DOD

I was in the laundry room just minding my own business yesterday when David showed up, parked himself next to me and announced, "Mom, I love you more than a cow!"

Golly, David...

Mom, I mean I love you more than I love cows.

Yep, thanks for clearing that one up, son. I feel so warm and fuzzy inside now.

Ben's Christmas Crafts

Ben is my crafty guy. Someday he'll be the Props Dude in his college theater shop. He has an idea for every season and lots of ideas that don't follow any season at all. For Advent, he decided to put together these little gems. He has a Christmas diorama - notice his living room even has an icon corner. Then he made this tree out of cardboard which serves as a centerpiece for our dining room table.

12 Days of Christmas

Enjoy a little piece of what we experience daily! Thanks to this family for their sense of humor!

Nativity Icon Ornaments

Every year I usually let each child pick out an ornament for the tree that will become theirs forever to take to their trees as adults. This year the Christmas budget was a bit low so I managed to find a set of Orthodox shrinky dink icon ornaments. The shrinky dink sheets cost I think $14 and I paid that again for a set of Sharpie markers - which made my ornament total significantly lower than allowing each child a $10 ornament. Anyway, they turned out beautiful and we were all glad we tried this project. They are study enough to last for years and beautiful enough to be cherished for all those years. I have no idea where Ruth got to in these photos and no, I don't know what is on David's face.
Miriam, of course, chose the Theotokos.

JT chose a traditional icon of St. Nicholas.

Remember This? Friday

In my search for the anti-Barbie to get my girls for Christmas, I had this flashback of the Sunshine Family. This was another of Heidi's toys with which I was seldom allowed to play until she got a bit older and stashed them in the attic where I would sneak up to play. (And why is it that Heidi had all the cool toys....hmmmm?!) There was a mom and a baby and a dad and I think a grandma. I actually got a lot of dolls off of ebay to give the girls for Christmas but the poor dad in my lot is naked. The highlight of the Sunshine Family was the farm set Heidi had. The chicken actually laid eggs and the little pump actually pumped water. That chicken had to be the funnest thing going.

Two Dancing Girls

Miriam and Ruth had their first ever dance recital last week. The recital was just a small teaser for the Spring recital which will be full blown costumes and everything. For now, enjoy their first ever dance number on a stage! (They are the two on the right side - I'm sorry to say the girl in the middle was *not* supposed to be standing in front of their friend Dasia the whole time!).

Quote of the Day

After raising 3 girls and 3 boys I've decided boys give you gray hair and then girls make you want to make you pull it out.

Dorothy
mom to 3 boys, 27, 24, 18 and 3 girls 26, 23, 16

Remember This? Friday

I had one of these as a kid. My Snoopy was very spoiled and the instant I gathered enough money I would be off to the Hallmark Store to buy him more clothes. He had the fireman outfit, the sweater and matching hat, the dr outfit and lots more. I even made him a mummy costume. He's still here somewhere. I had thoughts of passing him on to the girls but I don't think they'll take very good care of him. I guess he'll have to wait a while longer before he gets loved again.

Who's Who?

This is for all you true Momilies junkies out there - can you name these baby pics? (No fair chiming in, Daddy!!)

Posting Frenzy

In an effort to get caught up on long-neglected posts I have gone into a posting frenzy. Even though I posted all of them this evening, I have dated them according to the time when they actually occurred. It is my hope that many years from now as the children peruse the posts of this blog, they will never know that it took me 4 months to get their birthdays posted and our family events in order...So be sure to take a look at our Halloween evening fun, Miriam's Birthday and Annie.

Feast of St. Nicholas

Today is the feast of St. Nicholas. We celebrate this feast by putting gifts in the children's shoes. It's nice that our habit is to line up all the shoes on the steps anyway - makes it much easier for St. Nicholas to come along and fill their shoes. They each got a wearable gift and a small bag of chocolate coins since St. Nicholas was reputed to have tossed bags of money through the windows of girls who could not afford a dowry to get married. Happy feast day to all you Nicholases out there!

Remember This? Friday

So...can anyone identify these.....?!

Tali Testing

Woohoo!! It worked!!! I finally have a card reader and I'm back in business with my photos - I'll be busy for a while since I've missed a ton of birthdays and other events (If only I hadn't left the camera in Ohio!!). In the meantime, enjoy this little shot of her Royal Plumpiness and this Birthday Boy Ben post!