Andy and Kristen visit

Here are some pictures of our visit with Andy and Kristen last weekend. We had a great visit and can't wait to see them again! (Dany's still working on beating your high scores on the video games, Andy:) )





Andy's a very enthusiastic storyteller :)


Now, it's Cati's turn to read to Kristen!

(Check back later for a video)

Maria's First Communion and Confirmation

We had a beautiful day today! Maria received her First Holy Communion and Confirmation!! She said it was the best day of her life :) It was pretty great for the rest of us, too!


Andy Lichtenwalner (her godfather in Baptism) was Maria's Confirmation sponsor.




Thanks be to God!

Chiara's 1st Birthday! --Presents :)

Cleaned up and wearing her comfy jammies, Chiara tears into the presents!

Chiara's 1st Birthday! --Cake :) (updated with video)

Happy Birthday, Chiara! She had a good day, I think. Her brother and sisters definitely had fun :) The 2nd most fun thing after your own birthday when you're a kid is celebrating someone else's birthday! You still get cake :) :)

The girls insisted that she wear a dress for her birthday. Since it was warm yesterday (65!), I agreed :)


Thinking about it...

Trying... (eventually spit out the bite)

Enjoyed the traditional 1st birthday mess, from head to knee -- didn't quite make it to the toes :) And really enjoyed the candle...she didn't want to let that go.

Now off for a quick birthday bath before opening presents :) :)

Other 1st birthdays :)

I love looking back at old pictures of the kids. Here are the other 3 kids on their 1st birthdays.

1 year ago...

Happy Birthday, baby girl :) :) We're so happy you are part of our family!!! We love you!!



We will have a little 'party' later...cupcakes and presents...tonight when Dany comes home. I'll post those pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Art class

I'll admit, art kinda gets pushed aside in our homeschooling schedule. But, I'm trying to make more time for it, especially since the kids love it so much. We've started using a new drawing book. Here are their latest creations:





Cati: A bird. She loves different colors :)



Cati: A giraffe. She's always loved giraffe's at the zoo, so I wasn't surprised when she picked this from a book. The one in the book was nibbling from a tree above it, which is why it's head is pointed up.

Maria: A bird at sunset.

Maria: A bird for each person in our family.

Maria: Another bird :)