Another Milestone in the Life of a Girl...

...at least in our family. Danielle turned 11 on March 13th and one of her gifts from Paul and I was to get her ears pierced. We decided to wait until softball season ended so she wouldn't have to worry about taping over her earrings. Dani patiently waited. So on May 18th we drove to Wal-Mart. She picked out her studs - not *her* birthstone, rather mine...peridot [it's light-green in color] - sat in the chair and, like a trooper, bit the bullet! She can't wait until her 6 weeks are up, so she can wear all her earrings she received as birthday gifts.
She looks beautiful, as always...just a little *extra* sparkle! What'll I say when she gets braces :-O

Thought For the Day...

When you don't know where your 2yo is...it's never a good thing!

Who's Got the Sunscreen?...

Well, this Thursday, the 24th, our subdivision's pool opened. And when I say 'opened' I'm not just talking about for the season.... This is a new neighborhood and the pool was completed this past winter. Believe me, our kids were counting down the days!! When we went down there Wednesday evening - for a neighborhood 'Meet and Greet' - and looked around at the cabana and pool, I was so very pleased and so very impressed. It turned out beautifully. They [David Weekley Homes]really did do a great job.

The kids were so excited on Pool Opening Day...we were badgered and badgered some more. Just so you get an understanding here, we had NO pool at our old house. This was ultra-exciting for all of us! FINALLY at 4pm Paul put on his swimming trunks and that was the 'go ahead' for the kiddos. We were armed with the usual - towels, scunscreen [as Fia calls it], stroller, arm floaties... - plus our 7 adorable sweet kids. The following pictures show their joy...

John Paul [just shy of 4]Joseph and Daddy

Danielle [11] and Sophia [5]...the 'Brownies' Kayla [16] and Joseph [2..."Trouble"]Sophia [5]

Therese [just shy of 7] figuring out those goggles

Congratulations to Kayla!

On Friday, May 18th, Blessed Trinity High School had an awards ceremony in the gymnasium, where Kayla [16yo] won the "Saint Therese of Lisieux Award". This award is given to one female student, obviously, for not only knowing the faith in the classroom, but living it out as well. And by participating in class above and beyond. Yay, Kayla!! We're so proud of you!
She's wrapping up her Sophomore year and is looking forward to a nice long summer break.

Our Comeback Kid!

Words can't explain how proud Paul and I are of Danielle -#7 of the TimberRattlers -!! She just improved the whole season with such hard work and determination. Her confidence at the beginning of the season had been shaken by a few things. For one, she played the dreaded 'outfield'. For this usual third base'man' that was not acceptable. This was her first *real* season of fast pitch AND she played up an age bracket - 12U [since she was 10 in Jan. she could've still been in 10U]. So she had a lot against her, so to speak. But by the end of the season, she was at third base and LOVIN' it. We must not forget Aunt Karen - who herself played ball in college on scholarship - who took Dani 2-3 times every week to work with her [and WORK with her] and build confidence and memories. THANK YOU, AUNT KAREN! No greater joy to Paul and I than to see her strive and achieve with this team. I think Coach Aunt Karen is mighty proud too ["You bring joy to my heart."]! The 'Rattlers' ended the regular season in second place, but won the end of the season tournament in first. They really deserve it! Gooooooo Rattlers! SSSsssssssss.....

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...One Last Time!

Well, today was the end of the 2007 spring softball season. Therese and Sophia play together on the 'Sidewinders' 6U team. At this age bracket they don't keep score; they just had a lot of fun playing ball - learning some fundamentals of the game - oh, and snack! They SO look forward to their snack at the end of games! Therese showed a lot of improvement this year - especially toward the middle of the season. Sophia still has got to take the cake for "Cutest Softball Player". She ran out in the outfield like a little mouse to retrieve many a runaway ball. They had a really fun season. You can tell from their smiles!

One Life Down...Eight to Go!

Pepi. Paul calls her Dani's "puppy-kitty". This is the kitten that Danielle got this past Christmas. Let me set the stage for this story...

She begged for a puppy - and I mean B-E-G-G-E-D...she pulled out all the stops - anyways...she sent Paul and I e-cards oozing with puppies. She promised to take care of this 'puppy' and do what ever it took to get one. And Paul and I had absolutely NO DOUBT that she would've done everything. Well, we have a Golden Retriever already and being in our new house, at that time, only 8 months, we knew we were not going to get her a puppy. Let me also interject that I was pregnant and due on Dec. 5th! I know my limitations! So...we picked out a cute black kitty and gave it to Danielle on Christmas Day. She LOVED her kitty and named her Pepi [short for Peppermint]. And boy was that love reciprocated! This cat right off the bat loved Dani and knew she was hers. She followed her everywhere and was in bed with her right at bed time. Too cute. Again I must add - that the mother in Dani comes out when she disciplines Pepi and calls her "Pepi Ann". She cracks me up!! So ultimately Dani got her puppy :)

Pepi is an inside cat [who still isn't 'fixed'] which is why she *really* needs to be indoors right now :) Periodically she'll get outside and go right under the porch which she has to share with Fat Cat [aka Samantha]. It takes some great effort to get her back in the house. Coaxing her to come out from under the porch with an open can of tuna, spraying the hose on the porch, putting some catfood out - and if those don't do the trick, how 'bout the end of a broom!?

Last night [Wed. the 16th] Pepi got outside and went under the porch. Nothing unusual. Danielle tried to get her out before she went to bed - to no avail. Around 11:45pm, I'm working on my 'moth' post and all of the sudden I heard the loudest cat scream! I threw my laptop on the chair and as I'm running to the front porch my thoughts are that she is fighting with Fat Cat. I opened the door and there's Fat Cat looking around at the awful sound. This 'scream' was definitely a fight-for-your-life kind of scream. It was chilling! The screaming went on for 2-3 minutes, and then.....silence. Yuck. I just knew a coyote had gotten her! To make a long story short [those who know me best know that I can go on and on about what I was thinking!...I'll save you here :-)] - she wasn't to be seen under the porch or in the yard. I was dreading the next morning. I did not want to break my little girl's heart. Paul said he would tell her...but it wasn't the actual telling that I didn't want to do. I didn't want her to hurt. My prayer that night and this morning: "God, I know You can make this all okay. Please, I don't want to break my little girl's heart. Please. I know You can do this." and believe me, Sts. Francis and Anthony were called upon as well. But I *knew* deep down that she was "gone".

Taking my oldest dd, Kayla, to school this morning I was sooooo not ready to do what I had to do when I reached home. I dreaded it. I did not want to do this. Paul did not want to do this. But we knew that we'd have to.

When I finally got home, I walked into the kitchen, saw Dani standing close by with Therese and Sophia. And when I saw what she was holding...well, words can't describe all the emotions that flooded my mind. How could she be holding Pepi? "Where was she?" "Ummm...under the porch. Where else would she be? Remember? [how she got out last night]," Dani responded. She was so confused by my reaction. I was laughing with tears in my eyes...because, like my prayer, I knew God could!!

When I told Paul [who was still snug as a bug in a rug] I physically saw his great relief as he blurted out, "Oh, thank God!". It looked as though the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders in the blink of an eye.

Pepi's foot is bothering her. She was really hobbling on it early on today. Tonight she's barely showing any signs of pain. She slept pretty much all day long. Definitely not her spazzy-self. We've got to take her to the vet to get checked out and to see how many lives she's got left!!

New Life at LAST!!!

And, no, I'm not talking about US! Although this story starts pretty close to 9 months ago!


It must have been about late August or early September when 3yo John Paul discovered the largest, chubbiest caterpillar I've ever seen. He was bright green in color [did I mention how big this thing was?]. Therese, our nature-loving 6yo, put him [the caterpillar, that is] in her bug cage - which she had received for her 6th birthday last June. The caterpillar was affectionately known as "Chubby":-) He soon made a snuggly little cocoon for himself; I think he knew just how long he'd be 'sleeping' in the cage.


Now, we had NO idea whatsoever how long he'd be encased in his little happy home. But we waited and waited and waited. We did have a pretty mild winter, but it did get awfully cold in Jan. and Feb. We thought our little guy had 'kicked the bucket', so to speak. We waited and waited and... waited some more. I'd tell Paul, "That thing is dead. We really need to get it out of that cage." Not to mention that the 2yo, Joseph, would always open up Chubby's 'house' and the cocoon would go tumbling out onto the deck! This thing didn't have a chance! So we thought...


Fast forward to yesterday [5-15-07]...As I'm getting lunch ready for our home schooling pupils, I hear Therese yelling, "Dani, come here! Come here, Dani! Look! Look!"....[running into the kitchen from the deck]..."Mommy the butterfly came out!! It did!". I *COULDN'T* believe it!! We ALL ran onto the deck to see the moth's "eyeballs" staring back at us from within its habitat. How cool is that? Well, I grabbed the camera and tried to get some good shots of "Chubby".



Chubby's Glorious Transformation!



We just all could not believe our eyes. This thing lasted through every thing thrown its way. Therese picked up the cocoon and we saw his little hole from which he escaped...



So then I had to go and research what kind of moth Chubby was. I found him easily enough...he's a Polyphemus Silkmoth Oh, and as a side note, John Paul renamed Chubby. He's now Matthew [?]. On the link above they show all the stages of these moths. There they also show the eggs they lay, which we have too. So now the kiddos are really excited about watching these little eggs - which *she* laid - turn into more...Chubby Matthews!