stacie's sacred space

for our wreath

mom, kel, hal and stacy: this post is for you.

these were my favorite pics for the wreaths we can make this year.

take 'em if you want 'em.

stacy, do you have any better ones you could share?

 

 

 

 

thank you all for participating and cooperating with your bossy, demanding, picture taking sister.

it means a lot to me because i already love, love, love having these pics of all of you and your families, and i haven't even made my wreath yet!

i'm pretty sure dad is smiling down on all of us too ... we're all making him proud.

the whole gang

we had a fun weekend all of us together.

i'm so thankful for the family i have.

they all helped make me who i am today with their love.

matt and stacy, we especially appreciate you hosting all of us!

all this fun wore me out!

no time to be tired though ... there's homework to do, a dinner to cook, housework to do, baths to give ... gotta go!!

 

my favorite tree

 

i did a tree project with oil pastels and watercolors recently.

i wanna do a big tree project with my family someday soon or next fall.

this is the tree project i worked on last night and today.

i got the idea from here. i'm a big copycat over here.

everybody helped write.

mom helped glue.

i did a lot of cutting and gluing too.

i'm so happy we did it!

this is my favorite tree ever.

a fun tough crowd

 

i'm livin' the dream ... all my sibs and their spouses and their kids and my mom.

we are all together!

it's fun stuff here!!

to sadie c.

you're two! terrific. talented. talkative. tough.

happy birthday, sweetheart!!

 

we love you. someday we want to hug you and play with you and see you close up. until then we'll ichat with you, pray for you, talk to you on the phone.

love, a. stacie, u. dave, joey, janie, johnny and jeffrey

birthday love in my inbox

oh my goodness, it's been a crazy busy morning for me. you know the normal stuff plus a little extra but i just opened my inbox to find lots of love and birthday wishes. thank you, thank you, thank you! 

i had to share this one from my newest sweet little niece and god daughter designed by my talented sister! thanks, kel :)

 

thumbs up!

we gave janie "just dance!" for the wii. that game gets two thumbs up from me. it's so much fun and we laugh a lot playing it ... plus i'm out of breath almost every time i finish a round of it!! tonight it was a blast watching joey and janie with jack and emma rocking out and shaking their hips together.

 

 

 

yippee!

 

we got a snow day ... hooray! it was supposed to be my packed full day - kindergarten registration, soccer, home for lunch, dance, home to get joey off the bus, my own appointment. all of that was called off early this morning and instead ...

• we played in the snow
• we did chores and got lots of housework done
• we watched the birds
• we played the wii
• we rested
• we watched the snow fall
• i love having all four of my kiddos home right here in our little nest

 

and both next door neighbors were out to play with us! danielle gave johnny and emma pushes on the swing ... i can't wait till we're doing that in the spring!!

 

here are the big kids ... in order of our houses too :)

 

it was a buzzing house full of kids all day long!

then u. jim came over to visit us, have dinner at the circus and play!

and then i was so worn out i couldn't even post this till a whole (snow) day later!

family night ritual

 

i hear about people who have family nights and what they do and how often they do it. i read about people who make that a priority. then i wonder why we don't make it a ritual or at least more intentional. then i think about it even more and remember ... almost every night is family night at our house. we only have one night a week that there's basketball when joey and dave are gone and occasionally i have an evening appointment or girls night out or volunteering to do and a couple times a month i do a bible study. dave's even home most every night (till golf season, that is). that's it! 

last night though, we rented "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" on demand and let the kids lay blankets on the family room floor while we had a fire and cuddled on the couch to watch with them. it was something different and fun! we all enjoyed it!! it's nice to do something a little different together. 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 i'll keep a family night ritual in mind ... especially for times when the kids get busy with friends, sleepovers and even being in their rooms more than right here with us. for now, i'll remember how lucky i am to have almost every night family night and how short this time is that the kids want to be right where we are.

my sister, my friend

 

today is hallie's birthday. she's my little sister. it feels like it was just yesterday that we were "bert" and "baker" on the same softball team ... we were sharing a bedroom sleeping under our esprit comforters talking on our swatch phone ... we were fighting to get the back bench to share on long vacations ... i was watching you make just about every single foul shot you took and you were kicking butt in tennis ... i got to come to notre dame to visit you and watch the buckeyes beat the irish ... we were getting good deals on priceline so we could hang out in chicago ... and now we are both moms and you have a big, successful career! i will always treasure the memories of times we have together.

hallie, happy birthday! 

• you're an amazing sister and friend. 
• you are always supportive and understanding even when we lead completely different lives thousands of miles away from each other. 
• i treasure the fun phone conversations (especially when you call and just giggle :)) and the times we get to share together. 
• i really cannot wait for you to drive east this spring or summer! 
• i hope you blow out all of your candles and all of your wishes come true throughout the next year. 
• i love you.