My Little Ninja

When we got home Sunday night, Gyunay was jumping around playing ninja.  Nathaniel made his day by making him some construction paper nun-chucks.  Elijah completed the look by turning his shirt into a ninja mask.

Also, I finally got around to making Gyunay's curtains.

Since his room is blue, orange, and green, these curtains look really cute in there.

He is quite happy with them.  I did end up putting the blackout shade behind them, so that it's not too light in the evenings when they go to bed, but you don't notice it inside, so it looks colorful and happy instead of plain black (and they can easily open the curtains for sunlight during the day).

1st and 80th

We had a really special weekend!  On Saturday, Lydia celebrated her first Communion:

She read two of the petitions at Mass, and she did very well.  She was so excited throughout the Mass; it was fun to watch her enthusiasm.  

Right after Mass, we hurried off out of town, to get to my Mamaw's 80th birthday party!

Lydia changed out of her fancy clothes right after this picture, but Mamaw did get to see her all dolled up.  

Mamaw and all of her great-grandchildren

It was a really lovely day.  We had the party at a park, so the kids got to run around outside, and they played mini golf.  Nathaniel even got to enjoy a par 3 course with my cousin.  I got to visit with relatives that I don't get to see very often.  We all had a very good day.  We spent the night at my parents' house, and on Sunday at Mass, Lydia was excited to have her "second first Communion" during Mass like everyone else.  We spent a little more time visiting, and then headed home, with everyone thoroughly exhausted.   

Spring and Snow

Although it felt like spring for 2 days, Monday it snowed all day.  Gyunay was delighted with this, and kept going outside to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

The flecks in the air (and in front of his face) are snow, but the large white petals on the ground are from the ornamental cherry.  None of the snow stayed on the ground very long, since the ground was still too warm, but it hovered around 33 degrees here all day.

The potatoes I planted in black bags are sprouting!  I'm very happy to see that.  I also have onions popping up everywhere.

These tulips just decided to announce that it really should be spring!

This is hard to see, but it is the white nectarine tree that I grew from seed last winter and planted in the yard last fall.  It looks really healthy.  I also planted some kale plants around it, and they are currently alive.

Spring Has Sprung

It finally feels like spring here, and we have enjoyed the last few days of warm weather.  I happen to have the cutest garden helpers:

As you can see, we've been busy planting seeds.  We have several more flats not pictured, which we just planted and have not yet sprouted.

We also added to the poultry collection.  We now have 12 buff orpington chicks (the yellow fluff balls) and 10 americanas.  The orpingtons are straight run, which means we will have a random mix of male and female chicks.  The americanas are all pullets (female).

The kids are super excited about the chicks, and we even got to show them off to my nephews and niece.  Nathaniel's sister's family came to visit us yesterday, which was convenient since we got our chicks that morning and school was canceled (due to the teachers protesting in Frankfort).

Most importantly, Elijah was confirmed in the Catholic Church last night.  Here he is with our priests and the archbishop, who presided over the beautiful Mass:

Lydia was intrigued by the Mass, and she was thrilled to know that when it's her turn, she will pick a patron saint.  She loves Saint Kateri and has decided that she will pick her.  Of course, she has 5 years to change her mind.  Elijah picked the prophet Elijah, and he wrote a nice paper on him.  Elijah enjoyed the Mass, except for having to wear a tie ("a noose!") and a red gown.  

Spring Break at the Cabin

We spent part of spring break at my parents' cabin, and we had a great time.  Lydia loved painted the pump red:

She took this job very seriously.  

Gyunay helped throw a few sticks on the fire.  Nathaniel was hauling logs out from under the dock to burn.  There's a ton of drift wood that ends up in the end of a bay.

Elijah helped my dad pour concrete for the first time.  (Well, Elijah's first time.  Dad's been pouring concrete forever.)

Malachi put a clear coat on the oak on the front porch.  

It wasn't all work.  We tried to catch fish.

And Mom brought everything for an egg hunt, so the kids got to enjoy an outdoor egg hunt this year after all.

Easter

On Holy Saturday, we got some work done around here.  It actually was pretty nice, with no rain for several hours!

The big boys took turns sweeping off the gazebo.

They also took the pictures of each other.

We also dyed eggs on Saturday.  Each kid had 8 eggs to dye, and they were all very happy.  I'm always a bit amazed at how fast the dyes take to the eggs as compared to when we were kids.  And having brown eggs is no problem for dying pretty colors!

Of course, Elijah also dyed a raw egg as an April fool's joke, but he did give me a bit of a heads-up before I cracked it.  Speaking of eggs, our hens laid 160 eggs this March, so we are back on the upward swing with eggs.

Gyunay had already enjoyed an egg hunt at his preschool on Thursday.  

And here they are all dressed up Easter Sunday morning after Mass.  

Happy Easter!

Let your light shine.  Matthew 5:16