Reconciliation and Catch Up

There are just a few last minute images I wanted to catch up on from 2018. Namely in November Lorelai celebrated her 1st Reconciliation! She was a little nervous, but did a fantastic job. We’re very proud of her. We were excited to see Fr. Linh back for the kiddos. Brian, Gabriel and Lorelai have all celebrated their 1st Reconciliations with Fr. Linh!

The rest are just random pictures of my quilt basting helpers. :)

Lorelai's 8th Birthday

Well, I should have posted this ages ago, but days are busy and there isn’t much time for blogging at the moment. I’ve had this folder of images saved on my desktop for almost a month now, so it’s high time I share about Lorelai’s 8th birthday.

At 8 years old Lorelai is a firecracker in more ways than one. She’s focused on what she loves and shines brightly while she’s doing that activity. Lorelai is just so gosh darn smart. She LOVES school, everything about it, papers being her favorite. She has a yen for learning, just like her Grandma Wood. She loves tap and jazz, playing Minecraft, and is still head over heels for Cheetahs. Her one desire, which she had been praying for nightly for ages, was for Daddy to no longer be allergic to cats so she could have one. She talked about it daily, her passion for Cheetahs extends to all felines.

Brian mentioned one day that he felt so badly that she couldn’t have her cat and he was considering getting allergy shots so she could have one. We did some research and found out that it could be quite effective. So, after some discussion we decided to surprise her with a cat for her birthday. A week before her actual birthday, we loaded up in the car telling her we were going out to get both kids new shoes. She didn’t notice that we were driving out to the middle of no where, and she was a bit nervous when we pulled up on a gravel road at some random building, wondering why we were stopping at this strange place for shoes. When she found out she was actually getting a cat she was SO excited. I considered videoing it, but decided it’s just one of those things I want to keep tucked away in my memory as a special family moment. We ended up with Mirabelle (a brave little cat who wasn’t afraid of our dogs and who LOVES being around people) now, as named by Lorelai, Diamond Oreo (Oreo for short). All dogs and the cat get along well now and we’re one big happy zoo of a house. Some people may question our sanity…I know I do at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world…we’re a big house of happy people and pets, and we all love each other more than anything.

Lorelai didn’t get a cat just because she wanted one, or just because it was her birthday, or just because Dad is really sweet to her. She got one because she is kind, loving, caring, smart, and a hard worker. She got Oreo because when you are a little girl who goes out everyday with determination, as a force of goodness into the world, God hears that….He sees that, and He moves your Daddy to go out of his way to get allergy shots, and gives your parents the go ahead to fulfill a little girls dream. 8 is GREAT! And I hope she always remembers this very special birthday.

Gorgeous Girl

I'm so in love with this gorgeous girl of mine...not just how beautiful she is, but her gorgeous heart and mind just as much.  

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Girls Night Out

Lorelai and I had a lovely time having a Girls Night Out while Brian and Gabriel attended a Thunder Game.  She got to choose the evening's activities which included dinner at McDonald's (Lorelai's idea of fancy eating), shopping for "grown up" makeup, makeovers (including nails), and watching the finale of Dancing With the Stars.  We had a wonderful time chatting and having some special "girl time."

Lorelai's 7th Birthday

This past Saturday we celebrated Lorelai's 7th birthday.  7th!  I can hardly believe it.  In so many ways she's still a little preschooler when I look at her.  Not the 1st grader who stands before me.  I know she's growing because my back feels it when I pick her up, or when we have real in depth conversations about history, theatre, or just life questions in general.  I hear it when she talks about the troubles of her heart which at times overwhelm her.  I see it when she conquers those troubles and faces them head on with fire and determination and comes out a champion in the end.  This little girl is a go getter, at her birthday party she was doing math on a chalkboard for fun (she must get that from her dad), she loves to read, she enjoys watching clips of the Tony awards and sings Hamilton around the house...or any other song either real or completely improvised.  She lives with a song in her heart.  She is creative and loving, smart and funny.  I am so thrilled that I have the privilege of being her mom and being a witness to who she is becoming as a person.  Happy birthday, sweet Lorelai!  You are "young, scrappy and hungry" and I know you're "not throwing away your shot."

Hatchimal

Hot Tub

Tonight I promised the kids they could stay up late in the hot tub to play with the fancy color changing lights.  Gabriel got tired of the playing in the water after an hour leading up to sunset, and opted for grabbing his camera.  But, Lorelai stuck it out the entire time and had a blast splashing, floating, dancing, diving, and playing with water "glasses."

Mrs. Moore's Class Hosts Mass

Playing a bit of catch up on the blog today.  In April Lorelai's class hosted school mass and Lorelai was the student who went up to receive the prayer chalice at the end of mass.  I snapped this picture of her and shared it with the church and it ended up on the cover of the Sooner Catholic newspaper and the cover of the Edmond Sun newspaper.  She looks so tiny, but had so much confidence.  She did a wonderful job!