Merry (4th day of) Christmas! I remembered I have a blog! James is 10 months already, crawling all over the house, pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree, and clapping enthusiastically for the Christmas lights every time he notices them. I made my ugliest Bûche de Noël ever (and possibly the least tasty as well, I tried a new filling that I was excited about, it was extremely labor intensive, and it really only tasted okay, at best), and the rest of it is still sitting in the fridge ignored... John Paul insisted on the sugared rosemary and cranberries, which are pretty but not ..read more

 Happy Easter! Peter received his First Holy Communion today and he's absolutely over the moon! We all have that one kid, don't we... Many big life changes, but not a lot of time or desire to blog about them...  Maybe some day. For now, please pray for us, and especially pray for my friend Alicia and her family. Their son Joseph was born sleeping this week, and I know they're all heartbroken. (If I learn about any material ways we can help, I will update here, because I know what beautiful hearts you all have ..read more

I know, I know, I drop a bombshell and then disappear from the blog. It's hard to know how to follow a piece of miserable, earth-shattering news, you know? I have pictures from before Margaret died that I still haven't shared here, because every time I think about them I just start crying again. Maybe I'll be able to eventually. But for now I thought I would share the fundraiser we're doing in her honor, even though this basically just entails copying and pasting from my Instagram. The laziest form of blogging... But since the majority of you follow me on some form of social media, you've prob ..read more

  Our sweet baby Margaret Mary went home to heaven on Friday, October 1st. We are absolutely devastated, and ask for your prayers as we adjust to life without our smiley little girl. While we do so appreciate your prayers and support, please please do not reach out asking how you can help—with funeral arrangements and everyday life still going on, we don't have the capacity to respond to every well-intentioned inquiry. If you feel called to offer material support to help with meals, funeral preparations, grief counseling, and other needs, you can use any of the links below: G ..read more

Name: Lucy Grade: Potty Training Boot Camp  Favorite Subject: Coloring and being read to  Least Favorite Subject: Potty training  Most Excited To: Use all the new art supplies! Name: Edith Grade: Pre-K (ish) Favorite Subject: Drawing in her notebook Least Favorite Subject: N/A Most Excited To: "learn how to draw people with hands, because I only draw stick figures and horrible queens for Lucy, and I can't draw a queen with hairy feet" Name: Peter Grade: 1 Favorite Subject: Draw Write Now (handwriting + drawing) Least Favorite Subject: Anything requiring narration Most Exci ..read more

Ah yes, nearly a month after I promised more baby pictures, I'm finally posting some! No birth story yet, I just haven't been motivated to sit down and write it because... It was a boring birth, honestly. I suppose I should write it just for my records, because it's helpful to look back and remember how things went. But I'll get there eventually. The older kids are absolutely enamored of the baby - Cecilia and Mary Claire are very helpful baby-holders (and Cecilia can even get her back to sleep when she wakes up too early from a nap!), Lucy and Edith ask all the time to hold her (w ..read more

We had a baby! Early! Margaret Mary slooooooowly made her way into the world during the course of Sunday, finally emerging just before midnight. Despite being our earliest singleton ever (5 days early! Unprecedented!), she's the biggest girl we've had, at 8 pounds 2 ounces.  The siblings are, of course, absolutely enamored, and Lucy saying "Baby Maw-gwit" is about the cutest thing you can imagine. Hopefully soon I can get some nice pictures uploaded, and eventually the birth story will get written (but it's mostly a lot of waiting around, so don't hold your breath for an exciting st ..read more

  Okay, okay, I give up on these 52 project posts...   We've been reorganizing the house in preparation for the addition we're having built (yes, we're expanding from our current 1500sqft! It's going to be wonderful, but quite hectic too!), and right now the computer's home is on top of a bookshelf. Combine that with my very large (38 weeks!!) pregnant belly, which makes it difficult to have a laptop on my lap and type at the same time, and there's not a lot of blogging motivation!  It's been a lovely summer though - just enough commitments to keep us from wallowing ..read more

Look who's twelve! A full-blown middle schooler! Luckily he's not too old for these silly birthday surveys... Maybe homeschooling *does* keep kids from thinking they're too cool for things like this!   1. What is your favorite color? Green, always is and always has been, probably always will be, too. 2. What is your favorite toy? I guess Pokemon trading cards? 3. What is your favorite fruit? That is a hard one... Probably grapefruit. 4. What is your favorite television show? Pokemon. 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? I dunno... Probably leftover pasta or pizza. 6. What ..read more

  I think it's safe to say I will not be succeeding at the 52 Project this year... Several weeks have gone by undocumented, and I think I'm just going to end up picking up where I left off once I actually start taking pictures of the kids again! Virginia heat + humidity and being in my third trimester are not a photo-friendly combination, particularly with keeping up with the CSA, keeping everyone fed, and dealing with some other life changes. We're in the summer swing of things, and it's such a relief to have a break from schoolwork! Gives the kids extra time in the mornings to do ..read more