Well with Mardi Gras celebrations, also come thoughts of Lent. A friend asked me to repost (or post here as I couldn’t find a previous post) a few things we’ve done over the years to celebrate Lent with little ones.

A toothpick crown is an easy visual reminder of opportunities to earn grace through good deeds and sacrifices. Each time I see one of our kids (or they bring it to our attention) doing good, they remove a toothpick. Easter morning if the crown is free of thorns, a little present sits in its place. A simple salt dough recipe and purple food coloring easily does the trick. Last year’s post is HERE with more information.

The candle stations of the cross are simple, quick, and fun. The kids LOVE being able to blow out each candle as it’s read and prayed. My husband reads one side, and I read the other before the kids take turns blowing it out. (These pictures were from 2008!)

You can find a printable version of my candle Stations of the Cross HERE. I simply used Mod Podge to adhere them to the outside of a glass votive. They come in a package of 6 at Hobby Lobby. (Mental Note: Don’t accidentally forget and pack them away with the Easter things in a non-temperature controlled attic. Guess I’ll be remaking them this year. Oops.)

HERE are some wonderful Stations of the Cross printable coloring pages.

Of course, coloring pages are a nice addition too. HERE and HERE and HERE.

The Story of Easter from ReginaPress is a great coloring book and reasonably priced also. You can find their catalog HERE.

Young children are especially drawn in through storybooks.

I love The Tale of Three Trees as it gives a nice look at three important events in Jesus’ life…his birth, the calming of the storm and a fishing boat, and the crucifixion. It’s a beautiful means of illustrating lessons on vanity and selfishness.

I also especially love (although not Catholic) this retelling of the various elements of the Passion. The Story of Easter is the “perfect” means of capturing the attention of young children especially. I love the innocence and sweet nature of the perspective of the animals and their witness of these world-changing events. There’s also an accompanying coloring book. Just sweet. (There’s also an equally sweet Christmas version told in the same manner.)

I hope your celebrations are ones blessed with great unity to Christ on the cross. Easter will be here in 40 days (plus Mardi Gras and Sundays)! How are you sacrificing? Inspired by a friend, we’ll be praying a rosary together each day of Lent. I’m also going to start training for a 5K run. Yep. I said it. Now you have a right to hold me accountable. I’ve never run EVER in my life. This is going to be a challenge to say the least! God bless you and your family!

I leave you with Pope Benedict XVI’s message for Lent 2012. You can find it HERE or HERE.

I am so in love with a little actually gigantic thing called Pinterest. I loved gathering ideas for this year’s Valentine’s celebration. Valentine morning, the kids wake to find a decorated kitchen table (much simpler presentation this year I might add) and celebrations begin with breakfast. This year, I enlisted the kids’ help.

While I made the bacon and mixed up the pancakes, the kids made (solely on their own) their conversation heart toast. Ahhhh…thank you Pinterest for the very last minute idea AND I had everything on hand already! Yep. Add it to the breakfast menu. Didn’t they turn out cute?!

Katie then hopped onto her 3rd quarter online conference with her teacher while I prepared the pancakes (and held a very sleepy & crabby baby with her first head cold). Oh my goodness. This blog did not lie. These pancakes were fantastic and what will be a rare treat as they are clearly not considered food worthy of a well balanced breakfast. Gotta love Cinnamon Roll Pancakes though! Thank you Pinterest for gathering the idea.

Sweet Clare is back down for a nap, it’s 10:00 a.m. and our meal is served. (I think our time frame is a bit different this year with Clare’s presence in the kitchen.)

Pinterest was also the inspiration behind this gift left for my husband’s morning eyes. I’m often (okay, ALWAYS) asleep when he goes to work. This way I can say “I love you” and still sleep.

The kids had a great time at their valentine party this afternoon. Clare slept (she’s definitely a bit under the weather) while I tutored and celebrated the success of a very special young man, and then it was off to Chick-fil-a for family night and back home for Charlie Brown and chocolate shakes with the neighbor. Oh yes, there was the customary Valentine family exchange and some mail to open from long-distance family. What a great day!! Now, my husband and I are going to snuggle up on the couch and watch another episode of Bones. (Have I mentioned we are totally addicted. Love NetFlix streamed through the Wii!)

Again, our house extends to you our love. Hope your day was blessed by some extra lovin’ also. Good night.

We love you Donovan family!

We love you Bosters!

We love you Great-Grandma Ptacek!

A little love for the Vignaroli Family!

Lovin’ for Aunt Sherry! (BTW…thank you for the Valentine goodies! We LOVE them. We LOVE you.)

And a little lovin’ from Daddy!

A little love between the family!

I send my own love to you in a special way!

Her weekend started Friday at 4:00 p.m. with her first ever lock-in. Such a big girl. She slept the night in a classroom at the church with 7 other peers and two adults. I was so thankful that both were great women of God, and one I can count among my dearest friends. I’m forever grateful for the sacrifice of these women. One of the reasons for Katie doing American Heritage Girls was for an experience that didn’t include momma’s voice in her head. She gets a lot of me during our school days and subsequent family life.

AHG is just hers! Well, was just hers until I volunteered to be troop photographer AND lead the Senior Explorers in earning their photography badge. It started as merely an excuse to have some photos to put into Katie’s year-end scrapbook, and quite naturally became a year-long endeavor to guide the older girls in taking photos and learning how to create online a published scrapbook. (See www.TakeTimeToRemember.com.) The older girls have been assigned to photograph (along with myself) the events AND interview a handful of participants. In the month of February, they’ll begin putting together the actual scrapbook pages and documenting the stories of these events. I’m already so proud of them and can’t wait to see their hearts unfold in the pictures and published yearbook.

Other than having a voice that wasn’t my own echoing in her ears, we also wanted a place where Katie could meet peers who were like-minded in their ideals and efforts to live the faith. We wanted a strong formative piece as well. Not only was American Heritage Girls a good fit, but the added bonus was that it’s hosted in a nearby Catholic parish. In fact, one of the co-leaders I have known and worked with on several projects since moving to Atlanta.

She earned this weekend her “Daughter of the King” badge. What an honor to be there for the presentation and unfolding of this badge work. (Yes. I did my job well. I left the two hours with a little more than 300 photos of the troop.) It was a special honor to see some college girls come and present to the troop what it means to be a Daughter of the King and especially what that means in our fashion. Not only are they beautiful young women, but I knew them when they were Katie’s age as siblings of my KG students. It was an incredible look into the future and what I hope to see in our daughter at 19…leading younger girls to be holy, modest, and fashionable young women.

The girls had to identify what was appropriate attire for a Daughter of the King and in doing so create their own runway fashions. The fashion show, complete with dancing flashlight spotlights, a red “carpet” runway, a college-aged fashion commentator, and lots of spectators made these girls glow in ways truly blessed by Divine grace. Katie wants me to be sure and point out (on this blog) that her outfit included ruffles on her cape.

Although too young to officially participate, Clare is my sidekick in most things. In fact, she was invited to join me for this event knowing full well that there were a slew of momma’s anxious to have their chance to hold her. This AHG mom was a special dear to me. Clare thought so also as she fell asleep in her arms. That’s a rare occasion for this “I don’t want to miss anything” little girl.

Thank you GA0413 for helping my husband and I form our daughter in grace, virtue, and a desire to journey in this life toward heaven.

Not only did Katie get to share the Lock-in experience with her best friend, Mercedes, but the weekend continued with even more pomp & circumstance.

These girls, BFFAE (Best Friends Forever and Ever as deemed by them), were so excited to have entered the world of “big” kid status by getting their ears pierced!!! Both girls knew this day would arrive when they turned eight. Katie, however, opted to wait for her BFFAE to turn 8 so they could do it together. Mercedes turns 8 on Tuesday! The time had finally come. They are getting so big!!

They were both apprehensive in their own ways, wondering what it was really going to be like. They talked about not crying and just closing their eyes until it was finished. As it was, Mercedes went first holding her mom’s hand. She finished with a smile on her face and it was Katie’s turn.

Ironically, we never noticed that Katie’s ears are two different sizes, drastically different actually. Although, her earrings weren’t what she picked (there was a mix-up), she didn’t care in the least. Her ears were pierced. She’d done it with her BFFAE and they declared it really was no big deal. Actually, “it only felt like your ear had been stapled”…no big deal at all”, they remarked. (As parents, we wondered how they knew what it was like to be stapled.)

Not only had these two girls dreamed of getting their ears pierced together, but it also entailed getting their American Girl doll’s ears pierced. So…off to the mall we went.

Unfortunately, it did not include much pomp n circumstance. In fact, your doll goes to the back room, you check out, and when you come back, your doll is making friends with other dolls on the shelf. The girls were excited though and after 24 hours (yes, you really do have to wait before changing the DOLL’s earrings the first time), they have already changed their doll’s earrings.

AND…not to let the weekend end prematurely on Saturday afternoon, Sunday included it’s own festivities.

Happy Birthday Mercedes!

Back to Sweet and Sassy for her birthday party.

A rock star hairdo (or in Katie’s case, a princess do), make-up and fingernail polish were party festivities.

These girls celebrated their first birthday together and eight years later are still celebrating birthdays together. It’s a friendship that has grown so much, evolved and weathered a bit also. Here’s to the hopes and dreams of yet another year together. We’re proud of you! We celebrate this weekend with you and we love you!

You see…I will not take today for granted.

I had the gift of reading two blogs (posted by friends on facebook) that reminded me of some incredible things…some God-given messages.

Shana is a friend from college. She’s a love and has been there for me and reached out in times of her own need. I’m lucky to consider her a friend. Today, she reminded me that life’s journey is always a journey to something else that’s often God anointed. She called me when she learned I had miscarried our first and reached out to me when I miscarried our second. She rejoiced with me when Clare was born this last summer! Thank you Shana for reminding me “IT” is my life…my God guided life. You can read her post (and my reminder from God) HERE.

Secondly, while reading through facebook, I opened in a separate tab this blog post. The writer, in the midst of a great cross, shines an essence of God not easily attained in this life. Her post reminded me of the grace in walking with God, understanding that HE alone is the author of life, and his grace is sufficient. You can read her posts HERE as she journeys with God and life in her womb.

So today, I will not take the details of my life, my God-given life, for granted.

As I write this, our 6 1/2 month old Clare, is laughing hysterically as she pings the doorstop and it makes noise back at her. Ping….hysterical laughing….arm flapping with excitement. Ping…hysterical laughing…arm flapping with excitement. Over and over again. Exactly the way you would expect any child to play. Today, I noticed and laughed with her. She spotted me, turned her little body to me, and began her fast crawl across the room, laughing and giggling all the way. With each movement closer, her joy grew and so did mine. The joy of a child making its way to its mama…I think there’s an infinity of messages in the parallel of the Holy Family’s interaction and that which we are shown here on earth. I think I’ll ponder that today…the shared joy and embrace between mother and child.

Today, I will not miss the details that make life unique. Thank you God for this life, for my children, for the journey of past and present experiences. You have spoken to my heart. Today, I am listening.

Happy 6 month birthday (well 6 1/2 months now) sweet girl. As a gift to herself, she started crawling. Yep. Serious overachiever. She’s 2-3 months ahead of the game. The good Dr. says that’s what they call hyperactive. Oh no not a Boster kid! (I think there’s always that chance in this house.)

This girl has crazy blue eyes. They are actually brighter than her sister’s. We thought that would be hard to top. In the natural light, this girl’s eyes are unbelievable!

This rattle is a new toy to her collection. It was a gift from Gramma Lissa at her birth and just brought out. Oh how she loves it! It’s the special toy that she gets when we change her and/or when she’s playing at my feet while I put on my make up.

This is the face she makes when she’s happy to see you. You can count on her burying her face while she makes it and flapping her arms at the same time. We all love it!

Oftentimes when she’s happy or trying to talk, she’ll blow air through her lips. We always know it is coming because her face looks just like this!

It’s nice that she likes to be in her exersaucer for at least a few minutes after she’s eaten. It helps with her reflux and keeping the food she’s just eaten actually in her belly instead of on the floor. Yep. This overachiever is the worst yet. She still hasn’t outgrown this terrible feature of Boster infancy. 6 month check-up brought a new prescription. Here’s to hoping it works better.

Okay, maybe not such an overachiever in this regard, but I totally take the blame for this. At 6 months (a full three months later than her siblings), she moved to the crib. Michael won. She’s sharing a room with him until my sister moves out and Clare can take over the nursery.

The good ‘ole Dr. Papciak says all is well, but this little girl needs to eat more. I’m not sure her little tummy is going to hold all that he wants her to eat. I’m thinking, modifications might be in order. In time, maybe we can work up to it.

She’s getting so big!
Weight: 15 lbs. 2.6 oz. (50%) ` Height: 25 ¾” (50%) ` Head: 43 cm (50-75%)

Katie is a great big sister! Clare still laughs for her more regularly than anyone else.

Golly, has it really been half a year already since this little one entered our house?

I’ve also added a few new digital projects (the most recent ones) to the blog. You can find them HERE for those who want to partake in BosterFamily storytime.

Katie brought this little guy to us saying he was dirty. Indeed, he was dirty and was in serious need of a bath. Imagine, right? A wild kitten needing a bath? There was nothing to do, but bring him home and bathe him.

After drying him, loving on him, playing with him, and naming him…he could stay for a week trial. Well, the week is over and we are here to introduce you to Alaska, our new pet. Yes. I said there was magic in the air!

We are the parents that swore (even before getting married) that we’d never have a pet in the house. Magic.

A trip to PetSmart confirmed that he was the runt, 6 weeks old, and healthy. He simply wants to be held. Magic.

And to play.

And to climb.

And to be everywhere we are…preferably right on top of you…on top of any of us…whenever we are within proximity of his climbing abilities.

And to be loved. A lot in fact. Magic – the power of a pet.

I don’t think Alaska needs a week for us to decide. Welcome to the family.

(This collection of pictures I realize is a bit misleading. Alaska does love the kids a lot, but he isn’t necessarily partial to Michael. Michael is simply always hollering at me to take pictures of Alaska and him together. Ironically, Michael wants desperately to hold Alaska, but doesn’t like picking him up. He hasn’t quite figured out the perfect hold so as not to get scratched by those little baby claws. It was a great day when Michael learned to carry him like a momma cat. My boy is indeed getting so big!)

I can’t believe that we have ushered in 2012 already! Where did the last year go?? I know…it was carrying a baby, nursing and caring for an infant, and now keeping up with a crawling 6 month old! Not to mention, all the great comings and goings of the big kids, homeschooling and tutoring also!

The last day of 2011 and we created a disaster in the house. Christmas money was the perfect opportunity to reorganize. (BTW…my husband’s head starts to spin when I start envisioning projects of this nature.) The flat screen TV needed a new home and the kids school things had overtaken the corner desk area. Just Dance Kids II meant the necessity for more floor space, and of course a crawling babe required we “open” things up a bit. Hence, the need for more compact furniture and better organization…where do you go for that? IKEA of course.

Look at that girls’ eyes! She also had her first french fry today. I think she’s teething. At any rate, she can suck the heck out of a fry much to her dad’s demise.

IKEA also meant the perfect opportunity for Michael to sit and play his DS. It seems everywhere we go, he finds someone else playing that darn Nintendo. We have not allowed it while eating or in any social setting. However, we did (after dinner was over and I was feeding Clare) agree to let him go sit with a boy playing his DS. Poor Mikey. He got his out and was sitting down as the boy got up to leave. Oh well! After making our purchases, we zoomed home to put it all together. I love my DIY husband and the ease of IKEA furniture!

All things were organized and at least somewhat presentable by 8 p.m….the perfect time for neighbors to visit in their pajamas!

In 2012, we definitely need to do more of these “the house is not in perfect order/menu unplanned/impromptu” encounters with friends! We had a great evening and EVERYONE managed to stay up until midnight even despite our protests that everyone was going to bed. We passed the time by playing Wii Pictionary and watching Santa Clause 2.

The evening also included appetizers and this most amazing Deep-Dish Cookie Pie. Oh my! They were crazy good! Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and let it melt just a bit over the warm cookie. I can’t wait for the next time to serve these decadent warm chocolate chip cookies. Boy were they delicious!

Here’s to a great 2012!! I hope to spend more time with family and friends, be more intentional in all we do, and add a great deal more exercise to our days. Happy New Year to you!!

The weather was so fantastic this weekend! I can’t believe that it is getting cold…in fact, freezing cold!

New Years Day is the best occasion to stay up late again, eat a lot of food, play more games, and be with friends! Yep. There was a lot of all of that this year also!!

Just Dance (any version) has become a favorite for sure! Both kids have some serious MOVES. How fun to watch them side-by-side with the highschoolers!

She’s getting so big! She’s had a great time putting on her eye makeup (almost) everyday since Christmas. I think it is definitely her most used gift. She’s even doing makeovers on all of us.

Happy New Year! Wishing you lots of blessings in 2012!!!

Best Friends

Games

Play

This is the best way to spend the Christmas octave! Merry Christmas everyone. Thank you dear friends for your friendship, your blessings, your hospitality, and especially your love. Here’s to the promises of 2012 and more memories!

And just because I love these pictures and their blue eyes….