Summer smile from Monica

I have had serious guilt issues about not posting enough pictures for our far flung family and friends to enjoy.  This is an apology post containing several pictures that hopefully capture the stages of our children and the fun we have been having during the summer months.

Kisses from Brendan.

Serious Therese before her swim events.

Brendan and Monica share laughter and legos while watching the swim meets

Myriam practices piano

Tim and the kids on the Fourth of July (Heritage Building Rooftop)

Tim and Lori on Fourth of July

Myriam at Brookside Gardens

Myriam with the butterfly that landed on Grandma

Therese in the butterfly garden at Brookside

Therese checks out DC monuments from the Heritage rooftop

Monica scrunched up in the carrier while strawberry picking

Mom and the three older kids this weekend (before Therese’s swim meet)

The kids getting the cake ready

Grandma and Brendan studying butterflies

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

…gets (just a little) older today!

20 great things about my mother:

1. She gave me four siblings

2. She loves my dad.

3. She loves my husband.

4. She loves my kids.

5. She drives long distances to visit.

6. She always said I was beautiful when I was teenager and thought I was ugly.

7. She still says I am beautiful even when I am sleep deprived with a baby belly, dark circles and crazy curly hair.

8. She watched (with my dad) our kids for a WHOLE WEEK so we could attend a wedding in another country.

9. She then drove the kids 11 hours back to our house.

10. She doesn’t care if my house is dirty.

11. She will help clean my house.

12. She will rave about any dinner I cook (no matter how easy).

13. She will eat leftovers with a smile.

14. She will sit and read and read and read to my kids and truly enjoy every moment.

15. She sacrificed a career to raise five kids in less than glamorous condition on a farm in Northwest PA.

16. She taught us to work hard.

17. She drove hours each week while we went through high school to cheer for our sporting events and clap at our music concerts.

18. She drives hours and hours and hours now to cheer for her grandchildren in their sporting events and clap for their music concerts (which only occur in our living room).

19. She let me cook and bake in the kitchen when I was young even though it meant more big messes for her to clean up.

20. She doesn’t regret the sacrifices she made for her family and accepts gracefully her crosses.

Myriam in her official suit and swim cap

Myriam has spent the past two summers cheering for Therese and she is thrilled to finally be part of Wheaton Woods Swim Team.  Last night, she swam her first event- freestyle in the 8 and under division.  She did really well.  Her coaches are really amazing and encourage the youngest members to get out there and compete.  The girls love being part of such a supportive and enthusiastic team.  Tim and I love watching them blossom each summer.  Brendan and Monica love playing with their friends and cheering from the sidelines.

Myriam waits for the whistle

And she's off!

Looking strong

Happy to have completed the race in good form

Myriam Elizabeth

Today is the Feast of the Visitation and the feast day of our second daughter- Myriam Elizabeth.  When we meditate upon this mystery while praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, we focus on the virtue of charity.  Mary traveled a long way while VERY pregnant to assist her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth.  This great love on Mary’s part often stops me in my tracks when I am whining during pregnancy. (not that I EVER do that…).  Our Myriam is named for Our Lady and her cousin.  She likes to tell people that she has two saints who love her very much and are watching over her.   Our children love praying to their patron saints and learning about their lives- I love praying to their patron saints and begging for help!

This photo of Myriam was taken this morning during our traditional Feast Day breakfast.  Daddy was very generous and left late for work so he could celebrate with us.  It is also Myriam’s first day of swim practice!  Perhaps I will have feast day swim photo for later.

If you happen to check in today, please pray for our Myriam Elizabeth.  Happy Feast of Charity!

Tim with our first born, Therese Marie

… and more wonderful with the passage of time.   We have only been married eight years.  I have only known him for twelve.  We only dated a few months before getting engaged and the engagement was nine months (too long, in both of our opinions!).  I can say with absolute certainty that he is the best friend I have ever had.  I am pretty sure he is the best friend I ever will have.  He knows how to make me laugh.  He draws me out of myself and pushes me to be the best version of myself.

Tim is always ready for a good time, ready to tease and play and wrestle with the children.  However, few people get to see the sensitive side: how much he loves to hold a newborn baby and just gaze into their eyes and marvel at their tiny perfectness.   The way he likes to sneak up on me in the kitchen, turn up a romantic (usually old country) song on his iPhone and pull me into a slow dance while the kids giggle and dinner burns behind us.  The way he prays with our children before bed, encouraging them to thank Our Lord for all the good in our lives but also to remember those in need.  He is the one who came up with the idea for Therese to be a pen pal for young boy with cancer.  He is the one who decided we would sponsor a child and an aging friend in Africa when we got married.  He is the one who encourages me in my dark moments of doubt and shoves me out the door for a run, a visit to the chapel or coffee with a friend.  Tim is the one who never forgets to pray for our children’s vocation, begging Jesus to call them to the priesthood and religious life.  He is constantly arranging ways for them to be exposed to the beauty of these vocations.  He never worries.  He remembers to smile when things are tough.  He is the sanguine to my melancholic.   He is the reason I am here in Silver Spring, Maryland, living this amazing apostolate of being his wife and mother instead of galavanting off to a third world country to be a life long missionary.

Thank you, Timothy Joseph.  I love you.  Happy Birthday.

Saving us from the snowstorms

Tim with our Godson, Nathaniel Ferry

Another snowy Tim picture

The shoulder carry perfected by Tim

Brotherly love

Sporting the sombreros

Daddy with Brendan, Myriam and Therese (and St. Joseph) on Father's Day 2009

Timothy and Brendan

Tim and Lori

Our little navigator

St. Brendan was a monk who lived in the Middle Ages.  We did not have a deep devotion to this saint when we were pregnant with our Brendan, but we loved the name and the more we read about him, the more we liked this guy!  He had a deep love for God and and he recognized the presence of God in all of creation.  He had a deep desire to know more about the “Unknown” world and decided to sail around the world in search of an earthly “Paradise.”  Stories of his travels have been passed down for ages and legend has it that he discovered North America.  Children in Ireland attribute the discovery of America to St. Brendan- not Columbus.  Although many scholars say there is no hard proof of his discoveries on his famous journey, it is fairly certain he did sail for many years around the world and returned to Ireland to tell his tales.

I thought this picture of our Brendan playing in a very large puddle at Grandma and Grandpa’s house was fitting for this feast of his patron who love the water and nature and the outdoors.  Brendan James loves animals and water and we hope he will be as adventurous as St. Brendan (we are praying he has a religious vocations as well…)

Happy Feast Day, Brendan James!

(St. Brendan setting sail with fellow monks.  Artist unknown.)

Mud is glorious

This book was a lovely Baptism gift Brendan received as an infant.  We have read it many, many times.  This year I bought this book because it is a little longer and has more details about St. Brendan’s life.  Since we are studying the Middle Ages, I wanted to take the girls into more in depth studies of particular saints of that period.  We love them both and highly recommend them for young readers.

Therese with her Godparents and "Godsiblings"

This lovely family prays for our Therese as much as we do.  Cathe and Jeremy are her Godparents and their children love ours like they are related!   We are so grateful as they help our daughter on her journey to heaven.

Other heavy hitters in the prayer department:

Fr. James Moore, O.P. and Fr. Brendan Lupton

Fr. James and Fr. Brendan were able to join us for the Mass and celebration afterward.  We admire these men very much for the zeal with which they live their vocation.  We are very grateful for their friendship, prayers and witness to our family.

Therese and Charlotte

Aunt Karen, Therese and Uncle Anthony

Therese and Great-Uncle Don

Therese and Nan

Pop and Therese

Caroline, Therese and Great-Aunt Beth

Grandma, Therese and Grandpa

Therese and Deborah Ruddy

Brendan, Therese, Uncle Tom and Myriam

Mom and the fab four

Since we were married in April, I have been blessed to celebrate Mother’s Day for all eight years of our marriage.  Granted, Therese was a very, very tiny being inside me for that first Mother’s Day, but I can still remember being thrilled that I was a Mom.  And here we are, eight years later.  Three wonderful girls and one very fun boy.  I hope that eight years from now there are still toddlers and babies in my mother’s day picture.  Wouldn’t that be wonderful?