Feast Days

September 14th

Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross

We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You

Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

September 15th

Our Lady of Sorrows

And your own soul a sword shall pierce. Luke 2:35

Days gone by...

I figured I could at least take a few posts to share some of what has happened in our lives over the past few months...

For starters.. every year, in October, my family gets together and heads to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard.

No one can pass up the carmel apples, not even little Laney.

A totem of kids!

Magdalene on James' shoulders. Lawrence on Myriah's. My great-niece Alayna on her mamma's shoulders (my niece Cora).

Unfortunately, I didn't charge my camera battery ahead of time. I was hoping for a lot more pictures. Oh well, such is life sometimes. And camera or not, we all had a very fun day.

Another teenager.

Madison has finally joined her older sister and brother in the teenage years! Today was her 13th birthday and we celebrated with the help of family and friends.

The highlight of the evening: "Silly Hat Game." Madison requested that each guest bring a "silly hat" to the party. She and her sisters would judge and award prizes for the two most silly.

And the winners are...

2nd place goes to Mary (Madison's godmother)

1st place goes to Mom (and yes, the pull up is a clean one)

Madison... I hope you enjoyed your party! Welcome to the teenage years! May you continue to grow in God's grace! We love you. Happy Birthday!

Pumpkins!

Yes, I know... this should have been blogged awhile ago. Oh, well!

Fall visit to Police Hill

We had one nice day sneak in amidst Octobers days of chilly, misty, rainy weather. We took advantage of it and headed back to Police Hill. This time we ventured a little further into the woods, full of evidence that autumn is in full bloom. I really enjoy the change of seasons that comes with living in MN.

View from the top of the hill.

Heading down the hill. (It really is steeper than it looks.) Looking back up once we reached bottom. If you look closely at the top of the picture you can see the "overlook."

The boys had a grand time being our protectors as we traversed through uncharted territory. At one point we were an SG (stargate) team exploring a new planet.

New Skill Learned!

I learned how to turn these

into

Thanks to a friend of mine, I now know how to can!! We had a fun afternoon of peeling, juicing, cooking and finally canning apple sauce, apple cider, and apple jelly!

Snow Soccer??

Well, you just never know in MN! The first snow fall of the year hit Saturday, Oct 9th! A little too soon, I think. But, the soccer games went on as scheduled! We Minnesotans are a hearty bunch and it takes more than a little snow to scare us off!

Apple Orchard 2009

My extended family gets together every year and heads to the Pine Tree Apple Orchard. It is a fun time of family, hay rides, carmel apples,laughter and fun! After the appl orchard, we all head to my cousins' house. They serve up stew and chili (homemade and very tasty). We sit around and visit, enjoy a bonfire, and eat! The one downside is that this year's get-together was on the same weekend Magdalene and Lawrence were away with G'man Jan for another cousin's birthday party. (But listening to them share about their trip, they sure didn't mind. They had all kinds of fun themselves)

My sister, Michelle

My sister, Denise and her hubby, Vince

Denise

Me

My cousin, Ryan

1. 
   
   
   
   Myriah and my niece, Tori

My mom Nana and the kids

Me and my kids

I really like this picture of Myriah.

Pyramids are made by
someone every year.

Piggy-back ride anyone?? I think James could hold a few more, maybe??

Mom, my sisters, and me
Joyce and her girls, Michelle, Wendy, & Mary




YUM... those carmel apples are really good!