Dancing at Midnight

Last night I went out to dinner with of few girlfriends whom I’ve been friends with since Jr. High... Let’s not count the years.... I think it has been about a year since I have been out to dinner with them sans kids. My youngest is 8 months and since I am nursing, I rarely go anywhere without him. Hubby kept me updated on the kids and assured me he had everything under control and to just have fun. I do have a wonderful husband, don’t I?

It is always great to catch up and have feminine conversations that have nothing to do with transformers, Star wars, or Diapers. Although, we did get to sneak in a few brief topics about the joys of motherhood. (This is not when the dancing at midnight happens….That part is later) At the end of dinner I took a short trip to Riz’s house.  She and her husband just bought their first home a few months ago and this was the first time I was able to see it.  I think I am going to try to hire her to decorate my house when we buy it. Her home was so cute and cozy, like an article out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine! I also got to meet her new doggy, boots. He is an adorable well behaved little Lhasa Apso with such a happy demeanor! I am so happy for her and all of her happiness!

On the drive home, which was about 40 minutes, my head and heart started battling with each other. “O how I miss just running out for a few minutes to grab a quick dinner and coming right back home and not have to drive 40 minutes back.  O, how I miss making daily mass when I am able to. O, how I miss being close to town sometimes. Ok, calm down and stop being so dramatic…. You just have the winter blues.” Yes, arguing with myself actually happens inside my head. The country songs starting coming on about family and kids and I had to remind myself to drive a bit slower so I can make it home in one piece. I could feel it in my body that my little guy was crying for me. All you Moms know how that is. I couldn’t get home fast enough. As soon as I pulled up, I ran in the house and sure enough there was my hubby rocking and trying to console one face soaked little Bear. And in that one second that I grabbed him and held him in my arms again I was at ease.

The rest of the night my little bear was so over joyous to be with me again. He was full of smiles and laughs and wouldn’t let me go. He was bright and animated like I’ve never seen him before. My heart was happy. This is where the dancing at midnight comes in…. O, yes, I forget to mention that I got home a little after 10:00 pm and Bear had taken an hour nap from 8-9 and woke up crying for me. So he was full of energy from his supposed to be bedtime nap. So, I took it and ran with it. It was late and we should both be in bed… Ehhh, O well!! We were having fun! We played music and we danced well into midnight. It was such a beautiful thing to look over at him while we were dancing and to see his wide smile covering his face and his eyes glistening as we went around the living room. Giggles and giggles constantly interrupted the song and it couldn’t have been more perfect.  It played out like a slow motion black and white scene. And I knew I had to keep that memory in my mind forever because as they grow up so fast and these are the memories I don’t want to forget…. And apparently neither did he because he fought tooth and nail to go to sleep after that.

Here he is when we finally settled down to sleep.  

As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family today, I hold my babies close and Thank God for the love he blessed me with in my children and my Husband. Along with wonderful friends who so happily run at the chance to have dinner with me on a rare night out. 

God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother's authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.

-Sir. 3:2-6

O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of 

the Holy Family, 

graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing 

the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, 

and so, in the joy of your house, 

delight one day in eternal rewards. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

 who lives and reigns with you in the unity

 of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Beautiful View

I went on a walk up this very large, long and one of the few paved road in my neighborhood this weekend. It was a tough journey up but the pay off was beautiful! Standing on top on this street and looking out was absolutely beautiful as I was catching my breath. This picture does not do it justice but it gives an idea. Ahhh just another perk to Country living! I took a moment to look out, feeling the presence all around me and prayed out loud. It was the first time I felt as if our loving Mother Mary was standing right next me.... Loving me. Words can not explain to that feeling but pure joy, happiness, comfort and love come to mind.

Advent So Far

Advent is here and it is a glorious season!! Although we are so behind in all the wonderful crafts and decorations we could be doing, we are very excited! And hopefully we can also get started on our Christmas Shopping.

Before I finish up my post I want to ask all of you to keep my Grandma in your prayers. Two days after we got back from AZ my Mom called me and told me my Grandma was in the hospital. She volunteers  for her community police department and whir she was there she had a seizure and fell. After being taken to the hospital, the doctors found a large size tumor in her brain. Following many test they also found one in her stomach. We are still waiting to hear back about the biopsy results so she is still in  the hospital. So please keep her in your prayers. I was very shocked to hear the news because we were just there visiting. She is 77 but she acts as though she is 60. She stays active and was always in good health. My Grandma and I have always been really close so it is so hard to be here in CA and not there in AZ with her. On top of that, my Husband's Grandma has a similar issue going on. She is a little bit older but is as sharp as tack! She is in the hospital too awaiting biopsy results from a mass that was found in her lower stomach. So please keep her in your prayers also.

So that is one reason why I have been behind in our Advent celebration. But this weekend we will hopefully pick up our tree and start decorating and hopefully we can buy or make our advent wreath. We still do not have one. So I have some catching up to do. I found this beautiful Online Advent Calendar so if you need to catch up also it is a great resource.

Special Moments

 This past weekend my family went to visit my Mom’s side of the family in AZ for my cousin Jeff’s Wedding. This was a special visit for a few different reasons. It is always such a blessing when I get to visit my family and spend time with my Grandma and all of family in general. But this trip was the type of trip where you take in all the moments that you can as if it were playing in slow motion right in front of your eyes. My Aunt is one of the sweetest people I know and she is so much fun to be around even in her condition. She has a non-curable cancer right now and she is enjoying everyday that she can with such an inspiring grace. My cousin’s wedding was so beautiful the way it looked out over a beautiful lake and the weather was just perfect. His bride was absolutely beautiful as were their vows. During the wedding he shared a special Mother/son dance that will always be unforgettable. Sharing his dance with his two brothers, there was not a dry eye in the room. It was truly was one of the most beautiful but sad moments ever to experience. 

My beautiful aunt and handsome cousin during their special dance. 

It is hard for my Aunt to do a lot because her body can’t take much activity but she felt up to going to my Grandma’s house, where we were staying after the wedding. That evening with her really was a blessing. I got to just sit and talk with her about so much. We share a love of crafting and it so fun to talk to her about it all. And to get great tips! ;) Over time she has given me a few things that she has made and I have kept them all with honor. Her gifts are priceless to me. The love she puts into her hand made gifts are shown with every placement of material. This trip she gave me little gingerbread ornaments representing our family. Now, she could have given me painted rocks and I would still think of them as priceless because she made them but the gingerbread family was so adorable! She even mentioned how she wanted to make me more for my “future kids” but was unsure of which gender to make them. What a cute statement! J  I loved that!

My aunt put the kids names on theirs but I got familiar with iPhoto retouch for this post. 

Spending time my family is always filled with special moments and this trip was nothing short of unforgettable. 

We are back home now and catching up with things at home. Hubby has a few days off so he has been doing Christmas lights and we are decorating the house while I'm trying to unpack and get organized (or Blogging he he) 

This Week's Book

Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton

My Father-in-law and I share a love for similar books and this is one of the books I got from him. I started reading it awhile ago but got into a few other books a few chapters in and its taken the back seat.  But Im picking it back up and will be reading it this week.

Recent Crafts

While in AZ, I visited their local Joanne's and got some great deals on fabric there and picked up enough for a few different projects. I finally got the fabric I needed to make Little Optimus his Super Hero Cape. I decided to do his cape by hand drawing it so it is still not done yet. I got started with it yesterday but I need to make some adjustments to it before I post the picture.  

My daughter's Little Flowers group is doing a home made gift exchange and Vivi was soooo excited to do this! She loves keeping her little hands busy with crafts. She decided to make a rosary for her friend which was great because while I was in RCIA we made our own rosary out of smaller beads so I remembered how to make it. Beads are always so much fun to craft with and she had a blast doing it. 

Since we were in AZ we are getting a late start to celebrating Advent. I hope you all have blessed Advent season.