C'est la vie

All day has been cloudy, breezy and a cool 73 degrees. Heavenly pre-thunderstorm weather. A nice follow-up to a day like yesterday. 

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems comically stacked against you? I drove to a far-away appointment to find that my neurologist forgot to order a blood test I've been waiting weeks for. On the way to getting my blood drawn again, a piece of a filling popped out of my tooth. The day wasn't completely lost; God in His mercy granted me an opening at my dentists' office, so I was able to skeedaddle from the lab tech's needle to my dentist's drill within the same hour. And for that I am grateful. But my nighttime mouthguard (I grind) doesn't fit anymore because the new filling sticks out a little further than the old one. Does it sound like I'm complaining?

Not much progress, sigh.  But we are getting a lot of counting done.

We have a climber on our hands. She scales every flat surface in her range, and she scoots chairs to scale high-up things too. Good thing she has a lot of cushioning.

One of our favorite soups is simmering on the stove, and bread is about to go in the oven. Musing on yesterday at a safe distance, I'm quite content and grateful. 

Love this :)

Pool weather

This morning was hot and muggy, so we knew what to do this afternoon ...

Our little pink elephant on parade.

I fear getting a bathing suit on the little guy will be a challenge this summer. 

May

It's been a busy month.

A friend of mine from college, who went on to get married and have children before me, once told me she'd never really lived until she got married (emphasis hers). I understand and agree with this sentiment more and more with each passing day.

The past several weeks included, but were not limited to: Dave's graduation from business school (3.5 years in the making!); an ongoing quest for the underlying source of my chronic insomnia (thank you family for sustaining me through the doctor visits, pokes and prods); a nighttime trip to the pediatric emergency room after discovering Rose is allergic to peanut butter (and an introduction to the scary- but necessary- thing that is the Epipen); sweet Frankie's 6th birthday (the day after our ER visit- ker-azy times!); a family of rats living beneath our back porch. Ah, memories.

These things, added to the daily responsibilities of raising four small people under six, forced us to raise our eyes heavenward and ask: "You seem to think we can handle this?!" I won't lie: I screamed this question in my head with some frequency. While this May has had us on the cross, it also revealed the mysterious way God tends to answer prayers: slowly, when you're not aware of it, through the medium of other people, and sometimes even changing the petition itself from "Get this cross outta here!" to "Help me to remain peaceful while you allow this suffering, which has a purpose." This prayer (and serenity) is much easier to reach with the help of loving, supportive family. I cannot imagine waging these storms without you! Allow me to give a special shout out to Natalie for cooly volunteering to pick Dave and Rose up from the ER at 2 AM. Our hero.

Here's a few photos:

Mama Rat and squirrel friend. 

The cake.

Lola's chocolate wonder never fails to please. 

"No more peanuts for me!"

Dave and the girls tested out a tie-dying kit with impressive results...

Frankie's swirly beauty, for Rose.

Teresa's "bullseye," for David.

The Won't Remain Seated While Eating Dinner Cure

I'm not sure Mrs. Piggle Wiggle would approve of this method.

Oh My Darlin'....

Our little music man shares his latest heartfelt song. He's wearing the same shirt he wore last fall when we caught him singing the Notre Dame Fight Song. His muse, perhaps?

A 90 degree day in April

We open the windows and doors...

...spend all day outside...

{hi!}

...and yes, we get in the pool.

Warning: David is about to do something only a two-year old boy weighed down by life's problems can...

...and there it went. Free at last.

Frankie taking everything in stride.

Lola sent Rose a hand-made blankie.

Can you tell she likes it? So soft!

Gotta get back to digging. Bye!

The Shroud of Turin

This is so fascinating. You may have noticed the Shroud is back in the news the past week because of Pope Francis's remarks on it and a new book of research that's come out (to be peer reviewed shortly). I didn't know the Shroud's authenticity was "debunked" in the 80's by carbon dating. Apparently that carbon dating sample has been called into question- here's the back story and an explanation of the current claim that the Shroud is from the 1st century when you have 45 minutes:

New Evidence on the Shroud

Bottom line: the carbon dating sample taken from the edge of the shroud in the 80's had medieval cotton woven into the original linen fabric, quite possibly causing incorrect carbon dating.