Preparing for Easter

We dyed our eggs on Wednesday and made matzo on Thursday in preparation for our Seder meal Holy Thursday night.  I should have taken a picture of the kitchen after four children were done making matzo... just think "flour explosion". I also wish I had taken a picture of the spread- it was delicious and meaningful, as always. This lamb recipe never disappoints. We were happy that our friends Michelle and Daniel Jacobeen, who we've asked to be Baby Cook's godparents, were able to join us this year (before Michelle rushed off to sing and direct music for the Holy Thursday service).

Our little guy had an adventure Good Friday, right after Lolo and Lola arrived. He fell off his bike and landed right on his little knee. Stitches were necessary. So thankful Dave was here to whisk him off immediately to our local Urgent Care. Of emergencies, it went as smoothly as it could have.

As you can see, he's no worse for wear, grinning in a new Easter suit compliments of Lolo and Lola. We're waiting for a call from Ralph Lauren's modeling department.

We've got huge forsythia bushes in our back yard- so lovely! Instead of fake ones I was able to use real branches for our Easter egg tree.

Counting down to the pinnacle of the liturgical year, only hours away, when Our Lord rises. So much hope with this feast, yet it's hope tempered by the realization that we're not there yet. Life's struggle continues. Tomorrow is a lovely foretaste, though, of that final repose with Christ that we all long for. A blessed Triduum and Easter to everyone!

Week in review

Practicing being scary for Halloween. Thanks for the teeth Aunt Natalie!

Dave asked David to do an impression of a snail. This isn't half bad...

"Daddy, I'm sick."

The sick ward.

Watching Notre Dame beat Stanford.

We decided to bring in Autumn with a week of sickness and a little trauma, just to get it out of our systems for the rest of the year (please God...). Bright spots have included Notre Dame beating Stanford, Dave taking part in a Catholic stewardship conference in Orlando right next to Disneyworld, many fun spend-the-nights with Grandmommy (who is caring for us as I finish recovering and Dave travels), and Aunt Natalie visiting with lots of fresh vegetables from her farm-share and some Halloween goodies. David will have a cool finger scar to show to his friends; the aforementioned trauma was a finger slammed in a door. Memories have to be made out of something, right? Grateful to have the help and encouragement family so close by, as always, when life gets overwhelming. 

Waiting for the doctor. From his face, it doesn't look that serious, does it?

Nature's cruelty and family art

I've delayed sharing this news because it is so sad. Our little bird Carrie disappeared from her nest about a week ago. We searched everywhere for her, but because the gate to our back yard had been left open the night before, the nest was on the ground, and the unhatched eggs broken, we couldn't help but assume the worst. The saddest part was watching the mother and father come to the nest all morning, the mother searching and calling for her baby. Nature can be so cruel! Such a sad day that was.

On a happier note, below we have paintings by Frankie, Teresa, David and Rose (not in that order). Can you guess who the artist is for each one?

Every cloud has a Rosie lining

Tuesday night marked our fourth trip to the emergency room in seven months. It's amazing how these emergencies happen so quickly, so unexpectedly every time. In an instant, life changes and we're in crisis mode...a scenario we're all too familiar with this past year. 

Rose was standing on a chair right next to mine after dinner when it tipped over. Three minutes later we were in the car driving to the ER. To spare you the gory details, no concussion, no stitches needed. Her guardian angel was on call, as well as Aunt Tasha, who was over for dinner that night. Thanks, Tasha, for holding down the fort while we took Rose in! We came back to a clean house and happy kids. 

Rosie's smile won't be the same for a while, and it will be forever memorialized in our family photo which will be taken tomorrow at Queen of Apostles (a shoot planned months ago for our parish directory). 

Our zany baby the night before...

...the night after. "You shoulda seen the other guy, Mom."

Enjoying popsicles and Pixar movies at the ER.

Moving up in the world

 David moved from a splint to a cast a couple days ago, and he chose green. Bright green. Our little Irish guy. We all signed it this morning.

Bye!

Poor little guy

David wanted to be like his daddy, so he broke his arm last night. Actually, it's nothing like Dave's horrible injury years ago, thank you God! Just a hairline fracture; he fell off a big-kid bike. He's a happy guy considering, especially now that he's being coddled and gets to watch lots of cartoons. His squeamish mommy was much more of a mess than he was, to which the whole family will attest :)

Crafting on this rainy day...

...and having some girl time:

Also praying for those killed and wounded in D.C. today, and that police get the gunmen. Lord have mercy.

Visiting the Lolos and some sad news

Breakfast in the lovely courtyard.

Examining the pumpkins at St. Bede's garden. This is quite possibly the first self-sustaining Catholic parish! There's enough fruits and vegetables in these gardens to feed an army.

If you think this is disturbing, see below. I didn't include the one of David driving Rose, thinking it might inspire someone to call child services. But look at how happy she is! This was well-supervised, we promise :)

Pretty intricate face paint from St. Bede's parish picnic.

Our quick trip to Cleveland was lovely, except for the shadow cast by some sad news. Christopher, our beloved betta fish, is no more. He was a well-travelled fish, accompanying us on trips to Delaware and Ohio. This past trip was no different; we brought him along and put him in his smaller "travel bowl" once we got to the house in Cleveland. On Sunday, to our astonishment, he had *disappeared*. There were no other fish, no filter, no hiding places in this little bowl. He was just gone. We were dumbstruck. Then, later on that night, I found him. He was outside the house. No cats in this house. The only possible explanation is that he flopped out of his bowl, and somehow got out the nearby door that leads to a courtyard. Unbelievable. We were all disturbed by Christopher's untimely end. Dave and the girls buried him. He will rest forever in Cleveland. So sad to come home to his empty tank!

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.

Seven Years

Happy anniversary, Mr. Cook.

What a day of mixed emotion, with this sad announcement from our Papa. I can't help but feel...mourning. I have so much respect and love for this man, whose rare embodiment of intelligence and deep humility come through his writings.  This is no doubt a time for trust, knowing our Lord is ever leading and protecting the true Church He established. The gates of Hell will not prevail against It! Prayers prayers prayers for Benedict and the future pope.

Dressed to celebrate Chinese New Years' Eve at Peking Gourmet with some wonderful friends. Shout out to Aunt Natalie and Stacey for holding down the fort at home!

Controlling us all from her perch.

Lord, hear our prayer

Console those families, dear Jesus.

Post storm notes

We came home to a 85 degree house last night. Our power had come on after being off for three days. As Dave put it, "the house didn't smell neutral..." Indeed it stank after three days of low and slow baking. As during so many other natural disasters, we packed up the morning after the terrifying "derecho" and headed to my parents' house, which miraculously was with power. Did anyone else who experienced the storm think of the apocalypse? The sky was pink, the lightning non-stop, the winds strong enough to break a window, and hail (which Dave claims were tree nuts) pelting the house. My heart was beating out of my chest that night. I held Rose close to me in our basement with the rest of our brood, praying to our guardian angels and our house's guardian angel as the violence commenced upstairs. They came through for us- no damage to our cars or house. Some of our neighbors weren't so fortunate.  A drive around the neighborhood yielded some pretty scary sights: trees on top of houses, an enormous oak tree completely uprooted, power lines crushed by trees... While everyone else in the basement slept that first night, I listened uneasily from the blow-up mattress on the floor to a mouse squeaking and scampering around our work room, ten feet away. Needless to say I didn't sleep that night. But as Hilary and I discussed the next day, the entire stressful experience gave rise to thoughts of those who live in hot, mouse-infested conditions subject to the elements all the time...probably most of the world. That put things in perspective. And to think of the other side of the country (our old neighborhood in Colorado Springs no less) being consumed by flames while this storm struck. I just happened to read Christ's description of the last days this morning, not without coincidence I'm sure:  "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there wil be great earthquakes in various places, and pestilences and famines, and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven....and there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the powers of heaven will be shaken." (Lk 21: 10-11, 25-27). This doesn't seem to have been the apocalypse, but it sure gave me a small taste!

On a brighter note, we had a great time communing with family over the weekend. Some highlights:

It's Audrey Hepburn! With really big legs! Ok, I was told not to publish this next one, but I figure you can't tell who Frankie is dressing up with the headscarf, right? Some anonymous person. How funny!

Puff the Magic Dragon played with impunity.

Again, go- to toy around these parts is bound to be pink. Sister bonding, below, over dress up.

And a seriously fat, happy baby.