Like Leila, Like Laura (Maybe?)

I have been so inspired lately, reading Leila Lawler's "Like Mother, Like Daughter" blog (which is often graced with lovely, well-written posts by her grown daughters as well).  How I missed her all these years that I've been immersed in the blogging world is beyond me.  She is just awesome (as are her girls), and I pretty much agree with her mindset on every aspect of the vitally important triple vocation we share: wife/mother/homemaker.  I mean, I feel like we could be best friends if we ever met (although I'm so shy and terrible at making new friends that she might be less enthusiastic about the whole thing than I.  But I think we could be Internet friends, at least...).

Like "Auntie Leila," I  have striven to live by the "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without" philosophy, which she often espouses on her blog, throughout my marriage. I've tried to be as thrifty and frugal as possible--to make our home as comfy, warm, and beautiful as I could, even during those early years when I had to do it on a shoestring budget. And then by the time I could have spent more, I was hesitant to do so--because the habit of trying to make what I had work for us, and if not, to find something old and used and in need of a bit of TLC to make it "perfect," was deeply ingrained in me after years of creative housekeeping. 

I am quite lucky, I realize, to enjoy the type of hobbies that go hand-in-hand with my three-pronged vocation: cooking, baking, home decorating, furniture refinishing, painting, drawing, sewing, crafting, reading, and writing, to name a few! I even like to clean.  (Should I be embarrassed to admit that?  My husband calls me the "mad vacker," because I love to vacuum way more than I should.) 

Also, Leila Lawler is the only blogger (other than myself!) whom I've ever seen touting the benefits of wearing an apron to do housework; my boys like to tease me about my apron-wearing.  It's true that I am rarely seen without one during waking hours if I'm in my own house.  By I don't sleep in one, as one of my funny sons has accused.  (I blogged about aprons once upon a time; if you're interested in visiting my archives you can read that post here.)

I have a proverbial wardrobe of aprons, actually.  Holiday-themed ones even.

My Mrs. Clause apron.  (And a darling chocolatey-faced elf!)

Anyway, Leila Lawler is a seamstress.  (See, there's another thing we have in common.  She even said in one post that in spite of being at it for 40 years, she tends to make lots of mistakes and relies heavily on a seam-ripper.  Me, too!  I'm beginning to think we might be twins who were separated at birth!)  After reading some of her old sewing posts, I felt motivated to organize my sewing room for the first time in ages.  In one of the big plastic bins that held some of my fabric stash, I found some fun treasures that I'd almost forgotten about, including a few unfinished projects that I decided I'll have to get to ASAP.  (I'm not getting any younger, you know.  I'll be 66 in July.  If I don't finish them now, then when?!)

I found a patchwork quilt that I began to put together in the late 1970's, while I was still in college (it was for my "hope chest," kind of), and then continued to work on after my husband and I got married in 1980 and started having our sons.  It was made with soft, almost threadbare squares of fabric, taken from old clothing and scraps from craft projects I'd worked on. (BTW, what was I thinking making the squares so small?!  Each is only 5"!)  I'd added some appliquéd hearts, with the names and birthdays of the first two boys on them; the next two sons each have a heart appliqué with their names and birthdates penciled in, but I never got around to embroidering them; and the fifth son never even got a heart on there before I abandoned this quilting project (probably because I was too busy raising said boys, four little guys who were born within a span of four years and three months).  Son #4, the last one represented on this quilt, is 36 now, so it's been more than three decades since I did any work on it!

Finally finishing that decades-old quilt is on my to-do list now.

I also found the top of a baby quilt that was made by my best college friend in 1983, as a gift for our firstborn son.  This quilt originally had batting inside and the layers were hand-tied together with yarn at some of the corners where the rectangular pieces on the front met.  After washing it a number of times, the batting got all lumpy, and I took it apart, planning to put new batting in it and then put it back together, possibly doing some machine quilting, too, so it would hold up better.  But alas, I never got around to it.  My friend had made it before she knew whether we were having a girl or a boy, and it had an awful lot of pink in it.  When we kept having boys, I put it away to save in case we ended up with a daughter, but we never did.  Our oldest son has six girls now, and one boy, and the youngest, a girl, is still a baby.  So I think I'm going to fix it up and pass it on to him for his little one.

How fun!  I had almost forgotten that baby quilt existed!

Another treasure I found was a zip-lock bag with some pre-cut 8" quilt squares in it.

What is special about these squares is that most of them (all but the dark blue, which I must have gotten as a filler) are Laura Ashely fabrics, taken from sheets, pillowcases, and curtains that we used to have in our bedroom. Way back in the early years of our marriage, my mother-in-law (a T J Maxx clearance shopping pro who had no equal!) gifted us a king-sized Laura Ashley puff/bedspread (in the dusty blue with little cream-colored flowers on it).  We had a double bed at the time, but she said we would probably go bigger eventually, and she wanted it to fit.  We had that puff on our double bed for about ten years, before we finally got a king-sized bed in 1993.  By that time, my M-I-L had gifted us sheets (in the coordiating cream with little dusty blue flowers), curtains, pillow shams, and throw pillows in that same pattern.  Then eventually, she got us a new king-sized quilt, in the floral pattern that had some pink in it but was in the same color palette and still went with the curtains from the other pattern we'd had for so long, and a king-sized sheet set (top right fabric square in the picture) to go with it.  

We slept on Laura Ashley bedding for so many years that when we finally made the switch to something different, I wanted to have a little memento of it.  So I'd cut out those squares, intending to make a little throw quilt.  But like so many other projects I'd started over the years, I never got around to sewing those squares together.

Well, guess what I did today?

It's not very big, just a lap quilt.  It just needs a back (I'm not sure I'm even going to do a layer of batting inside).  I'll probably keep it draped over the back of the upholstered arm chair in our room, as a reminder of those early days of our marriage.  And of my beloved mother-in-law as well.

I found some other goodies that had belonged to her--beautiful linen-and-lace napkins, pillowcases, pillow shams, etc. (some bought new on clearance, some vintage, some with lovely embroidery on them, many stained from decades stored in the attic after the house fire at my husband’s childhood home).  And I have projects planned for them as well.  So stay tuned for more sewing talk in the coming weeks, dear readers.

Or not!  I realize that this post might have been boring to many of you. (But perhaps it wouldn't be to Auntie Leila?)

Sisters, Sisters

You know that song, right?  It's the iconic Irving Berlin number that was in the movie White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Cluny.

I've had that song—and some others from the same delightful show—in my head for several days now, ever since my husband and I joined son #2, one of his older boys, his father-in-law, and a friend to attend the spring musical at his wife Ginger's high school alma mater. (She had planned to come, too; but the sitter she had scheduled to watch their little guys fell through, so she stayed back.)  This small Catholic school (about 400 students, grades 7-12) is absolutely swimming in talent.  Two years ago, I saw Hello, Dolly!, and I was blown away.  But White Christmas was even better!  The vocals were truly extraordinary.  The leads were terrific—but even some of the minor players who had singing parts were exceptionally good.  (My husband and I turned to each other a couple times, wide-eyed, both thinking the same thing: "Can everyone in this school sing?!") There were about 180 students involved in the production, which included lots of expertly choreographed dance scenes with dozens of moving pieces on stage at once. I wish I could aptly describe how PHENOMENAL this show was!  This was the 32nd Annual Spring Musical at this school, and it is the institution’s main fundraiser.  It is worth every penny of the ticket price, let me tell you.  

My husband and I have a list of must-see Christmas movies that we try to watch every December, but I'm embarrassed to admit that neither one of us had ever seen White Christmas until Christmas 2022, when our youngest son and his wife traveled from Nashville to spend the holiday with us.  It was our daughter-in-law's absolute favorite Christmas movie growing up, and she couldn't believe it wasn't on our list.  (It is now!)

I'm telling you, those high school kids put on a show that was every bit as entertaining as the famous Hollywood movie of the same title.  I wish I had been allowed to take a video of the two young gals who did the "Sisters, Sisters" number seen in the YouTube video above.  Their performance was amazing.  I just can't praise that high school musical enough!

Anyhoo, now for the clever segue—

Speaking of SISTERS: when we made our recent trip up north to check on our Oyster Haven rental house and watch the eclipse, we were able to get together with my mom, and my own two sisters and their husbands, for a lovely Sunday brunch.

Sisters, Sisters...

I am the second-oldest of five, with one brother born before me and one after; my sisters are the two youngest in the family.  Both of my sisters live close to my mother. The older one is about 45 minutes away.  She is a hard-working teacher's assistant and the mother of two sons.  She recently welcomed her first grandchild. My baby sister (far left in the picture), also a mom of two and a Grammy to one, lives really close to my mother: as in, in the same house with her.  

About a year after my dad died in 2016, my mom moved out of an assisted living residence and into my baby sister's home, and she’s been there ever since.  At the time, her health had deteriorated to the point that she literally couldn't get herself out of bed; she couldn't walk, even using a walker, without an aide to help her; and worst of all, she appeared to be suffering from dementia and going downhill fast.  She was practically at death's door, and my sister hired almost round-the-clock aides to help with her care.  I would post a picture of what she looked like back then, so you could compare it to the beautiful, vibrant octogenarian in the above photo—but she would be horrified, so I won't do that. Suffice it to say that you would be truly amazed by the transformation.

And it's all due the love and care she's gotten from my sister and her husband.

*For many years before my dad died, these two were my parents' close neighbors and helped them in so many different ways (with things such as yard work and home repairs--and my sister even used to stop by and load their pill boxes for the week, so they could keep track of their daily medications!).  My dad trusted my sister's husband with what was most precious to him: Dad took my brother-in-law aside at one point and asked him to be sure to take care of my mom if he should die first.  My B-I-L obviously took my father's solemn request to heart; and he in fact was the first one to propose that Mom should move in with them, when it became apparent that she was not healthy enough to stay at the assisted living home anymore.  He's got a heart of gold, that guy, and I think my dad knew this about him.  And my sister...well, there aren't enough words to tell you how amazing she is, how loving and selfless and self-sacrificing.  And she's incredibly organized, too (she jokes that she's got OCD; I say she's just Marie Kondo on steroids!).  She runs an incredibly tight ship, with humor and the most positive attitude in the world.  You have to be an organized person to take care of an elderly parent, to keep up with the aides' schedules, the doctor's appointments, the medications.  There is no one I can think of who could do a better job at all of that than my baby sister.  One also needs to be kind, of course, and she is that in spades; but she is not afraid to be firm with my mother either, if her health requires it. Because of my sister's attention to detail, because of her tireless energy and research, at 88, my mother is on very few daily meds--far fewer than she was more than a decade ago.  My sister is just a rockstar caretaker; she might the youngest in the family, but all of her siblings are in awe of her.

A few years ago, my sister went through old medical records of Mom's and stumbled upon some doctor's notes: apparently, my mother had a condition for which there was a fix, but it had not been addressed.  In the last years of my father’s life, she’d been suffering with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, and it was causing her to have both physical and neurological problems.  She'd started falling quite often, leading to a broken hip and hip replacement surgery.  The doctor would drain some of the fluid that kept building up in or around her brain, and she would improve for a time; but he had told my parents that if she kept falling, they should consider having a permanent drainage shunt implanted (and this had been noted in her records).  Somehow, however, this had never been done.  We think perhaps that my dad, who was going deaf but refused to wear a hearing aide, hadn't really heard what the doctor was saying. And Mom was too out of it to take care of herself during that time.  But as soon as she got that shunt, her physical and mental health drastically improved.  It was as if overnight, she seemed 20 years younger.  She's 88 years young these days, with a very full life packed with friends and activities.  She has 31 great-grandchildren now, and she likes to read the local newspaper obituaries and compare that number to the ones she sees mentioned there.  (So far, among her peers in the area she's winning the great-grandchildren contest!)

Thanks to my baby sister, my mother got her life back. She and her husband are saints, they truly are.  A few years ago, his mom started failing, too, and they took her in (I believe she's 90).  Both moms live with them now, each with her own bedroom and a shared bathroom between them.  Isn't that amazing?  What a blessing my sister and her hubby are to those lucky ladies.

Saints do live among us!

It's great that every time I want to visit my mom,
I get to visit this sister, too!

To know this sister is to love her.  

Sisters are such a blessing.

Especially mine.

*On April 23, I added this paragraph.  I really hadn't adequately described how wonderful my sister and her husband are.  Maybe you'll have a better idea now!

Some Exciting "E" Stuff (Such as Easter, Eggs, the Eclipse, Etc.)

Hi there!  The last time I was here, it was Holy Saturday and I was preparing for a lovely, relatively quiet Easter celebration with son #4, his wife, his four young children, and his mother- and father-in-law.  Well, I'm back to report that we had such a blessed day.  The weather was glorious for our after-lunch Easter egg hunt and the kids played happily in the yard for hours.  We are always up for the big, wild-and-crazy celebrations with everyone who lives down here (and sometimes even the ones who don't, but travel to join us); but this more subdued, gentler version of family fun was a special treat, and we had such a wonderful time.

My darling D-I-L Braveheart and I didn't plan on twinning for Easter, but when she arrived we realized that we were wearing very similar Sunday Best finery.  The floral patterns and styles of our dresses were different, but the color palette was the same, as was the general soft flouncy-ness of the fabric (I think I just made up a word!).  We figured a picture was called for.

We all ate in the dining room, and the meal was simple but tasty.

My hubby and I long ago decided that roasted pork (seared and then slowly cooked in a proverbial vat of butter) is always a winner.  A large pork loin gives you the most bang for your buck; it can feed a small army and tastes like heaven.  On Easter, it didn’t disappoint.

I can just hear you thinking, "Did she actually share a picture of her not particularly beautiful-looking plate of food?"  Yes, yes I did!  

I said that it was a quieter Easter than usual, and it was.  But son #3 and his brood stopped by after Mass, on their way to Preciosa's college friend's house, where they were going to meet up with son #2 and his gang.  (This was before we sat down for our meal.)  Our house happened to be on their way, and they had a bit of time to kill before they were expected at their friend's gathering.  So for a little while, we had nine cousins playing together, which was fun.

Cute (while hastily arranged and very imperfect!) front-porch group pictures are becoming our jam here at Casa Papa and Grammy.

Anyway--

After lunch, we had a little Easter egg hunt for the four grandkids who were staying.

Four days after Easter, my husband and I headed north to Upstate NY, to check on our Oyster Haven rental house and get it ready for our first guests of the season.  These folks were coming from Utah for the solar eclipse, because our area of NY was going to be right along the narrow path of totality, right on the center line; and as long as the weather was clear, it promised to provide a perfect front-row seat.  

Aside from the two of us, four of my husband's siblings (along with two of their spouses) were together for the big event on April 8. We all met up at his older sister's successful brewery beforehand, where a large contingent--many of them people who'd traveled long distances (from all over the US, and even from as far away as Scotland and Ireland!)--were gathered on the grounds outside, picnicking and drinking her award-winning craft beers.

When the eclipse started, my husband and I quickly made the short drive over to the family homestead, because he wanted to monitor the video camera he'd set up to catch the whole thing for the siblings who couldn't be there to watch in person.  So the two of us watched the total eclipse of the sun from the back deck of his childhood home on Lake Champlain.

I took a before picture of my husband, when there was a crescent-moon shaped sliver of sunlight still showing:

Then a during picture, when the sun was completely blocked by the moon and it looked like nighttime (but you could still see some light over on the Vermont shore of the lake):

Then an after picture, when a crescent-moon shaped sliver of sunlight was appearing on the opposite side and instantly, the world was filled with bright daylight again.

Before the total eclipse, I took a picture with my iPhone; but it's amazing how hard it is to capture with a camera lens what you can see with the human eye.   I took the picture when there was just a sliver of sunlight that hadn't been blocked out yet.  Here's what I got: 

My sister-in-law (the brewery owner) had a friend who was able to get a pretty spectacular shot when the eclipse was total:

It was quite an experience.  I don't think I would have traveled half-way across the world to see it, like some people did...but since we had to go up to check on things at our rental anyway, we had a good excuse to make the trip from VA.  And I truly won't soon forget it!

Some things to think about, regarding this 2024 solar eclipse:

The eclipse took place on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which was celebrated on April 8 this year because its usual date (March 25, exactly nine months before the birth of Our Lord) fell during Holy Week.  And since the week following Easter is considered a week of solemnities, it had to be moved to the first available weekday that was not a solemnity.  Monday, April 8 was that day.

What are the odds, right?

The Annunciation celebrates Mary's Fiat, Her "yes" to God, the acceptance of Her role as God's instrument in the Incarnation--and Her vital role in salvation history.  Mary's Fiat delivered a fatal blow to the devil, which is why She is often depicted crushing the head of the serpent under Her feet.  How fitting is it that this recent solar eclipse should happen on this important Marian feast day (reminiscent of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, is it not?). 

And there's more:  apparently, the "Devil Comet," last seen in 1954, was due to return on April 8 as well, and was going to be visible during the total eclipse.  We didn't see it.  (Did you?) But think of the symbolism there!  The Devil Comet, showing up after seven decades on the very same day that we are celebrating the Annunciation (and Mary's defeat of the devil!), during an awe-inspiring event that shows the majesty and power of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.  Whoah!  Coincidences?  I think not!

That's probably enough for now, I think.  I have one other "E" thing on my mind--Vitamin E, and how it (along with a lot of other vital nutrients) has been processed out of the bleached and "enriched" white flour that is on the shelves of our grocery stores (the flour with which I have always loved to bake goodies for my family!).  And how eating carbs made with this over-processed wheat flour has been detrimental to our health.  And...etc. etc. etc.  It's a long story, but I'm sure you don't want to hear all the details. Suffice it to say that my husband and I watched a three-hour-long podcast that really struck a chord with us, and we have decided to start milling our own flour at home.  We've ordered an electric flour mill and we're going to buy some wheat berries and start grinding them up.  In the next couple of weeks, I plan to start baking my own bread with this flour.  (Wish me luck!)

I foresee future blog posts about bread-baking adventures (or possibly misadventures).  So stay tuned!  :)

Happy Holy Saturday (2024)

Can I just say that I love Easter?  I mean, every Christian does, or should, I know: for He is risen!  Hallelujah!  And through His stripes we are healed!  And by His cross and resurrection, He has set us free!

What a beautiful celebration of life Easter is--of life here on earth, but more importantly, the eternal life to come.  It has become my #1 favorite holiday of the year (but ask me which is my favorite again as Christmastime approaches!).

I love everything about this holiday: the glorious spring weather, the beautiful liturgies, the pretty Easter dresses on my granddaughters, Easter baskets and Easter egg hunts...and of course, as always, I love having an excuse to host a family party at our house.

This year, our group is going to be relatively small. A college friend of two of our VA daughters-in-law has come into town with her family, so sons #2 and #3 and their families will be having a little reunion with this friend and celebrating Easter together about an hour away from us in Northern VA.  But son #4 and his four children (the triplets, 6, and their younger sister, 4) will be joining us for lunch after Mass, along with our son's wife's parents (who are local).  So we'll have ten gathered around our table.  And of course, said table is already set.  (Because there's nothing I love more than preparing for events such as this!)

My table will look even better tomorrow, when some of the people I love
most in the world are gathered around it!  I can hardly wait!

I decided to put a small Russell Stover solid chocolate bunny at the places of each of our guests, in memory of my paternal grandmother.  We always had Easter dinner at her house, and she always set an elegant table (and served leg of lamb with mint jelly, which my parents adored and I tolerated).  And Grandma always had a Russell Stover chocolate bunny on the table for each of her five grandchildren.  The ones we got in our Easter baskets were hollow, but the ones we got from Grandma were solid.  This is one of my fondest childhood memories.  (It just goes to show how easy it is to make a child happy!  It's the simplest things that mean the most.)

When the whole VA gang (more than 20 of us) is here on Easter, we don't often have a sit-down meal; it's usually buffet-style, and people just serve themselves on pretty paper plates in the kitchen and then pick a spot to sit, either at the kitchen table or in the dining room.  It's wonderfully chaotic.  I will miss the others tomorrow, chaos notwithstanding--but having just one family at a time is a rare treat, and very special, because with only four little ones involved, we can be a bit fancier.  I can break out the breakables!  

I love to set a pretty table, with a nice tablecloth.  But with so many young grandchildren always eating at my house, I have opted for this high-quality vinyl one that can be wiped down after every meal.  It looks like a real damask cloth (at least that's what I tell myself!), but it's so much less trouble to take care of.  

I was going to use cloth napkins; but Pioneer Woman's Easter napkins are just so stinking' cute and I think they're more fun for the kids, so I decided to go with them.

I'm not doing much for dessert; everyone will be eating enough chocolate and jelly beans without Grammy adding lots of baked goods to the mix.  But I did get some delectable little cakes from our local bakery (moist yellow cake with cream on top, iced with a caramel glaze), and some adorable bunny- and egg-shaped Easter cookies from Aldi's (shortbread with Belgian chocolate and sprinkles).

Aren't these the cutest?!

The house looks festive.  We keep two small trees up throughout the year in our family room, and I like to decorate them according to the season.

This wooden basket, a gift from son #4 and his wife (picked up on their honeymoon in Malaysia) makes a lovely Easter decoration.  (When you put the handle of the basket down, it collapses and converts into a leaf-shaped tray!)  My husband got the marble eggs in Athens, back when he was flying overseas routinely in his job as an airline pilot.

We are planning a lunch of pork roast, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls.  Simple but delicious (I hope!).  One of these days, I'm going to have to learn to make leg of lamb like my grandmother used to; my husband is a big fan of lamb, and he for one would be very appreciative!

I kind of miss the days when there were lots of bloggers posting regularly, and they might have a blog link-up for "Show Us Your Easter Decor," or "What I Served for Easter Dinner."  I love seeing other people's ideas for food, decorations, and entertaining.

Anyhoo--

Before I go, I'm going to treat you to a smile-inducing picture of our sweet 4-year-old granddaughters after their recent Easter show at their preschool.  These two little darlings are cousins, classmates, and BFF's.

Happy, happy Easter, dear readers!

St. Patty’s Day 2024

    THE WEARIN’ O’ THE GREEN!

We had our family party yesterday afternoon, in honor of St. Patrick, and I believe a good time was had by all. Nine adults plus 14 kids (ranging in age from 9 months to 9 years) equals lots of chaos—but lots of fun, too (it’s math!).

The kids spent most of their time playing outside, many of them even eating their meals picnic-style on our front stoop.  The weather was glorious—sunny and in the low 70’s—and the food was yummy and plentiful. I have to say, it could not have been a better afternoon.  As his family was leaving, our 8-year-old grandson Junior thanked us for a “wonderful time.”  (He actually used the word “wonderful,” isn’t that the best?)  At the end of the day, I was a very happy—tired, but happy—Grammy!

We got some great pictures, so the rest of this post will be a St. Patty’s photo dump.  ☘️☘️☘️

 

Just as I was about to push the "publish" button on this post earlier, our daughter-in-law Ginger texted to tell us she'd seen a neat idea on Twitter (or X or whatever it's called!): when making the corned beef dinner, one mom said she put aside some cabbage leaves for her family to wear as "hats" on St. Patty's Day. Ginger loved the idea.  So this happened over at their house tonight...

Now that's a clever (and very cute) way to wear green!  

St. Patty’s Party Prep

Tomorrow afternoon, our VA gang (sons #2, 3, and 4, their wives, and their combined 14 kids, plus a good friend of two of our daughters-in-law) are coming to our house for a St. Patty's Day celebration.  We have lots of Irish-themed decor that stays up all year; but I've added a few touches.

Bottom right: pictures of our youngest son at the Cliffs of Moher.

Two small trees stay up in our family room all year and get decorated
according to the season/holiday.

The Irish gnome was an impulse buy, but I don't regret it!

Our youngest son as St. Patrick (All Saints Day parade, 2nd grade). 

We’re going to have green punch (that can be spiked or kid-friendly) and other fun beverages, corned beef and cabbage, pork chops and gravy, mashed potatoes, and an assortment of chips and dips and fruits and veggies.  For the kids, there will be Domino’s pizzas, because they may or may not be interested in the Irish fare.  I’ve made shamrock-shaped sugar cookies and caramel brownies with green sprinkles for dessert, and also Catholic writer Emily Stimpson Chapman’s Bailey’s Irish cream cake. (Yum!)  I’ve got party hats and beads and other favors ready to pass out.  I think I’m ready!

That accent wall in our kitchen was painted this colon by the former owners,
and I love it!  (The shade is literally called “Emerald Isle.”)

Our Aldi's has these every March, and they are magically delicious.

If we can get the kids to dress up in the silly headgear and beads and shamrock glasses and stick-on green mustaches and “tattoos,” I’m hoping I’ll be able to post some cute pictures of them next week.

Until next time--

May God in His wisdom and infinite love,

Look down on you always from Heaven above.

May He send you good fortune, contentment and peace,

And may all your blessings forever increase.

Slainte, dear readers!