We are off to Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral, where the three oldest girls sing tonight. My sister is here from Colorado and has never been to the Cathedral, so I'm excited for her to see St. James and the girls sing! Afterwards we'll have snacks and appetizers amidst our straw-strewn table!! Everyone is very excited and the smiles abound!
Hoping the birth of Baby Jesus brings you much joy this holy Christmas season!
Julius Peter Michael Gallus Jr. arrived yesterday, December 9!!!!!! We call him "Michael." Here is little Michael Gallus at about 5 hours old~
Pete, Jacqueline (2) and Michael
Erika (8), Dorothy Jo (7) and Michael
And, of course....the whole clan!
We had a lovely, wonderful, fun, talented and very helpful visitor this August! Her name was Mathilde, and she traveled across "l'Atlantique" from Rennes, France to spend a month with us---to improve her English, experience a little corner of the United States and help me with the girls. I was able to focus on some yearly school planning and projects before that slower-third-trimester hits. It was everything we could have hoped for and more!
Here we are after Mass on her last Sunday with us~
The girls ADORED her:
They are staying AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE as she checks in her luggage at the airport last Wednesday. Moments later, they were all just a puddle of tears as we said, "Adieu." :-(
By the way, Mathilde is the oldest of five children. Her parents had FIVE GIRLS and the SIXTH (Charles) is a BOY, who is 1 year old. Coincidence???? I think not! So, we'll have "un petit correspondant" for our little boy too.
BOY!!!!!!!
There is a little Baby BOY in my tummy!
We really never thought we'd see the day. LOL!
And, it was so QUICK! So easy to see boy-parts! I was on that table for two minutes and the technician said, "Well, it looks like you have the other variety this time!"
"What?" I asked.
"You've got the other variety this time!"
"Really? You're kidding!" I said.
"No...I saw it right away, actually, but we were chatting!" she responded.
Pete, who had apparently not yet settled his very large quadriceps and gigantic shoulders into the tiny little chair provided for him, wasn't even paying attention yet. I think he was dreaming of firing his new gun in the mountains the next day.....but he denies it, of course.
"What? Huh? What are you talking about?" he stammered.
"Pete....it's a BOY! She said it's a boy! Can you believe it?"
"No way! It's not a boy! It can't be a boy!"
"Yes.....it's a boy!
"Are you SURE? Where? Show it to me! Can we see?"
And, yep....there it was....REALLY OBVIOUS! As opposed to the past when we've waited 45 minutes and the ultrasound-tech says, "Well....we think it's a girl, but we're not sure." I always wanted to just give a gigantic eye roll and shake my head and say, "Really? Could you check AGAIN? I've been here for over an hour and provided your student-ultrasound-program with a real live pregnant body and you've rolled over every single inch of my belly and you STILL CAN'T TELL? REALLY? Did you quadruple-check?"
I think it's especially funny that God chose to send my 49-year-old-husband a boy NOW. So much for teaching that child how to play LaCrosse and climb mountains! LOL!
Above is a 21 week photo from last Sunday....but the ultrasound "says" the baby is measuring more around a due date of Dec. 15 (instead of Dec. 29) which would be 2 weeks early.....so maybe this is a 23 week photo.
When is she due?
We'll be having a little Christmas bundle this year! And, no, we don't KNOW it's a girl...it's way too early for that. But, REALLY, we DO KNOW, don't we? LOL!
I am 11 weeks along right now, and we go in for the first midwife appointment next week. The girls are following along in our favorite baby-development book: A Child Is Born. And, they are, of course, extremely excited~
For a good laugh, here is the post of those same jumping-girls, minus one, when we told them I was pregnant with Jacqueline.
We are in survival-mode around here. Bare essentials. One doesn't do much that isn't essential when you are constantly feeling a strong-calling to get horizontal and feeling nauseous. I also have Ptyalism during the first 3-5 months of pregnancy.
What is Ptyalism, you ask? Increased saliva. And, lots of it. I never go anywhere without my spit-cup and my glass of ice water, to stay hydrated. Which makes it hard to do lots of things. And, I'm very careful where I go in public and to whom I speak. I cannot talk without having to rid myself of the excess saliva every 15 seconds. I think most people just think I am drinking from my little spit-cup. Pete and the girls are not so convinced. LOL!
So, here's to the little-baby-on-the-way, those crazy sisters, a wonderful daddy, and an end to the first trimester!
Catching up, finally! We celebrated Jacqueline's birthday the end of April. Here is the crazy, little bug at the glorious age of two!
For the first time, we had a PINATA for a birthday celebration. Here is Jacqueline tap-tap-tapping away on the frog-pinata:
The mad scramble for the goodies----
Spring is "our season" for birthdays. Five out of the seven of us have birthdays in March and April.
Caroline's birthday is in March. Then Pete began his 48th birthday with Breakfast-in-Bed, made by the Fabulous-Five-Gallus-Girls ALL BY THEMSELVES!!
Madeleine made the eggs. Erika cut up the fruit. Dorothy Jo made the toast, and Caroline made the hot chocolate!!! Jacqueline just ran around the kitchen making trouble, so Madeleine got smart and plopped her on the couch to watch a video. My job was to keep Pete in bed :-)
Surprised Daddy:
And for once, Pete looks awful in a picture (he's very photogenic!) and the girls look so CUTE, so I had to post this just for Uncle Scott, who LOVES to say "Pete, MAN....you look AWFUL there!"
Next up was Madeleine, who turned NINE this year!
Sisters, neighbor-Jemma and choir-buddy-extrodinaire-Helena:
Moving right along (barely)......my 40th.....celebrated with my favorite: CHEESECAKE & WINE!
And, then these crazy-people showed up at the door with a GIGANTIC candle, singing "Happy Birthday!" One of them, then perched himself right in the middle of the kitchen, looking like THIS:
*eye roll*
Jacqueline's 2nd birthday is next week, but we may celebrate while my brother is in town visiting this weekend. The fun just keeps on going. *wink*
End-of-January Update:
***Our garage is now a furnished room of the house, and it is absolutely WONDERFUL! 400 square feet of ROOM! Square footage is a marvelous thing. More pictures to follow.
***Our routine has resumed. We're on week 5 of our Winter Term. We're slowly working out gliches and enjoying our learning time! Dorothy Jo is still in AM kindergarten and loving it very much.
***The three older girls are enjoying their Choir Program at the Cathedral! And, loving their Irish Dance class on Wednesdays.
***The girls and Pete met Uncle Scott up in the mountains to go sledding last weekend. And, this weekend everyone went roller-skating and biking today.....Pete's a busy guy.
***I have been busily moving things around, using our new SPACE, and organizing, purging and labeling like crazy. I got a label-maker for Christmas, and I'm completely in love!
***Last Saturday was HAIR CUT NIGHT, and boy did we go crazy!!!!!!! We all felt like it was time for a change and happily parted with a few inches. I poured myself a glass of wine and opened up my beauty parlor, while Pete got busy in the scouring/bathing department! Later in the evening, we each had a White Russian to celebrate our accomplishment! *wink* Here is the inch-off-report:
The girls love their new "look" and Jacqueline is even sporting a little fountain that she actually leaves in sometimes. Now, we need to order some new HEADBANDS and we're set!
Here is a close-up of Madeleine, since hers is the most drastic:
Before:
After:
We took the annual picture of the girls in autumn leaves last weekend. We skipped last year for some reason. But, rallied this year! Here is the same picture from 2006 and from 2007.
Jacqueline isn't too sure what's going on here:
My little close-ones....Dorothy Jo (6) and Erika (7) are a mere 15 months apart.
And, a quick Daybook Entry just for fun!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
I know I'm about 2 weeks late! But, oh well!
Somewhere in Seattle, WA is a man who saved our backs. Literally. About four years ago Pete took the girls to a park on a Saturday morning so that I could do my 1-hour-whirlwind-house-cleaning. (I don't do that anymore, btw. Now, when he leaves the house with them, I do something that doesn't involve being on my feet.) But, I digress....
One day in October 2002, after baby #2-Erika was born, we were taking a family walk and passed a house about a block from ours where a VERY pregnant lady was unloading her car. We waved and said a quick "Hello!" and my interior monologue went something like "Ooohhhh, another MOM!!!! with a new BABY!!!! I wonder if this is her first? I wonder if she stays at home? I wonder if she's fun! She smiled....yes, I'll bet she's fun! Maybe someday I'll meet her."
The end of April, the girls and I trekked up north to the Annual Skagit Valley Tulip Fest.
Ten years ago, Pete and I attended the Tulip Fest together; it was one of our VERY FIRST DATES! How romantic we must have been; frolicking around the carpet of tulips and daffodils. We OBVIOUSLY had a very good time, as we decided to get married a mere 2 months later!
Now, here we are, carrying on the tradition, with a few more wee-ones to enjoy the magnificent site! (Click for montage)
Especially when you are a first-born daughter.
She's my right-hand-gal!
Not that she NEEDS them (she can't even sit up yet), but they are just so much fun that we can't help ourselves.
Using Michele's soft-shoe tutorial, we made these two while my sister was here a couple weeks ago:
Then Auntie Senta made these once she got back home and sent them last week:
Can you just IMAGINE the shouts of glee and wonder when THAT package was opened and its contents revealed?
So cute!!! I have a denim pair and a cute little lavender paisley pair all cut out and ready to sew up.
Let's see....one more picture of them all together? Well....OK, you talked me into it.
......is that I get to cross all the crazy things off my list, such as: Take Picture of Feet. The last foot picture was a bit outdated. No one except my sister or my mother would put up with the nonsense needed to accomplish this monumental task:
So, I have a group foot-picture in the grass, in the leaves, and now in the sand. If we have another baby and I do this AGAIN with 6 pair of feet, my mother has dared me to do this in the snow!
Here is Auntie Senta with her beach-going-clan with Mt. Baker in the background:
And, she comes bearing gifts! Homemade bags for everyone, complete with goodies inside!
We said good-bye to my mother on Wednesday. Everyone cried. She was a huge help and lots of fun, as usual. Before she left, we had the obligatory photo-shoot.
"Nama" (as Caroline calls her) and her five grand-daughters.
And, we were able to get our second picture as a family of seven without involving the whole neighborhood. In the first picture, you couldn't even SEE the seventh member.)
Now, I must excuse myself. I need to attend to the laundry and messy kitchen; household tasks I haven't done for the past three weeks!
The midwife is on her way. My fifth labor. When I get to this point, I am always in utter disbelief that I am actually going to "do this" yet again. Up until now, I do a pretty good job of NOT thinking about it.
I've been having contractions since late this morning after my first 40-week-prenatal-appointment. The girls went to bed early, as we hoped we'd have to wake them up sometime tonight. And, it looks like we will!
My mother called a couple weeks ago and told me about a conversation she had with a woman after Mass at coffee-n-donuts. My mom mentioned that her oldest daughter (me) was almost due with her fifth baby.
"Fifth baby! Oh my! They must have a very big house!" she exclaimed.
"No not really, just average, I suppose," my mom said.
"Well, then they must have lots of bedrooms!"
"Bedrooms?" questioned my mother. "Oh no.....all the children are in one bedroom."
"One bedroom? How do you do that? It must be a very large bedroom," she said.
My mom likes to shock people, so of course, she let it all out. "No, not large at all. 10 x 13’. And, well….they have two sets of bunk beds and a crib in that room. And, to tell you the truth, most of the time there are actually a couple of beds empty."
The woman apparently couldn’t wrap her mind around that one, as the conversation ended right then and there.
Next time my mom will be prepared. I’m considering sending her this photo which says it all:
Look closely. That's THREE heads you see. And, it ain't in a twin bed! IT'S IN THE CRIB, for crying out loud!!!!!! The 7, 5, and 2-year-old (Madeleine, Erika and Caroline) SLEEPING IN THE CRIB together!
Good thing we went through all that work to set up those TWO sets of bunk beds.
Three empty beds! Good grief.
Madeleine had her "meeting" with the DRE at our parish this morning. It went well, and she is eagerly awaiting April 27!!!
Here she is with her First Holy Communion Notebook that has only a couple of pages left to complete. She has done such a good job, and is so proud of it. She did a lot of scrapbook-type decorating, and there are many verbose narrations. Madeleine does not enjoy drawing pictures, but prefers to talk endlessly while I type. So, TYPE I do!
We used the ideas and outline that the wonderful ladies at 4Real mentioned in the thread above, and tweaked it a bit. Here is the outline of what we ended up with: Download FHC Notebook DOC. I'm sure this will look different with each child.
When we got home today, we made a little prayer/candle area, similar to what Dawn did last year. And, gave her "Welcome Jesus ~ A First Communion Preparation" , a novena booklet for first communicants. The prayers are very sweet.
Sixteen more days!
Blessed Imelda, pray for her and all first communicants!
"Why are leaves green?" and "Where does oil come from?" were two questions posed to me before the clock struck 8:00 am. Golly. Photosynthesis and Oil Refinement. NOT two subjects that a pregnant mother of four should have to explain before her morning cup of coffee or tea and a bit of nourishment.
I attempted the photosynthesis explanation during breakfast, and then left the oil discussion and explanation to my beloved.
Little did I know he would take it so seriously. Out came the photo albums, the maps, the globe, and paper and pen. And, of course out came the infamous 8x10 framed picture of his oil rig that hangs in "his" basement bathroom. Yes, that's right. You read that correctly. I am married to a man who has a picture of an Alaskan oil rig that he worked on for 3 months every year for 3 years in his twenties. It is one of my favorite things to tease him about.
It was also one of the things Uncle Scott laughed about when we first got married. Chuckling he says to me, "Soooooo....whadya think of Pete's choice in framed pictures?"
And, to Pete, "Dude, do you actually think she's going to KEEP that picture up there after she moves in here?"
Here is the Gladdest Hours Crew learning everything you always wanted to know about OIL on a lovely Saturday morning:
Everytime I walked by, I got the smug little look from him that said, "See??? Aren't you sorry you mocked me? Some home-educating mom you are! Underestimating the value of a framed oil rig photo."
I just smiled and continued mashing my avocadoes. And, then sat on the couch for a few minutes of reading while my little geologists were occupied.
Note Madeleine learning about drilling oil in her First Communion dress and gloves.
I, personally, couldn't believe how many questions they had. This all stemmed from the oil truck that came to fill our oil tank the other day, and the very nice oil-company-man who was very friendly and happy to see four little smiling faces run out to him, jabbering away. I guess it was his lucky day.
Here is Daddy after a day's work in those days:
Just kidding, of course. I'm not quite feelin' groovy, but I certainly can't complain.
I'm actually not as completely incapacitated as I was with Caroline's (#4) pregnancy at this point. There are probably three reasons for this:
Due date is April 29, but I've never made it to 40 weeks. Caroline was 8 days early, and each delivery seems to get earlier and earlier.
The countdown continues.....
.....next to giving birth to my fifth baby girl. But that hasn't happened yet, so this is definitely my greatest accomplishment SO FAR, this year! (I wonder what my college professors would think about this fact? LOL!)
We have succeeded in getting FIVE car seats / booster seats in a 1999 Dodge Caravan! The "old" minivans are much narrower than the newer ones, so this is really a big deal! Plus, by the time most people have 5 children, usually at least ONE or TWO of them are OUT OF CAR SEATS!
I keep waiting for 20/20 to knock on my door and interview us, but it hasn't happened, so I'll blog about it instead.
These were the previous car seats:
The three on the right have all expired, so they have taken the infamous ride to the dump, never to be seen again.
Here is the obligatory photo of car seats with owners in the sitting position:
Enough with the old! Onward! I was very nervous the day these appeared on my doorstep:
If the contents of these boxes didn't work, then I would:
The contents of these all-important boxes were two Sunshine Radian 65 car seats, thanks to LisaD from from this 4Real thread. By far, the most narrow car seat on the market. The Radian is 12" across the base and 17" at the shoulder area. It holds a child in a 5-point-harness 5 lbs. - 65 lbs., and 53" tall. This is NOT a booster. It's for older/heavier children to be in a 5-point-harness, basically for the rest of their lives, lol.
Then, we purchased a Graco Turbobooster, which is a fairly narrow booster. 16" at the base. We have 49" plastic to plastic in the back seat of the van. After much time, sweat, muscle, and a bit of cursing, Pete installed these successfully, while I stood around and did nothing prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes.
It actually worked:
Look at that. A beautiful sight. Not an INCH to spare.
From left to right in the backseat:
22 lbs. 2-year-old - Radian
36 lbs. 4-year-old - Radian
40 lbs. 5.5-year-old - Graco TurboBooster with a car seat belt extender from the Dodge
dealership.
The seat belt extender (thanks, Nicole-"humanaevitae") pulls the female seat belt out about 6 inches, which makes it possible to buckle in the booster on the far right, otherwise this wouldn't work, as you wouldn't be able to get your hand down there to fasten the seat belt, since we have not even a millimeter of extra space. I can get my hands in there, but not Pete, and not the child. The verdict is still out on whether or not it's safe to have the buckle nearer the pelvis like this; I've had differing opinions from car-seat-techs. Hopefully, we won't have to use it all the time, but it's there just in case.
Then in the middle seat we have:
Happy Birthday, Pete! You just received $400 worth of car seats for your birthday! And, you have succeeded in avoiding purchasing another vehicle for at least another couple of years! Yes, yes....a glorious 46th birthday present indeed.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!
We attended an absolutely beautiful Mass yesterday morning. Our neighbors, John, Julee and Jemma attended and sat next to us, which resulted in all three older girls immediately moving to sit next to them, which left me......(gasp!) childless during Mass, since Caroline stays with Pete, as there is hardly any LAP left on me these days. Needless to say, I was a complete puddle of joyful tears by the end of the procession and was never even able to sing one single note of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." It's probably a good thing that I'm usually keeping tabs on little ones and am distracted, or Pete would never go to Mass with me if I bawled like that all the time!
We had ten amazing altar servers, lots of incense, beautiful flowers, wonderful instruments and the beautiful choir singing the Mass of Sts. Peter and Paul. The most glorious day in our liturgical year and it showed!
We came home in the pouring rain, when Pete pronounced that "this is just drizzle." So, we proceeded with the annual egg hunt in our yard. Here is Caroline (2), Erika (5), Dorothy Jo (4), Jemma (6), and Madeleine (7):
Obviously they could care less what the weather is like!
Then we had brunch and the rest of the day whizzed right past. We read some of our Easter books, did our Resurrection presentation/play and ate some candy! Oh yes, and I did lots of laundry from a couple of accidents the night before.
If you have a few minutes and want to swoon, Diane is busy posting beautiful pictures from Assumption Grotto's (Detroit) Holy Week on Te Deum laudemus :
Happy Easter and Joyeuses Pâques! May the Resurrection of Our Lord bring you much hope and joy during these fifty days of Easter!
I know I'm getting closer (and bigger) when Pete starts calling me "Oompa-Loompa" and "Weeble."
We really live it up in this house. Every baby gets a new batch of homemade diaper wipes. It's very exciting. I spend an embarrassingly long time picking out JUST the right flannel at Joann's, and then it gets sewn into little 4" x 8" rectangles. I made them for Madeleine, Dorothy Jo, and Caroline. Pete's mom made them for Erika. And my mom made these.
This time I chose FOUR different prints. In the past I've picked out one or two, or even just used whatever flannel material I had in the fabric box. But, this time, I went overboard and got a half-yard of FOUR different prints!! Like I said.....livin' it up!
Aren't they cute?
There are 39 of them. A child, who shall go nameless, cut one up, or there would be 40.
Of course, we make a big presentation of them to Pete upon finishing. He actually puts up with this nonsense simply because he knows how much money it saves him. The cost of wiping baby bums in our house includes:
Once again, here they are.......
Perfectly stacked, probably for the very last time.
Who knew I could write so much about rectangles of flannel sewn together? Hmmph.
To my dad and brothers: Don't worry......there are no pictures with me in Angelina Jolie-style-maternity-clothing. Or any pics resembling Demi Moore! No need to "close your eyes."
4 months, 5 months, and the current 6-month-picture from last weekend (red):
We're doing a lot of GROWING over here on this side of the country. I wish my daughters OUT OF THE WOMB would get the growing bug. Did you know that our 23-month-old BARELY tips the scale at 22 lbs? The 1-year-old neighbor boy weighs 5 lbs. more than her! And, Erika is five-and-a-half-years-old and is only 37 lbs. She's not even out of a 5-point-harness yet.
Speaking of car seats, Pete and I are quite proud of ourselves. We have figured out (theoretically anyway) how to get 5 car seats in our '99 Caravan. We spent about 3 hours on this little exercise in logic and precise measuring over Christmas Vacation. My brain ached. But, I think we got it. I'm ordering a few things this week and then we'll see how the best laid car seat plans of the Gallus Family pan out in real life instead of just on paper. You should SEE that piece of paper, by the way. It looks like a Russian spy code or something. I almost took a picture of it to post, but decided that was a bit ridiculous. I made a copy, though, and put it in our family binder. The title is: Proposed Car Seat Configuration 2008-2010. Go ahead.....laugh! I did.
Is there a Patron Saint of Car Seats? I think not. Perhaps I should just stick with the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes.
A beautiful Mass was celebrated for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord! We were all able to attend since the pink eye that has been running through the family seemed to be subsiding.
Looking at the Cradle that was used for "Cradle-Rocking" at the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass:
At the Creche:
Going for a walk after Mass:
A bit of running after Mass, as they suddenly remember that there are DONUTS in the house:
Not exactly keeping up, but trying really hard:
"Wait! Come back! We have to take a picture with Grama Charlotte!"
My mom and I made these ponchos (4 of them: I have one too, of course.....LOL!) in August 2005, when the girls were 4, 3, and 2. So this is the third year we've worn them. I just keep making a bigger one for Madeleine when another girl arrives, and they get passed on down the line. Although, if she calls me FAT one more time, I'm considering discontinuing her family-poncho-wearing-privileges. I bought some more red fleece yesterday to make yet another one for next year!
Whoo-hoo! She'll be here for two-and-a-half weeks to make her grand contribution to this quickly growing family and household. Everyone is very excited about this. 
Pete adores her. She thinks Pete is the most wonderful man to walk the earth since St. Francis.
She is hysterically funny and goofy, and the girls LOVE spending time with her. She loves them.
She is a sixty-something lady who works like a 30-year-old. She loves to clean, scrub, sort, organize and empty the dishwasher.
Need I say more?
This bought us a good 20 minutes or so of read-aloud time:
Getting back to the regularily-scheduled-program will prove challenging and funny, I'm sure, in oh-so-many ways.
We wish you a shower of love, joy and laughter to fill your homes during the celebration of the birth of Baby Jesus.
Love,
Pete, Suzanne, Madeleine, Erika, Dorothy Jo and Caroline
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Mat 18:3
Yes. This is true in so many ways. This is one of the bible verses that enters so often into my mind when pride, anger, lack of faith, etc. rear their ugly heads.
The other day, however, it entered into my mind for a different reason, and it made me laugh hysterically.
Be Ye Like Little Children. I wish I could become like a child, and it didn't bother me to have my tights falling down. Look at her. She's absolutely oblivious.
We made our annual December trek to the Cascade mountains to our favorite Christmas town of Leavenworth. Four years ago, Pete had to see a customer in a nearby town of Wenatchee on a Friday afternoon, so we devised a plan to go with him and stay overnight to experience a day or two of the infamous town of Leavenworth in December. Madeleine was 3, Erika was 2 and Dorothy Jo had just turned 1. I must have been out of my mind.
It's been an annual trip ever since. There is snow (usually) for sledding and a sleigh ride, a beautiful Christmas Lighting ceremony, carolers, lots of Christmas music at the gazebo, St. Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, street vendors with roasted chestnuts, bratwurst, and apple cider. The Church of the Nazarene puts on a wonderful Living Nativity play each year proceded by a lantern parade following the Three Wise Men to the stage. Pete also appreciates the good, German beer! This year they had open-mike for the children to sing Christmas songs, and the girls got to do the Chicken Dance FOUR times, led by the Town Crier! Our three days are packed with fun in the Bavarian tradition! Oyez!!!
Leavenworth was a very prosperous boom town in the early 1900's with the railroad, the sawmill and agriculture fueling it. In 1822 the railroad was re-routed and then the great depression hit, leaving Leavenworth with a very bad economy through the war, and in the 50's and 60's. In the late-sixties, the town decided to adopt a Bavarian theme and remodel their buildings. Over the next 10 years, the town was transformed, all with private money. Their gamble and efforts paid off, as it now is a major family destination year-round. Read more about Leavenworth History here.
Good Morning America selected Leavenworth as their "Light up the Holidays Special" which was live a couple weeks ago. The Travel Channel was filming this weekend. They were at our sleigh ride endroit, and they filmed the kids doing the Chicken Dance.
What's so wonderful about the celebration at Leavenworth is that they are VERY clear that this is not a HOLIDAY celebration.....it is definitely CHRISTMAS in this town and they are NOT apologetic about it. There is a pastor leading the 3 blocks of people in prayer each evening before the town lighting ceremony. Saint Nicholas is a bishop, and the Christmas carols are clearly traditional and Christian. The focus on the town's activities for the December weekends center around the Living Nativity Play, after which they hand out bibles.
Here is my first-ever-photo-montage:
GEEEEEEEL !
For those of you who don't speak "four-year-old-eze" that would be....GIRL!
Yep. A Girl! (of course!) Pete used to be famous for climbing mountains and how much he could bench. Now he's famous because he's going to have FIVE DAUGHTERS.
We all went to the ultrasound on Thursday, except Caroline....she got to stay home with Grammy Anne and smear a St. Nicholas Chocolate Gold Coin all over her face.
Everyone was sitting at my feet during the ultrasound watching the screen, Erika and Dorothy Jo on Pete's knees and Madeleine sitting on another chair. About 15 minutes into it, the ultrasound tech said, "OK, I have a good view here. Are you SURE you want to know?"
A very loud "Yeeeessss!" was heard. She turned around to look at them and said, "Oh, well, let's see....hmmmm.....I see 3 little GIRLS here...."
Dorothy Jo and Madeleine chimed in, each trying to out-talk the other "...and there's one more at home! She's just too little to come here. So, there's really FOUR girls in our family!"
"Oh? Four!" she said, feigning surprise, as she already knew that. "Well, it looks like there is going to be ONE MORE GIRL!"
Loud cheers went up from the peanut gallery, while Pete chuckled to himself and grinned.
"Now we will be JUST like All-of-a-Kind Family!" exclaimed Madeleine.
Erika added, "Except we have different names and we are Catholic and not Jewish!"
(Nevermind the fact that they lived in New York city one hundred years ago.)
Debates immediately ensued about what this little baby's name would be.
And, my favorite quote from the past couple of days took place while the girls were telling one of the neighbors that it was a girl. "Nope, there's no little boys in our family YET!"
Girls, girls, girls!
You know you live in the Pacific Northwest when your 3-year-old requests Thai food for her 4th birthday dinner.
Here is our very proud birthday girl, giddy with excitement that she is FOUR:
The very much anticipated balloons from Auntie Gina and Uncle Victor:
And, what would a birthday be without a bit of sisterly love?
Dorothy Jo is named after Pete's maternal grandmother and his sister (her middle name). We were either naming her Dorothy Johanna or Johanna Dorothy. We went with Dorothy Johanna because we just liked "Dorothy Jo" so much. She is probably the only female under the age of 80 to be named Dorothy. It gets lots of raised eyebrows and "Excuse me?"
Dorothy Jo is the only girl in our family to have a bit of "meat" on her (besides me, of course) and Pete claims she is just like a teddy bear when she crawls into bed with us in the morning. He is used to the bony, sharp little elbows and knees of her sisters.
Because she is only 15 months younger than Erika and 2.5 years younger than Madeleine, she naturally thinks she can do whatever they can, and most of the time, she can! She is more like them this week, as we finally set up the second set of bunk beds in the bedroom. No more toddler bed for Do Jo!
She has her own space, her own shelves, and her own doll!
Happy Birthday, Dorothy Jo!
Martha Stewart would be proud. (Of this ONE TINY PIECE of my house.....definitely NOT of the whole house, in general. Decorating is NOT one of my talents.)
The conversation that followed the presentation of this coloring project went something like this:
Erika (age 5) : Mom, can I have MORE of this paper?
Me: Uhhhh, you mean more scratch paper? (leading question....hoping to avoid the inevitable)
Erika: No, more of the paper with the notes on it.
Me: Sure, I guess so.
Add "Make copies of Moonlight Sonata" to To-Do-List and try not to laugh too hard or roll my eyes continuously.
Before I was married, the front of my fridge was covered with a few quotes, bible verses, pictures of family and gourmet food. And, let us not forget the pictures of muscle-laden, female triathletes and body-builders to keep me motivated at 4:30 am when I headed out for my morning workout, to the gym or pool. What a life of lunacy I lived.
Oh wait. I STILL live a life of lunacy, *grin*..... just in a very different way and for very different reasons.
Two weeks ago, we took down my bike trainer in the basement. I needed the space for ironing, my fabric stash and my ever-growing collection of illustrated Christmas picture books. Let's be truthful, I hadn't ridden that crazy thing for at least 3 years.
And, so much for gourmet food these days. I'm lucky to cut a few things up and get them on the table.
There are still a few quotes and bible verses (thankfully SOME things never change). Included now are some great pics of my incredibly handsome husband and those little blond people that I gave birth to (because I don't see them nearly enough during the day :) Checklists to keep me somewhat on-track. And, LOTS of artwork from the above mentioned blondies.
Before I forget the stimulus for this ridiculous and reminiscent blog post, I give you this:
Triathletes and body-builders will never grace my fridge again, but I have a feeling My Little Ponies will be making their appearance quite often in the next few years.
They are MUCH, MUCH cuter! :)
How to transform your living room from this:
To this:
Just announce to your four little girls that there is a teeny-tiny BABY growing inside Mommy's tummy and they are going to have a new sibling!
And, THAT is how you get complete joy, excitement, hugs, kisses, screams of delight, and 3-foot-lateral jumps from the six-and-under crowd.
Without a doubt, one of my "Gladdest Hours."
Celebrate the Feasts of the Old Testament in Your Own Home or Church
The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions for Children's Faith Formation
