Ecce veniet! — He is about to arrive!

Iesus Christus, Deus homo: Jesus Christ, God-man. This is one of "the mighty works of God," which we should reflect upon and thank him for. He has come to bring "peace on earth to men of good Will," to all men who want to unite their wills to the holy will of God — not just the rich, not just the poor, but everyone: all the brethren. We are all brothers in Jesus, children of God, brothers of Christ. His Mother is our mother.
You must look at the Child in the manger. He is our Love. Look at him, realizing that the whole thing is a mystery. We need to accept this mystery on faith and use our faith to explore it very deeply. To do this, we must have the humble attitude of a christian soul. Let us not try to reduce the greatness of God to our own poor ideas and human explanations. Let us try to understand that this mystery, for all its darkness, is a light to guide men's lives. ~ Saint Josemaria Escriva

Christmas Photos...

It's that time of year again...time to organize a busy family into one place at the same time (with the members all slickered-up, of course) in the hopes that we can take the perfect photo for our Christmas card.  Well, that's not quite right; I have long given up on the perfect Christmas card.  Better is the enemy of good, right?   After about a week of trying to organize schedules, I gave up (mostly because Moira was working every night last week).  Instead, I opted for the family collage style card, the kind with individual pictures pieced all together.  It is much easier.  I was able to dig around the computer to find decent pictures, and for those who needed a fresh shot, we took a few in front of the tree that worked out nicely......nicely for most everyone.

There is one rather cute little family member who is a bit tricky to photograph!  Miss Erin has a mind of her own when it comes to photo shoots, and she may or may not be cooperative with the photographer.  May not is the more likely scenario!

Having high hopes, I dressed her in a cute little Christmas dress with a hat; that was the easy part!

After assembling my photography crew, we went to work.  Here are some highlights of our photo sessions.  Yes, that is plural.

Session One:

When we started, she was not overly amused or cooperative.....

Obviously....LOL

Someone has an idea to lighten her mood with a candy cane!  That's a little better. It worked for a second.

 

So, one thing about Erin is she is genuine.  She will only smile if there is something to smile about! Pictures can be hard because she doesn't pose easily for pictures. We kept trying to get her to smile. This is not the easiest thing to teach.  When she finds something worth smiling about, she has a natural smile....but to teach, by saying, SMILE ERIN, uh, this is what we get....

And this.... 

We work a little harder on the smile, exaggerating our own smiles, with hopes that she will mimic us.  This is what we get....

 

Now she's getting bored and wanting the hat off.....

 

Okay, let's try the hat off.  Whoa!  Too much static :)

Not in the mood for a photo shoot, Erin???  Time to hide :)

Session Two:

Let's try this again.

Erin said, I do it! when it was time to put the hat on. 

Good try!

It was time to pull out the big guns.....time to get Molly Grace and Seamus to chase her around the house, which is a sure way to get her laughing! It worked like a charm.  Here she is running away from the camera LOL!

Finally, something to laugh about....

Peak a boo with Seamus...

In the end, we ended up getting some adorable photos...

 

 

Now for the really funny part!  After all that, which photo did we end up choosing for our Christmas card??!!  None of the above!  That's right.  Stop laughing!  When Mike came home from work I asked him to pick a photo and he said, "I really like Erin's three-year photo the best".  After looking at the photos arranged with the card, we all agreed, it just seemed to fit the card best.  Oh well.  Good thing I have a blog so I can show off Erin's Christmas pictures!

Winter Storm Aidan

Yep, this last snow storm to hit the Midwest had a name - Aidan. Although I think it was spelled the other way - Aiden.

Our Aidan did a lot of shoveling to clean up the other Aiden!

Molly Grace and Margaret

Seamus peaking out of the window....

Where's Seamus?

Well, if you cannot find the little guy, you might want to try looking in one of his new hiding spots....the broken cupboard in the kitchen.  One of the drawers needs repair, so we have an open spot, which leaves just the right size for little Seamus to crawl in and hide out.  He climbs in and out so quickly, and with such ease.  It is funny because he has to turn his head just right, to the side, in order to get in and out!

There's never a dull moment around here with this sneeky little guy, that's for sure.  But, do you think his sisters love him much?

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe......and now, Our Lady of Good Help!  With only 11 Church approved apparitions sites aournd the world since 1900, we now have one right here in our own backyard.  Very exciting!  It is the first approved apparition site in the United States.  The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion, Wisconsin (formally in Robinsonville) has an amazing history.  Click HERE if you are interested in visiting the website.


Here is a beautiful video, explaining much of the history.  OL of Good Help, pray for us!

Does He Look Guilty?

He oughta! He was caught dancing on the kitchen table...

Thanksgiving 2010

With the Delaney family all coming to WI for Grandma D's funeral, we were all able to all celebrate Thanksgiving together...including my parents! We had a fun, full house.



Here is Tim and Suzy's littlest one, sweet Mara...



I think Erin gets credit for teaching her cousin the funny face :)

We celebrated Grandma D's birthday on Thanksgiving as well!  Here's our attempt to get all the grandkiddies with their grandma and grandpa D!  (almost got everybody's face.....except Erin)

Emmett is seriously scoping out what fixins' he's going to pile on his plate. 



Little Joe-boy, keeping us smiling...

The ladies:  Grandma D, Bridget, Colleen and Eileen

Seamus picked a fine time to vacuum the floor.  What a helpful lil guy!

Eileen's home-made pies - yum!

Molly Grace, Aileen, Margaret and Conal take a break on the couch...



Awe, aren't they cute.  Tim and Suzy...




Grandma M, trying to get a moment with Seamus...

Seamus and Moira, both smiling for the camera.

Grandpa M, Moira and Seamus on the move...

Our pro-turkey carver, Grandpa D!!!

MGD and Joe, playing some unknown game.  Looks like fun :)

Rest in Peace, Grandma Dillon

Eternal rest, grant unto her, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them her.

May her soul

and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Our grandmother, Florence M. Dillon, died peacefully on November 21st. She will be so missed by all of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We love you Grandma!

Here is Grandma's obituary:

Florence Marie Dillon

March 22, 1921 - November 21, 2010

Visitation St. John Vianney 9-11AM Friday November 26, 2010

Mass of Christian Burial Friday November 26, 2010 11AM St. John Vianney

Died peacefully November 21, 2010 at the age of 89 after a short illness at the Saint Camillus Assisted Care Center in Wauwatosa, WI. Florence was born on March 22, 1921 to Francis Edward and Edith Conner Kelley of Cleveland OH. She was preceded in death by both of her parents, Robert J. Dillon her husband and love of her life throughout 63 years of marriage, brother Edward F. Kelley, grandson Andrew Delaney, and great granddaughter Camille Delaney.

Florence is survived by seven children, Nan (Thomas) Delaney, James F. (Judy) Dillon, Patrick E. Dillon, Thomas R. (Billie) Dillon, Joan (Patrick) Rohrer, Michael K. (Jan) Dillon, and Timothy J. Dillon plus 17 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Florence was an avid Marquette University basketball fan being a 20+ year season ticket holder, much to the chagrin of some of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who are devoted UW fans. Whether residing in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Iowa, she spent time volunteering at local hospitals, playing bridge and bowling in newcomer's leagues gaining many new friends. No one was more proud of her Irish heritage than Florence. Very seldom was there a family discussion where her "Irish" was not on full display.

Being a Mom was most important to Florence. Her way of connecting with each family member individually has left a feeling that everyone had a special bond with her. There will never be another one like her.

She will certainly be missed but never forgotten by all who came in contact with her throughout her wonderful life.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday November 26, 2010. Friends will be received at the church from 9:00 - 11:00 AM until the time of Mass. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, or St. John Vianney Parish Brookfield, WI.

Happy Birthday Molly Grace!!!

There was never a girl more excited to have a birthday than Molly Grace! She was counting down the days until she turned seven, which was on Saturday, November 2oth. We had a nice little celebration with family and her very best buddy, cousin Margaret.

Also, here is a picture taken in June from Molly Grace's Little Flowers group.  Aren't they cute?  We love you Molly Grace!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

 

If you suddenly get that it's too quiet feeling that mothers instinctually recognize as trouble, first check the magnetic tiles (a couple posts down).  If he's not found there, check the toilet!  If there is a toilet within a block of this child, he'll find it.

The Spaghetti Picture

I think every child needs at least one spaghetti picture on their resume, don't you think?