Evelyn's Baptism and Mother's Day

Gah! I meant to post pictures from our weekend on Monday and then our house got hit with Strep. Oh how fun that has been.....

So although it's Friday, and Strep is still setting up camp here, I really wanted to post some pictures from the weekend, because it was a good one!

On Saturday we traveled down to Notre Dame for the Baptism of my niece Evelyn. She was baptized in the Log Chapel at Notre Dame, and it was really special. Chris's cousin's Fr. Josh and Fr. Justin baptized her.

Here are a few pictures from the day:





Evelyn's baptism gown is a family heirloom that has been worn by many including her mom Katie, as well as her uncles, her grandmother and many cousins. How cool is that? Colin also wore it when he was baptized.

We tried to get a picture of all the cousins, but Owen was having no part of it!



I love how gently Gabe and Colin are holding little Evelyn. :)

Brunch!

Owen fought taking a nap for as long as he could. Finally it caught up to him and at 4 pm he crashed. Right there in the middle of where six other boys were playing hard! But hey, when you need a nap, you need a nap!!

It was such a great day and we were blessed to be a part of it!

                                                                 ................................

That then brings us to Mother's Day! :) So on Sunday morning, Chris brought me coffee in bed, which was awesome, except that I didn't even have time to drink more than a sip. Carter came flying in the room asking if he could use glitter glue. Mind you, it was 8:45 a.m, church starts at 9:00 and from what I could see, everyone was still in their pjs.

"Sweetie, how about you wait until after Church to use glitter glue?" I say, still half asleep.

"You POOPY MOMMY!!!!!!!" he screams and runs out the door.

Even now, I can't stop laughing about that one. Ahhhh, Mother's Day..... so glorious, so perfect, right from the start.

We were 30 minutes late for Church, but we made it! And Carter eventually recovered from the crushing disappointment of no glitter glue at 8:45 a.m.

After Church we made a gut decision to drive to my parents house, about two hours east. I'd been on the fence about making the trip, especially after such a wonderful, yet busy day of travel the day before. Ultimately though, I really wanted to see my mom and my grandmother. And I knew that my grandmother, who is 94 and just moved to Michigan, would really appreciate the visit.

Boy am I glad we went!

Grandmother beamed seeing the boys again and it seemed to really make her day.

One cute thing that happened during this visit is that Everett held her hand almost the whole time! It was the sweetest thing and I'm not sure at all what prompted it. My kids haven't had the opportunity to spend much time with her since she lived out of state until about a month ago. Yet Everett and she were like two longtime friends. Holding hands, laughing, sharing bracelets and cuddling close.

It was such a blessing to spend the day with the boys, Chris, my parents and my grandmother. I feel so honored to be called "Mommy" by these five incredible kids. I love being their mom and feel thankful to be able to spend my days mothering them. Still it's not all sunshine and roses, right?!..... not by a long shot. I mean, heck, I was called "Poopy Mommy" (said with A LOT of emphasis I might add) right out of the gate, on Mother's Day no less!

One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a mother is that you have to somehow roll with the punches. You gotta be able laugh, let go of unrealistic expectations and be willing to simply begin again, over and over and over. The art of beginning again is something we talk about a lot in our house. Because some days are just rough. Some mornings are hard. Things don't always ever go quite as planned. Meltdowns happen and yes, even Mommy looses her patience sometimes. But we can always begin again.

After Church on Mother's Day, Carter, bless his little heart, threw his arms around me and said, "Sorry Mommy. 'Bout this morning. Me think me was crabby." 

"Soooooo forgiven little one. A thousand times over. Let's just begin again."