Father-Daughter Dance

I'm not sure what they're looking at?

Smallest turnout yet!  Mike has only three of his six daughters!

Glamor shot of MGD

Glamor shot of Teresa

Molly Grace's First Holy Communion

April 29th was a day filled with joy when Molly  Grace received her First Holy Communion!  Having seen five older siblings experience this day, she was so filled with anticipation and excitement!  Father Girotti, rector at our parish, Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral, was so present and offered such wonderful formation to these first communicants throughout the entire school year.  We are so thankful for Father Girotti, Religious Ed Director Connie Demuse, and for the service of Molly Grace's teachers, who helped prepare her for this very special day!

Oh, how I love our beautiful cathedral!!!  Don't these kids look radiant?!  Father Girotti gave his orange homily, as he does for each first communion, hence, the oranges in the children's hands.  It is a beautiful story which illustrates how something tangible can remind us of something invisible.  It is a beautiful reminder of how Jesus is truly present, although not seen, in the Holy Eucharist. 

Here's the gang, looking very holy indeed...

We had the Delaney/McKillen gang with us to celebrate the day, minus Moira, who was still in Steubenville, studying for her finals.  Here's Patrick and Anna...

Grandpa D...

Grandpa and Grandma D (unfortunately, we didn't get pictures with the other grandparents, or Mike and I)

Enjoying the orange with Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Molly Grace!!!

On November 20th, our sweet Molly Grace turned 8!  She is quickly becoming a "big kid".  In fact, I cannot remember the last time we referred to her as one of the  "little ones".

Molly Grace is such a joy!  She has a sensitive heart.  She is easy to please and easy to offend, all at the same time.  She is in second grade and enjoys her school work.  She loves to play dress-up and perform in plays with her sisters and neighbor friends.  She especially loves to spend time with her cousin, Margaret, at every opportunity!  They are as close as sisters could ever be. She has joined her older sisters in the ranks of Irish dancers and seems to have a natural talent for jigs and reels.

Molly Grace never ever goes to bed without giving her parents each a hug, followed by "Sleep good, I love you, God bless you".  Yep...every single night! 

Molly Grace with cousin and best friend, Margaret

I remember the night before Molly Grace was born. Mike and I went to Margareta's to have some Mexican food (I was desperate to try anything, spicy food included, to induce labor). Just as I went to bed late that night, I felt the first contraction.  Because my labors are marathons, I didn't get to the hospital till late the next afternoon.  She was born shortly after arrival!

Kids' birthdays are as much celebration for the mom, as for the child, aren't they?  Here I go, reminiscing, on our special day...

Molly Grace's birth was a breeze...truly, a piece of cake.  I can honestly say I felt no pain...(thank you epidural!).  Seamus was the only other child who had as easy of a birth (Erin was a close third).  Interestingly, while Molly Grace and Seamus' birth was super easy, they were my most challenging babies. We have often said that Molly Grace stopped crying when she turned two.  LOL  Yes, she was a particularly fussy baby, and most of the time life was not going the way she pleased.  She cried, a lot.

But here she is, eight years later, as sweet as sweet can be!  She is growing up and she loves life!

Molly Grace wanted an old cell phone (that doesn't work) for her birthday.

Thank you Best Buy!  Cost:  FREE

Molly Grace has always had what we call an adorable Boston accent.  She does not say her "r"s.  Someday soon she will, but for now, we enjoy her charming "accent". It adds to her adowable chaaam!


For Molly Grace's party, all the Green Bay cousins came over to celebrate.  Bridget, Teresa and cousin Colleen put together a little treasure hunt, which was a blast!  They wrote the following riddle clue, which Molly Grace had to figure out.  It led everyone all throughout the house.

Clue 1:  

Welcome to the Treasure Hunt Game!  

Find the clues, and seven presents you'll gain!  

The game has begun,

This is clue one!

Now go to the fragile glass,

That jingles when you walk past.

The first present was found in the hutch with jiggly glass doors

Clue 2

Good for you!

This is clue two!

When you're hot from the sun, where do you play?

At the pool of course, so go down there today!

Present two was found hiding inside the pool table

Clue 3

This is clue three,

Way to go!  Yippee!

Since it is dry, 

She can fly!

The walls are torn down

So no water can be found.

This clue led Molly Grace to the upstairs bathroom (it is "dry" and the walls are "torn down" because we are replacing the tile in the bathtub)

Clue 4

Great job!  You score!

This is clue four!

Call it a fridge if you dare

But if you look hard, clue five is in there (and a chair)

This clue led to a chair on our sun-porch (our natural fridge in the wintertime)

Clue 5

You're looking alive!

This is clue five!

Go to the stairs and walk up five, and down two, then down three

Look to your left, who do you see?

This clue led to the pictures we have hanging in our stairway (the 6th clue was hiding behind her own picture hanging and the present was hiding behind a mega pack of toilet paper, sitting in the hallway LOL) 

Clue 6

You're getting through this in a kick!

This is clue six!

What is the fairy who collects the teeth?

Where does she go when you're asleep?

Molly Grace found the final present (the sixth fairy doll) under her own pillow. 

It was a lot of fun!  Thank you, Bridget, Teresa and Colleen for organizing such a fun treasure hunt!  One more special note I want to mention.......as kids of all ages ran though the house finding clues and presents, Erin couldn't keep up, even though she was SO in on the fun.  Cousin Conal, without being told, picked her up and carried her around on his back, making sure she could see all that was happening.  What a great kid!  She is so happy to have such awesome cousins!

After the treasure hunt, we all had cake, which Eileen custom made for Molly Grace. What a great birthday.  We love you Molly Grace!!! (Nice smile, Erin)

Sometimes there are just no words!

Times like this, pictures speak much louder than words. I have no idea who or what these characters are, but whenever Teresa and Molly Grace get together with their neighbor friends, Morgan and Lauren, they come up with something interesting. Summer is quickly coming to and end but at least the girls can say they've had plenty of creative play...

It's a Jungle Out There!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Cardinal

When we come down our stairs, we can see this cardinal through the little window on the door. He's perched on our wreath, hanging on the front door. He must not be able to see us, because we can get so close.

Aidan:  What do you want to name him?

Molly Grace:  How about Bob?

Aidan:  You can't name him Bob!  Anything but Bob!

Molly Grace:  Okay, my second choice is Luigi

Aidan:   I like Luigi, but I like Mario muuuuuuch better

Molly Grace:  Okay fine.  How about Bert from Accounting?  

Ha. Ha.  I guess Molly Grace has watched Horton Hears a Who just a few times.

Saint Patrick's Day

Last year we got so lucky for St. Patrick's Day; it was about 65 degrees and sunny!  This year, not so much. It was cold, windy and drizzly.  The rain held off until the very end of the girls' performance, but overall, it was not a pleasant day. I guess that is my excuse for not getting a lot of pictures :).  It was Molly Grace and cousin Margaret's very first time on stage.  They were very poised and confident. Next time I'll try to get better photos!

Molly Grace, dancing the jig

Molly Grace, far left, getting ready to dance.  Margaret, far right with a smile on her face (just above the head in the way)

Here we ALL are, piling in the Suburban to drive back to the beginning of the parade.  Funny how the camera focused on the beer bottle.  LOL.  Just kidding....it's actually ROOTbeer. 

Stylin' Time

Molly Grace and Erin recently got some stylin hairdos. It was Erin first real haircut. She really screamed whenever I tried to cut it, so I was quite doubtful that she'd sit still for someone she didn't even know. She proved me wrong! She did beautifully, thankfully, with no problems.

The before...

 

 

 And the after...

  

And Molly Grace loved her new style, with braid and pixie dust

French Toast

Molly Grace:  Mom, you know that French toast?  Well, I can't really taste the French....only the toast. :)

Mismatched Socks

Collecting mismatched socks is a very common activity around here. Who in their right mind wants to sort through dozens of socks, unless they want to work on taking time off purgatory? It IS a good job for kids between the ages of about 5 and 8, but then, they are not always in their right mind :). I wish I could say that I have a cute little basket that sits atop my dryer, collecting mismatched socks. Ha ha. In reality, it's more like a full-sized laundry basket! Every once in a while, I throw the whole batch of mismatched socks in the trash. Talk about liberating! I just love to do that. In the meantime, in between washings, we just do our best at finding our matched socks. In this house, if you are over age four, you are on your own. Good luck. Thankfully, we do okay, on most days, because we have learned where to find all the best sock hiding places. Other days we might find the right colors....and that is good enough. Once in a great while, you may find that your socks actually DO match, as long as you are standing next to another sibling with similar mismatched socks. Together, they really do make a great pair!

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....