puts on an entire ballet with all the classes performing.  Sunday brought a family birthday party for Pumpkin and then another ballet performance with Honey performing as well (there are two classes for the 4 year olds, Honey's class performed on Sunday).  After the performance, we loaded the kids up in our already loaded Suburban and took off on our road trip.  We made it to Texarkana in about 6 hours with a few potty breaks (one 5 miles from our destination--aah, the joys of a newly potty trained child).  Our road trip started on the 19th of May; here are some pictures:

A little mishap before leaving. 

 We drove for hours the next day without a fun stop in there at all.  Our original stop point was going to be in West Virginia, but we stopped in Louisville, KY.  Still, it was a LONG drive.  The third day was long and we stopped in Chambersburg, PA.  Wednesday brings us fun stuff which I'll cover in my next post (who knows when that will be since it's taken me forever to get this done).

As Beautiful as Its Author

The blog that is.  Check out the new look at Alice's blog.  It's absolutely beautiful.

Let me tell you a quick story about Alice.  I've admired her for so long and longed to meet her in person.  The opportunity came up during our road trip as she lives close Ben's Aunt Vivian.  I was only able to meet up with her I although Ionged to meet two others in Long Island.  Alice and her girls were on the way back from a Latin mass where her older two girls sang (oh, my they have beautiful voices).  She dropped by for a very quick visit at Aunt Vivian's house.  You gotta love someone whose first words to you are "You're gorgeous!".  Alas, our visit was much too short as they had to leave for another engagement.  She is a beautiful person. 

Quite the Boom

A baby boom that is.  Congratulations to Melissa Wiley, one of my favorite children's authors, on her pregnancy.  Check out the links she has to all the other blogging mommies who are pregnant.

Happy 5th Birthday, Honey!

I can't believe she's already 5.  Where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl! 

Another Announcement

Mary Ellen has some news!  Go visit and offer your congratulations and prayers. 

Finally, My Brother...

is getting married.  He's 36 years old and this is his first marriage.  My sister and I are still in disbelief.  We love his future wife, she keeps him so grounded and makes him happy.  My crotchety brother is actually happy.  The wedding is tomorrow at 1:30.

Double the Fun!

 Congratulations to Genevieve on the birth of her twin girls!  They're awfully cute.